Fintech PR

Cushon launches the world’s first Net Zero pension

Published

3 years ago

January 19, 2021

Cushon, the fintech workplace savings disrupter, today announces the launch of the world’s first net zero pension.

The launch responds to growing demand from employees who are increasingly concerned about the impact of their pensions on climate change. Recent research from Cushon^[1] showed that 68.6% of employees are concerned that their company pension could be investing in businesses that are contributing to the climate crisis. 87.9% of employees want their employer to take action to address this, for instance moving to a pension provider that’s making a positive impact on climate change (39.8%).

Choosing to use a climate-friendly pension provider is an easy way for businesses to significantly reduce their employees’ contribution to global warming. Cushon’s Net Zero pension will enable employers to help their people contribute to the deceleration of climate change quickly, easily and meaningfully via the choices they make for their company pension. In so doing, they will help to protect our environment and align towards the Paris Climate Agreement and a 1.5 degree world.

Cushon’s pension is the first of its kind in that it is Net Zero now – not later – unlike competitors in the market adopting long-reaching targets to achieve the same status by 2030 or even 2050.

Each year, the average UK pension member unknowingly finances 23 tonnes of CO2 emissions^[2] through the businesses their pension invests in. That’s the equivalent of running either nine family cars each year, using 940 gas propane cylinders, or burning 1,100 coal fires annually, simply as a by-product of saving for retirement. Investors would need to recycle for 19 years, or plant 30 acres of new forest to counteract these effects.^[3]

While there are a number of pension investment funds claiming to be socially responsible, these funds often come with higher charges and are still a long way away from being net zero – a target set by the UK Government to be met by 2050. Cushon’s pension is Net Zero right from the get-go.

A big plus for employers is that a move to a Net Zero pension would also increase employee engagement rates. Cushon’s research shows that 62.4%[4] would engage more with their pension if they knew it was making a positive impact on climate change. To further boost engagement, Cushon is also launching a new app which allows members to see all their pensions, other savings and investments in one place. It’s fully transactional, and employees can change contributions and transfer in other pension and investment pots.

Commenting on the launch, Ben Pollard, Founder & CEO, Cushon, said: “At Cushon, we know that people want their retirement savings to help tackle climate change without sacrificing returns. We wanted to find a very real way of making this work by delivering a pension that is Net Zero now. By choosing a Net Zero pension, employers are helping their employees have a direct and significant impact on climate change. The demand that we have already seen for our Net Zero pension is testament to this and we are now working towards being able to offer the same philosophy through our other product offerings. We’re so excited to be able to bring all of these products together so that our customers can see and manage all their investments together in an intuitive and engaging user interface.

“The idea of Net Zero investing is shamefully poorly developed within the fund management industry. We work with three of the largest fund managers in the world, and only one of them was even able to tell us the CO2 emission levels of their funds. To ensure there is no impact on returns, having reduced the emissions financed by the funds as far as possible via solutions that are currently available ‘off the shelf’ from our fund managers, Cushon is paying to offset any residual emissions out of the company’s own money. We have worked with Vertree to select a range of Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) projects, with 75% of projects being triple, double or single gold rated under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard.”

Supporting the launch, Richard Curtis, Co-Founder of Make My Money Matter, said: “The launch of a pension that is net zero now – not later – shows what is possible from the pensions industry when tackling the climate emergency is taken seriously. This new pension, with robust sustainability credentials, will be the first of its kind and so we are delighted to partner with Cushon as they continue to integrate environmental criteria across the board.

“This is the kind of leadership that the pension industry – and world – needs in the years ahead as we look to transition to a green economy post Covid-19. With COP26 taking place in Glasgow next year, all eyes are set to be on the UK and its environmental credentials, so it is great to have firms like Cushon taking concrete steps to address the climate crisis, which should hopefully incentivise more providers across the industry to follow suit.”

Related Topics:Ben Pollard Cushon latest-news Richard Curtis

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Fintech PR

Amerocap preparing substantial investments in magnesium and critical mineral development in the US and Europe

Published

1 hour ago

November 28, 2023

CISION (PR Newswire)

LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Amerocap, a US-UK private equity investor focused on energy and minerals globally, will ramp up its investments into critical minerals in 2024. Amerocap’s critical minerals platform is Verde Magnesium LLC which is investing across the metallic magnesium value chain: R&D, mining, processing, and metallic production. Verde Magnesium, with its world-class project team is developing a portfolio of projects in North America, Europe and Asia, with a goal of reaching FID on at least 2 fully integrated projects in the next two years. Our flagship magnesium project in Romania has an accelerated investment program for 2024-2026 and was included in the investment pipeline of EU’s European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). The project has commercial partnerships with global automotive and aluminum industrial groups with combined revenues of over $500 billion. Verde Magnesium is reviewing up to $3 billion of investments and up to 200 kt per year of metallic magnesium capacity globally.

