RBC Wealth Management have outlined their sustainable and ethical investment strategy in a conversation with Private Banker International.

The aggressively expanding Canadian bank took time to explain how they had developed an understanding of the spectrum of client needs when looking at sustainable investing and how the strategy was now applicable to a broad spectrum of clients needs.

In addition the bank said it was set to take on a sustainability specialist in the coming weeks to invest according to these principals.

Speaking to Private Banker International Nicholas Reid, head of charities for RBC Wealth Management believed that sustainable was more than just looking at sectors like tobacco and armaments in a way that excluded them from the portfolio. "Sustainable has tried to move it forwards, it is trying to move this into saying that it should be more mainstream," he said.

The bank believes the industry should become aware of where all of their clients sat in a spectrum of ethical investing from ‘making money at all costs’ to philanthropic giving.

George King, head of portfolio strategy for RBC Wealth Management, said: "Sustainability as a theme has evolved dramatically over the past decade, as have the methods of implementation within an investment portfolio.

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Because of this, investors need to understand where they sit on the spectrum of sustainable investing. As they increasingly look to invest in a way that reflects their view of the world, it is essential for them to understand the wide variety of portfolio construction approaches available to them."

According to the bank this is becoming an issue to the up and coming generation of wealthy investors. "It’s much higher up their agenda , they get a daily diet of it," said Reid."they will be the custodians of investments, the decision makers of the future, "he continued.

The new sustainability model the bank said was not just around ethical issues but also what companies were doing for their environment and in terms of social responsibility.

It could involve companies like BP or Shell who may perhaps have not been traditionally a part of an ethical programme of investments but due to investing in new technologies could well form a part of a new sustainable model.