Where Is the Investment Prince Harry Deemed Promising? [Correspondent Diary]

Joining ESG Investment Asset Management Firm
"Will Encourage Young People to Invest in ESG"

Prince Harry and his wife are giving a speech at the Global Citizen concert held in New York's Central Park to raise awareness about global issues such as the climate crisis, COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and poverty.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] There is an investment target pointed out by the British Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle. It is Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) investment. The U.S. media is paying attention to whether the involvement of globally famous figures as ambassadors promoting sustainable-related corporate investments can become a catalyst for ESG investment.

According to The New York Times (NYT), Prince Harry has joined the asset management company Ethic, in which Duchess Meghan invests, as an impact partner and investor.

Ethic announced the couple's joining, stating, "Prince Harry and Meghan share many values with us. We are very pleased that they have joined us as impact partners."

Ethic added, "The two are deeply engaged in addressing the defining issues of our time such as climate, gender equality, health, racial justice, human rights, and strengthening democracy, and understand that these issues are inherently interconnected."

Founded in 2015, the startup investment firm Ethic manages assets worth $1.3 billion. According to Doug Scott, Ethic’s founder, the assets under management tripled last year.

According to Ethic, Prince Harry and Meghan became investors in Ethic since the beginning of the year and have also invested funds in the funds operated by Ethic.

After separating from the British royal family last year and moving to Los Angeles, the couple has collaborated with companies, but this is the first time their activities in the investment field have become known.

The couple also revealed the reason for directly engaging in ESG investment. In an interview with The New York Times DealBook, Prince Harry expressed his hope that their ESG investment would help democratize investing and raise awareness among young people about investing in sustainable companies.

Prince Harry stated, "Young generations around the world are voting with their money for companies they choose themselves. It is a natural extension to do the same in investing."

Markle, seemingly aware of the awkwardness of discussing investment as members of the royal family, retorted, "You don’t expect me to talk about investing all over the world, do you?"

NYT evaluated that the couple could exert influence on ESG investment. The NYT judged that Prince Harry and Meghan have the potential to popularize ESG investment in a way that even Larry Fink, chairman of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, has not achieved.

Fink, who exerts enormous influence over global business leaders, is a proponent of ESG investment. Under his leadership, BlackRock actively implements ESG investment.

NYT’s assessment can be seen as indicating that although Fink has urged CEOs of investment companies worldwide to implement ESG through annual letters, this has been mainly from the corporate side and insufficient in promoting ESG investment to investors.

Leonore Palladino, professor at the School of Public Policy at Amherst College, said, "It is a valuable goal for Prince Harry and Meghan to encourage young people to engage in ESG investment." Professor Palladino argued that ESG investment has been used as a smokescreen to give companies a pass on environmental pollution or to pay minimal wages, and that the appearance of Prince Harry and Meghan should be an opportunity to discuss what ESG investment means and how it can be improved.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.