Episode S1E1: IntERVIEW OF Seb beloe, Head of research and partner
Doing ESG and investment is not dull. Live-to-tape interview with Seb Beloe , Partner – Head of Research, WHEB Asset Management by Graham Sinclair, our first ever interview episode of ESG and Coffee Podcast. PHOTOCREDIT: ESG and Coffee Podcast, 2021.
OUR GUEST in S1E1: Seb Beloe, Partner – Head of Research, WHEB Asset Management.
I am pleased to welcome to the ESG and Coffee Podcast for our very first interview one of the originals making ESG+ investment happen, Seb Beloe, Partner – Head of Research, WHEB Asset Management. Please check below the episode note for more on @SebBeloe and on see him on @LinkedIn described as: “Environmentalist. Investor. Partner and Head of Research @WHEBSustainable.”
HOW WE MET: I first met Seb when he was working in the City of London for a major investment brand in mid 2000s, and I was still at KLD Research & Analytics (now part of MSCI ESG but you can still find Wharton linking back to the old site and logo!). Seb was working with Nick Robins and Mark Campanale.
You can hear the quality of his experience in the clarity of his answers.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: You’ll hear Seb recalibrating live on the need to move from “low carbon” to zero carbon, why WHEB does not have a single answer to “what is your carbon price?”, why WHEB does not invest in FANGs [Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Google], and the WHEB “impact calculator” that tries to make tangible to investors the math of their investments and the impact of their portfolio company operating in nature and society.
Seb introduces me to his legend, Jeremy Leggett, tries to have me reconsider a food kit service he’s invested in, and what “over-egged” means(!). If you are looking to enter the field of sustainability and investment, Seb wants you to be passionate, keep your standards high, and don’t settle for greenwashing. It’s real.
Listen for all the experience that Seb shares. He’s one of The Originals.
S1E1 SHOW NOTES
Good Time To Be A Girl by Dame Helena Morrissey, FT reviewed by Helen Barrett here https://www.ft.com/content/ce7438e8-075a-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5
WHEB overview https://www.whebgroup.com/about-us/overview/
WHEB advisory committee https://www.whebgroup.com/about-us/advisory-committee/
WHEB philosophy https://www.whebgroup.com/about-us/philosophy/
WHEB Responsible Investment policy - overseen by Seb Beloe. https://www.whebgroup.com/media/2018/02/20180301-RI-Policy.pdf
Impact Management Project https://impactmanagementproject.com/impact-management/practitioner-community/
@SebBeloe “In 2020, U.S. renewable energy consumption surpasses coal for the first time in over 130 years. Pretty momentous.” https://twitter.com/SebBeloe/status/1356533709676101632?s=20
WHEB factsheet https://www.whebgroup.com/media/2021/03/20210302-WHEB-Factsheet.pdf
Portfolio Holdings FP WHEB Sustainability Fund https://www.whebgroup.com/media/2021/03/20210310-Portfolio-Holdings-1.pdf
Book “Quality Investing” by Lawrence A. Cunningham, Torkell Eide, and Patrick Hargreaves at AKO Capital Management https://www.akocapital.com/quality-investing/
Australian distributor Pengana Capital clip - Impact Claculator https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJsJ_OaeVpw&list=PLwNlzJLpzBM3l5Bh1X-1f9LQY45YERXAW&index=2
Jeremy Leggett https://jeremyleggett.net/
Quarterly WHEB fund reports and annual impact report video. https://www.whebgroup.com/news-views/videos/
@SebBeloe tweet on 2020 Impact Report: “Latest impact report from @WHEBsustainable covering our approach to #impactinvesting, updates to the impact calculator, #carbonfootprint and more.” https://twitter.com/SebBeloe/status/1410224893992521738?s=20
SELECTED HIGHPOINTS FROM S1E1
1. “WHEB Asset Management is a positive impact investor focused on the opportunities created by the transition to a low carbon and sustainable global economy...single global equity strategy...tested across market cycles...owner managed partnership that is incentivised to take long-term decisions [5yrs].” WHEB is hiring, and will be again soon. Maybe you should watch Seb’s fav investment movie before your interview?!
2. WHEB uses the external accountability check of using an “independent Investment Advisory Committee meets three times a year...review the fund’s holdings and ensure that they meet with both the spirit and the letter of the fund’s sustainability criteria.” The Committee cannot overrule investment decisions, but they do weigh and an change the process. They even get paid more than coffee money for their expertise nowadays!
3. The WHEB investment “strategy of the fund is built around sustainability, growth, quality and valuation.” WHEB is categorized as “Article 9” in the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure regime - all in on sustainability. The new EU sustainability marketing regulation forces investment professionals to make decisions on how much/little they will present as sustainability positive and ESG integrated. Seb explains how biodiversity in investment is just getting started, similar to where carbon (climate pollution) was 15 years ago.
4. PORTFOLIO NAMES: Hello Fresh SE. Seb argues for healthful eating option generating least food waste. Daikin Industries. We explore air conditioner-privileged humans, and Seb suggests flipping that narrative. (DISCLAIMER: No part of this series constitutes an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities mentioned or discussed. Do your own investment research and make up your own mind).
CURIOSITY: I did not expect Seb’s answers on the WHEB approach to price of climate pollution (CO2e/tonne) [not] being pulled through from portfolio companies. I encourage WHEB to be more directive with portfolio companies on making clear their carbon pricing, and to track their head office CO2e/tonne. What do you think?
ON GREENWASHING AND TESLA: Seb agrees that greenwashing is a problem for the investment industry and WHEB as pure-play sustainability investment shop. He says Tesla (Nasdaq: $TSLA) is either too high or too low, before making the investment case for battery electric vehicle components companies.
Thank you for listening.
Please follow on Twitter @ESGandCoffee for news on S1E2 and to recommend any compelling humans we may interview in Season 1: The Originals.
GS | @esgarchitect