NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, February 12, 2018

Investors increasingly want more than good returns – they want to do good, too, with women and millennials most likely to buy products that seek to save the world, according to a Swiss bank.

UBS, a global financial services company, said banks needed to create so-called impact investing products, which further global development goals by supporting sectors such as clean energy, education and healthcare.

“The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals identified a funding gap of over $2 trillion a year for the next 15 years that will only be filled by large scale business and investment,” James Gifford, head of impact investing at UBS, said at a breakfast briefing with reporters.

The U.N. goals – set in 2015 – bind nations to improve lives in all countries by ending poverty and hunger, fighting inequality and conquering climate change.

But with many governments short on cash and long on commitments, UBS said other sources of funding were vital to meet the U.N. shortfall.

Philanthropy is one option, private investment another.

Photo courtesy of Sudipto Sarkar.