Netflix’s latest results shocked the market. A growth darling suddenly stopped growing and was shedding subscribers. The stock tumbled ~40% on the day and the WHEB team took note. None of the ‘FAANGS’ are within our sustainability-driven investment universe as we do not consider them to be positive impact stocks, but our investment strategy is very much geared towards growth.

One stock came to mind after the Netflix news: HelloFresh, the meal kit provider. It is one of our worst performers so far this year, having shed almost 60% of its peak value since early December – all while still reporting substantial subscriber growth and record revenues.  We receive a lot of questions about this holding so we want to remind our investors why we are holding it and despite the painful short-term performance, why we believe it will be a positive contributor to our strategy in the long-term. Read more …

Clean and efficient energy is our greatest weapon against Russian autocracy

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been met with an unprecedented display of economic force. Russian assets have been frozen, preventing $630bn of foreign currency reserves from being used to fund its war machine[1]. Russian banks have been blocked from the international finance system SWIFT, paralysing the country’s ability to conduct international trade. Russian individuals and businesses have been hit with asset freezes and other sanctions to choke support for Putin’s war.

In the short-term, these are powerful tools to ‘fight’ the war in Ukraine (without actually fighting the war in Ukraine). But over the long term, the greatest lever we have against runaway Russian power may be to weaponise power itself. Read more …

Ageing and care homes

The world is ageing. While this is a global phenomenon, it is a particular feature of European countries. In the year 2000, for example, less than 16% of the French population was over 65 years of age.[1] By 2020 this figure was over 20%. On current trends, by 2050, one in four people in France will be over 65.[2]

The vast majority of these people will be able to live their lives happily in their own homes and communities. A significant proportion, however, need specialist care.  Read more …

The dramatic growth in ESG and sustainable investing over the past few years is now well documented. What was once a sleepy backwater of the financial industry is now very much in the limelight. Read more …

The last few years have caused so much pause for thought it’s often overwhelming. COVID, #metoo, the climate crisis, Black Lives Matter protests, and now war in Ukraine have all laid bare deep and continuing societal inequalities. Many of those that exist today are already well known. Some are less visible. Read more …

WHEB is a partnership and a B Corporation and determined to build value for clients through positive impact investments over the long term. In our view, the investment funds industry, and specifically consultants and intermediaries don’t always spend enough time analysing and discussing fund managers’ capacity when analysing and selecting investment funds. Much time and energy is spent on analysing fees, whereas the mismanagement of capacity can represent a greater risk to client outcomes.  Read more …

Stock markets ended the first month of the new year with heavy losses. Beyond the overall losses, this has also been an extremely volatile period with significant intra-day swings. The main concern stems from inflation. In December it hit 7% in the US, the highest level seen since 1982. Read more …

After the emotional scenes nearly two months ago at the end of COP26, has a bit of distance provided any more perspective on the outcomes? Read more …

President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda has reignited the debate about drug pricing. Arguments generally fall into two camps. On the one hand is concern about the increasing burden of health care costs. On the other hand, are arguments that drug prices are needed to support innovation and recoup the high cost of failures.

For impact investors, this is an important issue. Read more …

Climate change has become such an all-encompassing threat, that most other environmental concerns have been left in its shadow. The decline in biodiversity is one such issue that rarely receives the attention that it deserves. Read more …