About us
From Spaceship Earth to Blue Planet
If you’re like us, then you probably didn’t come to responsible investing overnight.
Instead of a ‘Eureka!’ moment, it’s been a gradual realisation that preparing for our own future goes hand-in-hand with protecting the planet and the people who live on it.
Starting with Kenneth Boulding’s landmark essay The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth (which introduced the concept of the ‘spaceman economy’ – that the world doesn’t have unlimited resources),and more recently the acclaimed David Attenborough documentary, Blue Planet, we’ve become more aware at just how much economic growth and the environment are interlinked.
Investors can lead the change
So why ESG investing? We’ve seen just how big an impact human (and corporate) behaviour has on the world.
And, we’ve also seen that investors can be at the forefront of this change.
In fact, shareholders pooling their capital and acting as one can be the most effective form of protest. This can be voting on company resolutions, investing in companies that are doing good, or selling their shares in companies that are now out of touch.
Put simply, money talks. In South Africa, one of the key influences on stopping apartheid was when international banks began turning off finance to the government. More recently, investor pressure of some of the world’s biggest oil companies has led them to change their tune on issues like climate change.
Our purpose
We want to create a better world.
For you as our client, this means helping you achieve your financial and sustainability goals. Growing your wealth and investing your money responsibly and sustainably.
But it’s also important for us to live by our own values. We want to be a company that is mindful of its own environmental, social and governance responsibilities. This includes the charitable side of our business, and we donate over 1% of our company profits to charitable causes.
This includes membership of Shropshire Wildlife Trust, a local charity that focuses on nature conservation along with solutions to deal with climate change. They also work to connect people with nature and with mental health.
Alasdair Coutts-Britton
Alasdair has a strong track record in financial planning, investments, pensions and retirement advice and inheritance tax mitigation. He lives near the English/Welsh border with his family, moving there more than a decade ago after 10 years working in the City of London. Prior to his career in financial services, he was a captain in the Queen’s Royal Lancers.
He is a diploma member of the Personal Finance Society and Chartered Insurance Institute. He also holds the Award in Pension Transfers from The Institute of Financial Services. He is a graduate of the University of London and The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Alasdair is a keen skier and also enjoys the beaches of North Wales, Devon and Cornwall where he’s recently taken up surfing and paddleboarding.
He also supported people during the pandemic by becoming a Covid Vaccination Steward volunteer with The Royal Voluntary Service.