Work and wellbeing  

How to help clients with philanthropy

According to Chellman, this does not take much on an individual basis.

He explains: “For many individuals, donating a portion of net worth (0.25 per cent -1 per cent, for example) to the Global Returns Project annually is a complement to other sustainable decisions they make with their assets.

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"From this perspective, the demand for innovations like GRP already exists.” 

Make My Money Matter

Make My Money Matter is another way that advisers can helping clients who want to use their money to do good, this time through their pension savings and investments. 

The Make My Money Matter initiative was set up to become a movement, and sees individual employees, organisations, and members of the finance sector take steps to encourage divestment of pension fund money from investments that are harmful to people and planet. 

David Hayman is campaigns director at Make My Money Matter and explains: "Across the UK, we’re seeing a growth in savers who want to make their money matter, with pensions holders increasingly expecting their cash to play a positive role in tackling the climate crisis.

"And that means advisers should get ahead of the game and support those individuals green their money.  

"For us, that means ensuring pensions stop supporting fossil fuel expansion, are committed to tackling deforestation, and are dramatically seeking and scaling investments in climate and nature solutions. 

"It’s what many pension savers expect, what the planet demands, where longer term financial and environmental advantages are likely to be found and where long term profits are to be made."

In terms of finding out “who’s leading and who’s lagging behind on climate action”, Hayman highlights that Make My Money Matter has released their annual Climate Action Report, which looks at the UK’s top 20 DC schemes, and rank them on a range of climate indicators – “from deforestation to fossil fuels, climate solutions to stewardship”. 

This ranking will let advisers - and the public - see who’s really stepping up on climate change, and where the industry is falling behind, he explains.

By getting ahead of the curve on climate action, and assessing clients' environmental preferences, Hayman believes “advisers will be able to appeal to an increasingly conscious investor base, the majority of whom want their money to be combatting the climate crisis, not contributing to it".

He adds: “Both they and their clients will also be able to take advantage of the growing financial opportunities associated with sustainable investing, and position themselves as real leaders on climate action."

Anita Boniface is afreelance journalist