Bringing biodiversity investing to the attention of UK pension funds

Biodiversity and natural capital were emerging themes in institutional portfolios, yet many pension funds lacked clarity on available investment opportunities. Gresham House commissioned research to understand how UK pension funds viewed biodiversity investment while bringing its natural capital expertise to the attention of institutional investors.

Results in brief

• 18 articles published across institutional investor media

• 409,000 audience reach across pensions, financial and impact titles

• 19,900 article reads demonstrating strong engagement

The challenge

Gresham House, a specialist alternative asset manager listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), commissioned a report examining the attitudes of the largest UK pension funds towards biodiversity investments.

At the time, the prevailing perception among this group of institutional investors was that limited investment opportunities in biodiversity and natural capital had effectively kept them locked out of the market.

The research aimed both to understand where UK asset owners were in their journey towards incorporating biodiversity and natural capital into portfolios, and to highlight Gresham House’s expertise in managing natural capital assets and impact investments to pension fund investors.

The outcome

The campaign brought significant media and institutional investor attention to the topic of biodiversity investment and to Gresham House’s natural capital capabilities.

The research was featured across a range of pensions, financial and sustainable investment publications, helping to frame biodiversity investment as an emerging theme for institutional portfolios.

Coverage included leading institutional titles alongside specialist sustainable investment titles. Media results included:

• Investment & Pensions Europe

• Pensions & Investments

• Professional Pensions

• Pensions Age

• ESG Investor

• Environmental Finance

Estimated media value

Across 18 articles in the institutional investor publications, the estimated advertising value equivalent (AVE) is $250,000. This estimate is based on typical advertising rates for institutional investment publications including pensions, sustainable finance and financial services media.