Growing wealth and doing good can co-exist, says former property tycoon’s heiress
Applying environmental, social and governance principles when creating an investment portfolio is alien to most people in Hong Kong – but the practice has a strong following elsewhere
In Hong Kong, few investors, big or small, have thrown themselves deep into the emerging and uncharted business of sustainable investing, which aims to do some good for society and the world besides making a return; Annie Chen is one of them.
Chen, the youngest daughter of Thomas Chen Tseng-tao, the former chairman of Hong Kong property developer Hang Lung Group, has scratched beyond the surface of investments with sustainable and responsible investment themes.
She embraced what is known as the “total portfolio” approach, which completely immerses her capital into investments that meet her sustainability criteria and impact objectives, and generate financial returns to support philanthropy grants every year.
The “transformation” of her personal fortune carved out from that of her family after a restructuring of her family’s assets took seven years, and the journey has not been an easy one due to the local “under-developed impact investing ecosystem”, she said.
It meant she had to enlist the help of professional impact investing advisors from Europe and the United States, and learn the tricks of the trade through intensive research and by attending philanthropy and family office conferences.