Affinity - Leadership in Sustainable Finance, Investment Management

At Affinity we have been dedicated to responsible and sustainable investing since 2018, and we entered the third Sustainable Finance Awards in the Investment Management category to reflect this long-standing commitment. We believe these awards offer a valuable opportunity to demonstrate how we can contribute towards a more sustainable future; using thoughtful investment practice to align clients’ values with their wealth.

As UN PRI signatories we integrate environmental, social, and governance factors into all investment decisions. We also scrutinise the culture of the firms we invest with, which we believe goes hand in hand with performance over the long-term. These policies and approaches are among the requirements underpinning our Responsible strategies.

With our Sustainable strategies we aim to mobilise capital towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, allocating across eight SDG-aligned themes, largely utilising SFDR Article 9 funds (reporting impact) in our portfolios. We have just completed the sixth edition of our own annual impact report, providing investors with insight into their contributions towards the UN SDGs, outlining fund managers’ engagement with underlying companies and highlighting credible metrics to quantify impact.

As a regulated business, we collect and present audited financial and sustainability metrics annually, and in 2024 we partnered with Clarity AI, a leading ESG data analytics platform. This AI-enabled technology gives us greater insight into our holdings and metrics, and helps ensure we comply with the EU Taxonomy framework for our UCITS fund. Meanwhile, in our 2024 audit, we were pleased to be recognised for strengthening our governance structures, particularly improvements to our Responsible Investment Policy and Exclusions Framework.

We also believe in sharing best practices and helping to build green skills within the island. In 2024, we partnered with Highlands College and Eco Active to sponsor and deliver a series of carbon-literacy courses, including a presentation on sustainable finance and the positive impact of capital allocated for good. Accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project®, these courses empower participants to promote decarbonisation at individual, industry and community levels, building knowledge and commitments towards sustainability.

As part of the Government of Jersey’s Sustainable Finance SteerCo working group, we have been contributing to the development of Jersey’s newly launched Sustainable Finance Action Plan, and look forward to further helping to build Jersey’s reputation for sustainable finance.

For the fourth successive year, we offset our carbon footprint through Durrell’s ReWild Carbon programme, achieving ‘Climate Positive’. We continue to share fees from our sustainable strategies with Durrell – supporting their conservation mission – and in 2024 we reached a milestone of £100k in donations since beginning our partnership.

We are very proud to have won this award for the third time. It is rewarding to showcase our team’s hard work, and to be recognised for the ‘dark green’ approach we have continued to uphold. While the sustainable investing space has faced many challenges in recent years, we believe this only makes it more important that we maintain our high standards and commitment.