Sustainability

Sustainability is undeniably a major topic. This subject is global in scope and affects all aspects of our lives, including the economy.

Since the adoption, by the European Union, of the taxonomy integrating ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria, the subject of sustainable economy is even more at the forefront than before.

These ESG criteria are supposed to make it possible to classify investments into three types of investment:

• Article 9 - The objective of the financial product is sustainable;
• Article 8 - The financial product promotes environmental or social characteristics and provided by a company applying good governance practices;
• Article 6 - The financial product does not meet these criteria.

The subject is on everyone's mind at Pure Capital but at the moment the decision has been taken not to take into consideration the negative impact of investment decisions on sustainability factors.

The first reason is that despite the noble objective pursued by the regulation, they do not include objective criteria as to the classification to be given to an investment.

Many visions collide as to the criteria to be taken into account as well as their interpretation.

The example of an electric car manufacturer can perfectly illustrate the different approaches. This investment can be considered to have a sustainable objective, the design of cars that do not emit carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases. From another angle of approach, importance will be given to the extremely polluting production of the various components of electric cars. Two diametrically opposed visions which highlight the need for the legislator to set objective classification criteria.

This lack of objective criteria is also at the root of the greenwashing phenomenon that has invaded the financial center in recent years. By not having to follow objective, quantified or precise criteria, many investments have been included as article 8 or 9 and have proved, after analysis, not to meet the expectations of investors in terms of ESG.

The second reason that motivated Pure Capital's decision not to implement ESG criteria in our management is based on our values. We are firmly convinced that the challenge of sustainability goes well beyond these still vague criteria.

The sustainability challenge is vast and sprawling. It requires clear and precise measures by national and European legislators, a long-term plan that would require strong political action, ambitious plans to support research and the development of new technologies (nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, biofuels , carbon recovery plants, etc.).

These are the values ​​and ideas that we want to highlight in our investment policy. We do not want to limit ourselves to ESG criteria but we want a long-term policy that is authentic, honest, transparent and independent.