It's time to be honest about the complexities of sustainable investing

Clients might want to allocate capital sustainably but do not understand how this translates into portfolio design and advisers are struggling to explain the complexity of this investment approach. Brooks Macdonald head of responsible investment Ben Palmer says: "We often find clients tell advisers they have a very specific requirement for their portfolio because they have read an article or watched a documentary." For example, a client might have watched David Attenborough's ‘Blue Planet' and will then tell their adviser they do not want to invest in the plastics industry. Palmer ...