The BGL BNP Paribas Banque Privée “Meet the Experts” lecture series, inaugurated in 2012, gives clients an opportunity to meet with specialists from the BNP Paribas Group and get answers to questions on a variety of wealth management topics.

Following lectures on art, real estate, sovereign debt, interest rates, philanthropy and family offices, the latest event deals with socially responsible investing (SRI). Eléonore Bedel, Head of SRI and Impact Investing at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, will explain how SRI empowers responsible investors through a blend of civic engagement and financial performance.

Speaking at the press conference on the topic, Ms Bedel commented: “Investors have the power to influence key issues such as poverty, inequality, exclusion, pollution, climate change and natural resource depletion. Investing carries responsibility, but it also offers a great way to address these major challenges by shaping our future society. SRI allows you to grow your assets while helping to build a more responsible, more sustainable and fairer world”.

The BNP Paribas Group has a long history of supporting solidarity, health and culture programmes through its corporate foundation. Its efforts in the area of social and environmental responsibility have been recognised by sustainability rating agencies, which routinely rank BNP Paribas among the banking industry's top performers. On the strength of these performances, BNP Paribas has featured in the world’s main SRI indices for over seven years.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s SRI and Impact Investing range, rolled out in 2006, relies on a strategy combining open architecture selection, expertise and innovation. Assets invested in SRI and Impact Investing by BNP Paribas Wealth Management clients have grown 50 per cent annually since 2010 and now stand at €7 billion. Investments span a wide range of sectors, from energy efficiency to water treatment and microfinance.