Let’s build back better – our Covid-19 message
We are still open to support you in these difficult and unsettled times.
Much has changed and so quickly with unimagined challenges in work and home life facing so many of us in so many ways. Please get in touch with us if you want a friendly voice to talk to about any pension and investment concerns you may be experiencing due to the current market turmoil. We have counselled many people through market unrest and difficult times, and are here to help should you need it.
At Path Financial we believe the current uncertainty and market volatility will support the shift to people making more mindful choices with money.
Now more than ever we all have a part to play in creating the change we want to see in society. The benefits of a well-balanced financial plan are apparent. Even better is a financial plan that does some good, and helps make the world a better place. We believe impact investment and investing money where it can actively tackle the climate crisis can be part of the solution as we all look to build back better.
When you’re going through hell – keep going
– Winston Churchill
We feel one outcome as we emerge from lock-down will be a desire to “build back better”. If you want to embrace this ethos and spend some time reflecting on what your finances are doing then we can help.
With falling markets, you may be thinking about your pensions or investments and if they are fit for purpose and will do what you need them to do in terms of your future plans – whether that’s saving for retirement, or helping create a secure financial future for your children.
We ardently believe we should all seek to build back better once the current crisis is over and seek to be more purposeful in our decisions and the difference they make – good and bad.
It’s a fact that our investments seem to be holding up better than others – we don’t invest in oil, gas, airlines or numerous other funds or companies that have been among the worst hit as worldwide travel has slumped. Interestingly and in our view unsurprisingly ethical funds have been much more resilient to the sharp downturns in global markets. (The MSCI World stock index fell by 14.5 per cent in March whereas but 62 per cent of global environmental, social and governance-focused large-cap equity funds outperformed. Source: Morningstar Financial Research.)
Path Financial can help you create financial security whilst supporting investments that make a positive difference to people and planet. This has been our consistent message form the day we were set up.
A growing community of companies we’re invested in through our fund universe are leaning into their roles as corporate citizens, extending and re-purposing their services to reinforce global efforts to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
Your money matters – here are just some of the ways funds and companies we have invested in are making a difference.
Some of the health and medicine-related industries in our portfolio who have stepped up to support national healthcare systems in their delivery of front-line testing and care for patients:
Thermo Fisher Scientific (held in the WHEB Sustainability Fund to date, has made 1.5 million tests available to detect nucleic acid from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and expects to produce up to 5 million testing kits per week throughout April 2020(1).
Tecan (held in the Montanaro Better World Fund) is providing lab automation technology for coronavirus research and detection. The technology is already being used by researchers from Wuhan university to investigate the disease incubation and quarantine periods, viral evolution pathways and the risks and impacts of healthy carriers on the general population(2).
Novo Nordisk (held in the Hermes Impact Opportunities Fund), in collaboration with Carlsberg, is donating 20 tonnes of ethanol for manufacture into hand sanitiser. It will be provided to Danish hospitals currently struggling with a shortage of sanitiser products. Novo is also donating 2,000 protective masks to health authorities in Southern Denmark and dedicating one of their Research & Development labs to boosting testing capacity for the virus(3).
Pfizer (held in the Edentree Amity UK Fund) is co-developing a potential Covid-19 vaccine, helping to accelerate BioNTech’s potential first-in-class Covid-19 mRNA vaccine programme which is expected to enter clinical testing by the end of April 2020(4).
If you’d like to know more about making your money matter and helping build back better with pensions and investments which help tackle climate change we’d love to hear from you.
References:1. https://ir.thermofisher.com/investors/news-and-events/news-releases/news-release-details/2020/FDA-Issued-Emergency-Use-Authorization-to-Thermo-Fisher-Scientific-for-Diagnostic-Test-Used-to-Detect-COVID-19-on-March-13/default.aspx2. https://www.tecan.com/dreamprep-corona3. https://www.novonordisk.com/contact-us/coronavirus-updates/our-actions-and-contributions-during-covid-19.html4. https://investors.pfizer.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2020/Pfizer-Outlines-Five-Point-Plan-to-Battle-COVID-19/default.aspx
