The outbreak of the epidemic has made the concept of sustainable development more popular and become the general trend of investment. Lu Zijie, head of wealth management at UBS in China, believes that having a broader, longer-term perspective is an advantage for women in the economic field. So why are women more interested in sustainable investing? What should a sustainable portfolio strategy focus on? Lv shared her insights in an interview with Lohas magazine's 100 Women of Excellence for a Sustainable World.

Lohas is a magazine that focuses on ecology and sustainability. In December 2020, the magazine interviewed 100 women from all walks of life who are committed to the cause of sustainable investment. Ms. Lu Zijie was honored to be one of them, and talked about her ideas on the influence of women in sustainable investment and the trend of sustainable investment.

Below is the full transcript of the interview

UBS, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is the first large financial institution in the world to recommend Sustainable Investment -- ESG, or Environmental, Social & Governance -- as the preferred option for private clients. With more than 30 years of experience in wealth management as head and group managing director of the group's wealth management practice in China, Ms Lu is clearly a trusted banker.

This feeling of trustworthiness is also reflected in the conversation with her -- extremely patient, listening carefully to each other's questions, words convey affinity. We are the most different is that, as a female bankers, most of her viewpoint are thinking instruments can really care to the people, which is not only a simple economic returns, she is more like a "family participants", put yourself in their human and help people to find their risk, realize the rapid and effective development.

"Women's education is generally more international now, especially young Chinese women, and they are very open to new ideas very quickly. In terms of needs in life or work, we find that women focus on other aspects besides their own development. For example, women naturally pay more attention than men to the life environment, quality, and various factors that influence the growth of the next generation, but what needs are different from person to person, and men will be more focused in the process of achieving goals. This is an important reason why women are more interested in sustainable investing." Lv, empathizing with a recent survey by UBS, said she believes women also offer a broader, longer-term perspective when making investment advice or decisions.

In terms of specific portfolio strategies, Lv Zijie gave some suggestions to focus on green bonds. She noted that the 14th Five-Year Plan focuses on innovation, openness and promoting a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and promises to be carbon neutral by 2060. New energy future based on green economy gestates great investment opportunities, from the upstream equipment production, such as solar photovoltaic (pv), to the downstream energy use, such as new energy steam ⻋, charging pile and the entire supply chain, is expected to remain high speed growth in the future.

Healthcare and infrastructure are also areas of emphasis for Lv. Most of Asia is a developing country, which is greatly affected by the climate. For India, Southeast Asia and other regions heavily dependent on water, building social fundamentals through financial leverage is an important means to ensure the sound and healthy development of the society.

When it comes to why sustainable investment become the big trend, Lv Zijie insisted, sustainable development has a long history in ubs, become a socially responsible organization is also one of ubs, strong corporate culture, but also for more than 150 years as a leading global wealth manager of solid foundation, ubs's sustainable development itself is a green returns exciting show. And the outbreak was just a catalyst. It brought a lot of people, especially entrepreneurs, back to their families and their lives, and they found that everything they had built was fragile, and that helped them open up a wider area of concern. At the same time, gradual regulatory support at the government and social level is also an important reason, which also involves the listing or succession of many private clients. The UBS wealth management team, which has 15 years of experience in sustainable portfolio, can provide many professional perspectives.

UBS Wealth Management's core sustainable Investment assets are nearly $500 billion. In its CIO (Chief Investment Office), which is composed of 200 Investment analysts, UBS Wealth Management has a team dedicated to sustainable Investment. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), the most widely recognized sustainability rating index, has been recognized as an industry leader for six consecutive years.

However, as a financial the helm of the carriage, Lv Zijie 12 years ago began to lead the team to those who hold important asset to promote the sustainable idea of private clients, but is not that yifan ⻛ shun. "The response from the guests was not that great," she said. "There are still many areas that can be developed by bridging the funding gap under the UN SDG17 targets. But the breakdown was vague for everyone at the time, which made Impact difficult to measure and ESG investment a broader concept for those who wanted to get in."

During the third quarter, UBS Asset Management launched a range of specific investment strategies, including equity and fixed income as well as active and passive investment strategies. They will be included in most portfolios. The strategies will build on UBS's innovative Climate Aware framework for its asset management business, which aims to help clients reduce the carbon footprint of their investments.

ESG investing is part of Sustainable Investing and will be a major consideration for future investing. Over the next five years, key environmental factors, such as the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, will have a greater impact on their investments than financial factors.

In general, ESG investment was an early starter abroad, but in China, the concept is still in its infancy, with only a handful of companies focusing on sustainability. When it comes to whether future sustainable investing can be a specification, Lv Zijie said that although the industry also need to take some time, but as time goes on, sustainable investment not only bring financial gains for investors, also help them has a positive impact on society, a lucrative long-term returns has been gradually revealed.