Geneva is at the heart of the sustainable finance revolution

25.05.2021

Ms. de Joncaire, your portal «allnews» and the daily newsletters are almost required reading in the funds industry in the financial centre of Geneva and in French-speaking Switzerland. How have you managed this?

When we launched the platform in 2018, we had identified a gap for financial news and content in French-speaking Switzerland. The Geneva finance hub - banks, asset managers, independent wealth managers, pension funds, family offices and so on - did not have a place to express their views and be heard. With hindsight, it seems that we were correct. Today, over 1,000 institutions contribute to our platform in one way or another and our readership is increasing steadily. For our partners, online free access to content is key. They know that their voice will be heard anywhere and at any time without restrictions. Furthermore, the Covid crisis has emphasised the role of online media. Online articles, podcasts, videos, webinars and other digital tools for exchanging views have now become the norm and, as an exclusively online media, we have greatly benefitted from the trend.

Geneva is one of the world’s most important private banking locations. How dynamic is the funds business?

In Geneva and the Leman area, the fund business is doing very well indeed. We are at the beginning of a new era in finance and, with privileged relationship to the United Nations, Geneva is at the heart of the sustainable finance revolution. To quote Sustainable Finance Geneva, «Geneva is uniquely positioned to address the urgent challenges crystallised around the UN’s 17 SDGs, thanks to its one-of-a-kind ecosystem: a global financial centre, combined with a hub for multilateral diplomacy, world-class universities and forward-looking policy-makers». With many talents based here in Geneva, asset managers find both the guidelines for tomorrow’s investment practices and a solid client base for their ESG products.

Do you also see new trends that you can cover journalistically?

Yes. ESG is of course a major trend but other topics have risen to the surface. Alternative investments such as private equity, private debt, real estate, or infrastructure, are on the rise. So are thematic investments. We are convinced that the pandemic crisis has reshaped the way in which people invest and the aftermath will reshape it even further. It is also worth noticing that pressing climate issues need solutions and that the finance sector is willing to be part of these solutions. Furthermore, the local fintech and green fintech industry is blooming and new ideas and concepts are born every day. Even if the Libra (now Diem) project is leaving Geneva, blockchain and crypto assets also offer endless topics for coverage. And this is just the tip of the iceberg…

Do you also look at the other two Swiss financial centres: Zurich and Lugano?

We pay a lot of attention to Zurich as we work closely with a large number of Zurich based institutions. On the other hand, we do not pay sufficient attention to Lugano. Definitely an area where we need to make progress.

Does your company still have growth plans or are you satisfied with what you have achieved?

We are only young, just three years old! So yes, we have growth plans: extend our coverage, extend the tools that we use, hire new resources, and mostly, offer new products and solutions to our partners. This is just the beginning.

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