Regenerating the planet
is the right thing to do

Regenerating the planet
makes financial sense

Global Returns

Beyond Sustainability Alone

Sustainable investing is crucial to tackle the climate crisis, but it isn’t enough on its own. The best ESG portfolio avoids environmental harm but doesn't regenerate the planet.

For clients seeking to do more, Leading Edge has partnered with the Global Returns Project to help clients think beyond ESG with a simple complement to any asset allocation strategy. That complement is a regular donation to the Global Returns Portfolio: the first selection of diverse, effective and scalable not-for-profits tackling climate change.

The Portfolio is curated like a fund, making it easy for individuals to contribute alongside their investments. As a charitable donation, such contributions also come with tax benefits for certain individuals.

Clients have never been more engaged with the impact they, and the companies they work with, are having on the environment. As understanding of the green agenda and distrust of greenwashing deepens, their desire to do something truly meaningful has never been more prevalent. The opportunity to accept the environmental limitations of investing in their traditional / sustainable portfolios - retaining their existing investment strategies whilst incorporating the truly beneficial and tangible returns of the Global Returns Portfolio - perfectly aligns to their desired outcomes both financially and philanthropically.

Anthony Bruchez

Director at Leading Edge Wealth Planning

A rational investment decision

All our investments are less risky when we enhance and protect the planet. Not-for-profits don’t generate wealth – they regenerate the planet. Instead of delivering financial returns, they deliver ‘Global Returns’: the enhancement and protection of the biosphere.

The Portfolio addresses three fundamental UN Sustainable Development Goals.

While the Global Returns Portfolio is not an investment fund, it deploys investment fund logic to measure and manage some of the most effective not-for-profits tackling the Climate Crisis.

Like fund managers, they rigorously measure the portfolio and expect real, identifiable results.

How it works

The Portfolio is run by the Global Returns Project: a UK registered charity (number 1186683). The charity directs 100% of contributions to the not-for-profits comprising the Portfolio, with no deductions. The charity’s operating costs are funded separately by its Trustees and a number of charitable trusts, foundations and individual donors.

Individuals who make an annual contribution to the Portfolio receive detailed 6-monthly impact reports. They provide tangible ‘Global Returns’ that can be monitored alongside your financial returns and can form part of our review process.

Your investment portfolio and Global Returns Portfolio combine to create a truly sustainable, profitable portfolio.

The Advisory Board

These experts oversee selection and assessment of the Global Returns Portfolio alongside the Trustees. They are leading authorities in agriculture, land-use, forestry, atmospheric physics and not-for-profit selection.

Prof Yadvinder Malhi CBE

Yadvinder is Professor of Ecosystem Science at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on interactions between biosphere and climate change.

Prof Joanna Haigh CBE

Jo was Co-Director of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College from 2015 until her retirement in 2019. She has been a Lead Author on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Prof Rosalind Rickaby

Ros is Chair of Geology, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford. She has pioneered an interdisciplinary blend of biology and chemistry to resolve questions of past climates, evolution and the future of the phytoplankton.

Dr Mamta Mehra

Mamta is research Director of the Global Council for Science and Environment. She has previously worked with Project Drawdown as Senior Fellow and Research Program officer, focusing on Drawdown solutions in the Land Use and Food sectors.

Dr Surabi Menon

Surabi is VP, Global Intelligence at ClimateWorks Foundation. She has published over sixty peer-reviewed publications and co-authored the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that led to a Nobel Peace Prize.

Global Returns Project

Please check out some of the excellent work carried out by the Global Returns Project and their Portfolio Partners.

Learn more

Regulated by the FCA

Leading Edge Wealth Planning is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority registration number (972596). The FCA ensures that financial advice is honest, fair and effective so that consumers get a fair deal as part of a stringently regulated system.

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