Tomorrow’s investors to focus on values at Merrill Lynch event

The Bank of America’s wealth management arm, Merrill Lynch, has set ‘investing and values’ as the theme to this year’s edition of its annual Global Investing Programme.

The programme sees a group of 50 ultra-high net-worth individuals from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, all of whom are between 18-25 years old, congregate in London to discuss investing, philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.

The 2011 event focused on charitable giving, but this year’s instalment will look to highlight the many ways in which values can be integrated into investment portfolios, without sacrificing returns.

“Our clients attach great value to equipping their sons and daughters with a good understanding of the processes and disciplines of successful investing, making them better informed about managing their wealth in the future”, said David Jervis, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa wealth management at Merrill Lynch.

“The Global Investing Programme provides participants with that important foundation, in addition to giving them insight into philanthropic involvement, corporate responsibility and socially responsible investing.”

The World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, which looks to “provide youth with a global platform to shape the future”, is set to host one section of the event, which lasts for five days and is being held at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Financial Centre in London.

The increased focus on sustainable, values-centred investment for the Global Investing Programme is the latest in an encouraging line of similar shifts in the mainstream banking and wealth management sector.

Last month, Merrill Lynch’s parent company, the Bank of America, unveiled a $50 billion (£32 billion), ten-year business strategy to finance environmental and sustainable projects in an attempt to help achieve a low-carbon economy.

Goldman Sachs announced a similarly positive investment agenda in May, whilst Morgan Stanley said in April that it was planning on launching a platform that allowed customers to incorporate personal values into their investment portfolio.

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Further reading:

Bank of America pledges $50 billion worth of sustainable investments

Goldman Sachs targets multi-billion clean energy investments

Out for redemption: Morgan Stanley looks to values-driven investments