23-25 April 2008 | Montreux, Switzerland

Amid the picturesque Alps and Lake Léman, responsible investment was one of the key topics at the European Pensions & Investments Summit, a testament to its increasing recognition in mainstream investment, along with other major themes of the Summit such as asset allocation, alternative investments, pension solvency, pension plan design, pension fund management, legislation and regulation, and industry and economic outlook. Butch Bacani and Remco Fischer of UNEP Finance Initiative presented in the session, “Assessing the Responsible Investment Revolution”. Butch covered the evolution of the Principles for Responsible Investment, the spectrum of research on environmental, social and governance issues engineered by the UNEP FI Asset Management Working Group, and the episodic financial crises over the years, while Remco concretised responsible investment in the context of one of the most pressing sustainability issues of our time – water. Keynote speakers included former Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve, Dr. Alan Greenspan; former Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating; and former Chairman of the UK Pensions Commission, Lord Adair Turner. The Summit brought together senior executives from Europe’s largest investors with a select and diversified group of leading service providers, and was organized by marcus evans, one of the world’s leading business information companies.