The Responsible Asset Owners Global Symposium is pleased to announce the support of Project Heather for its inaugural conference for institutional asset owners as it reveals the agenda for the one day event.

The Responsible Asset Manager Global Symposium on 8th October in London is the event where leaders of major pension funds such as USS, LPP, HESTA, LGA are convening to discuss what responsible asset management means in the 21st century.

Despite its momentous growth in the last decade, responsible investing and impact investing still face challenges, including the under-supply of assets, lack of unified measurement and management frameworks, and ‘impact washing'. With trillions of assets under management, asset owners hold the power to implement the system change that is needed to serve global challenges.

The event will explore what defines good stewardship, through the following panels and speeches:

• Key issues facing the Asset community
• Risk management and modelling: minimising risk, maximising returns and making smarter decisions
• Quantifying the investment case: quantitative strategy and data
• Democratising investment: regulation, pension funds and impact
• Trends in impact investing
• Financial opportunities post Brexit
• Diversity and inclusion in finance
• Climate change and challenges in the new paradigm

The event has a deeply impressive line-up of speakers that including UKSIF's Head of Public Policy Ben Nelmes, Knut Kjaer, the Founder of Norges, Advisor to CIC & Board member of ABP, C Suite execs from six major pension funds including David Russell of USS, Chris Hitchens of Border to Coast, Michael O'Higgins of LPP, Denise Le Gal of Brunel PP, Stanislas Pottier of Amundi, Eugene O'Callaghan of Irish SWF ISIF and Amanda Latham of The Pension Regulator.

RAO Global founder Adrienne Lawler said “There is a growing demand from retail investors to ensure that their investments are serving positive environmental and social purpose as well as a financial return. RAO Global is for asset managers at the helm of being able to implement the system change that is needed to serve global challenges.”

Project Heather CEO and founder Tomás Carruthers said: “I welcome the opportunity to partner with the Responsible Asset Owners symposium. The attention now focused on responsible and impact investing is long overdue: financial returns can be made while creating positive social and environmental impact, and to assume otherwise is a dereliction of good stewardship.”

Project Heather recently confirmed the support of Scottish Enterprise via a Regional Selective Assistance grant, following a successful fundraising coordinated via AAB advisers. The company will work with leading market operators to provide the market infrastructure for the proposed Exchange, which, subject to regulatory approval from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, is targeting a launch around the end of 2019.

Enquiries

Tickets and sponsorship
RAO Global
admin@raoglobal.org

Editorial
Martha Walsh, Communications Director, Project Heather
martha.walsh@projectheather.scot

About RAO Global
RAO Global was established by broadcaster and journalist Adrienne Lawler following extensive research across financial markets to establish the issues of most concern to asset owners. From litigation to regulation, it became clear that there was an opportunity to inform and engage the market in helping identify what Responsible Investing means in both the short and long term.

2020 will see further RAO Global events in New York and Singapore.

About Project Heather
Project Heather is building a Scottish Stock Exchange: an exchange shaped for the 21st century, adding 'impact' to the traditional capital markets model of 'risk and reward'.

Scottish based, yet global facing, it will act as a bridge between values-aligned investors and companies.

The Scottish Stock Exchange will be the first recognised investment exchange worldwide for which companies have to measure their positive social and/or environmental impact before listing, and an annually updated impact report publicly available on their website.

The Scottish Stock Exchange is setting out to bring access, visibility and liquidity to businesses - building on a Scottish tradition of entrepreneurship, ingenuity in raising capital and as a hub for renewables, sustainability and social enterprise.

Subject to approval from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Exchange hopes to launch around the end of 2019.

www.projectheather.scot