The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) has revealed although over three quarters (76%) of surveyed pension professionals are not yet engaging with their clients on nature-related risk, 89% intend to do so in the future.
Over 200 pension professionals were recently surveyed at an event with one of the questions being: “Do you actively engage with your clients on nature related risk?”. Around 2% answered they did so “frequently”, 22% said they did so “tentatively”, and 76% did not engage with their clients on this issue. However, at the end of the event the overwhelming majority of attendees (89%) stated they would now engage with their clients on nature-related risk following the discussions.
It is estimated nearly half of global GDP is dependent on nature, however there has been a 69% average decline in nature over the past 50 years.
Claire Keeffe (pictured), senior sustainability investment consultant at Barnett Waddingham, who chaired the event, said: “Although nature-related risk is an important issue, it is one that pension professionals have only recently started to take note of. It is not surprising that more than three quarters of attendees said they are not yet engaging with their clients on the issue.
“However, it is fantastic to find that 89% have stated they will now be engaging on this issue as a result of what they have heard today. This powerfully demonstrates the positive impact that raising awareness and understanding of nature-related risk can have.”