Bernd Martens, Chairman of Verde Magnesium and former Board Member and Head of Procurement for Audi AG, mentions that “China is producing the vast majority of many critical minerals required for the net zero transition. Compounding this supply concentration is China’s own surge in domestic demand of such minerals, which will reduce China’s essential net exports. Only a few decades ago, Western economies were the largest producers of metals in the world; but today that capacity, know-how and political will for mining and processing is gone. Verde Magnesium is a future catalyst of an industrial redevelopment that will offer reliable and sustainable supply and technological know-how for the EU and the US”.

Amerocap is well positioned to support this development, having successfully built multiple investment platforms in energy production and infrastructure, from the UK North Sea, where over $1.5 billion in transactions were completed, to Amerocap’s latest platform in Samos Energy, which aims to deploy over $1 billion in energy investments in Asia and Africa. Samos completed its first investment in July, acquiring the floating energy infrastructure business of BlackRock and Petrofac, whose portfolio covers Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia and is seeking further growth in infrastructure, with the highest HSE standards.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/amerocap-preparing-substantial-investments-in-magnesium-and-critical-mineral-development-in-the-us-and-europe-301999804.html

Fintech PR

Abu Dhabi’s Rapidly Changing Investment Landscape Debated at the Second Edition of “Asset Abu Dhabi” Hosted at ADFW 2023

Published

1 hour ago

November 28, 2023

CISION (PR Newswire)

Ray Dalio took the stage at Asset Abu Dhabi and praised the Falcon Economies of the GCC region as ‘Renaissance States’.
Ahead of COP28, during the special session of ‘The rise of the falcon economy’, notable economic leaders like Dr. Nasser Saidi called for the establishment of a ‘climate bank’.
Fadi Ghandour, Executive Chairman of Wamda Capital emphasised increasing regional capital deployment by SWFs into major infrastructure and tech projects

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) presented by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) progressed into its next key conference today, conducting the 2023 edition of Asset Abu Dhabi. The event hosted a selective group of investment market leadership, who gathered at ADFW to analyse the evolving investment strategies of hedge funds, private equity houses, venture capital giants and family offices across the global markets, explore returns from evolving asset classes and investment frontiers, responses to inflationary pressures, and observe on the future and prospects of regional and global economies amid the current transition era.

Asset Abu Dhabi 2023 organised with theme partners, Mubadala and BTG Pactual, showcased a line-up of some of the strongest global private market leaders, hosting thousands of senior investors from 100+ countries, from the investment and financial industry who collectively manage more than USD 30 trillion of assets. The list of top financial investment institutions that attended the conference included top names such as Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon, Goldman Sachs, Brevan Howard and Franklin Templeton amongst others.

Asset Abu Dhabi started with a special opening session led by Ruchir Sharma, the Chairman of Rockefeller International, who presented his analysis of key political, economic, technological and social signals that shape a nation’s future. Diving into the principle of wealth management, Jenny Johnson the President and CEO of Franklin Templeton spoke insightfully on the utility of technology to rising asset classes, sustainable investing, and interpreting changing global markets.

The rise of the Falcon Economy remains a major focus of Asset Abu Dhabi and ADFW to explore the drivers of the ongoing growth of the UAE and other regional economies and shed light on government plans, policies and efforts to realize long-term economic visions.

Other key sessions included a unique conversation on ‘The Keys to Managing Money & Risk’ between George Osborne the former UK Chancellor and Alan Howard the founder of Brevan Howard, and a special roundtable focused on ‘Forecast to 2030’ with the Chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing and C-suites of Goldman Sachs, Circle and Tikehau Capital.

Salem Mohammed Al Darei, CEO of ADGM Authority said, “With ADGM as a home to a global collection of asset managers, Abu Dhabi Finance Week continues to be a pivotal platform for them through Asset Abu Dhabi to share insights and chart the course for the ever-evolving world of investment. The 2023 edition of Asset Abu Dhabi not only offers a unique opportunity to analyse the rapidly shifting investment landscape but also showcases the next era of digital assets and provides invaluable guidance on the prospects of regional and global economies within the transition era. With a stellar lineup of global private market leaders and senior investors representing a staggering USD 30 trillion in assets under management, Asset Abu Dhabi exemplifies ADGM’s commitment to fostering collaboration and innovation in the financial industry.”

Abu Dhabi has become a destination of choice for global asset and fund management entities as the numbers have been growing drastically in the past few years while ADGM is also experiencing remarkable growth in the asset management sector reflecting 52% growth in Q3, compared to the same period last year.

The conference hosted two other events. The International Family Office Congress 2023 was organised in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Chamber, Abu Dhabi IPO Fund and Emirates Family Office Association, in addition to the Turnaround, Restructuring & Insolvency (T.R.I.) Forum 2023.

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2211082/4427634/ADGM_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/abu-dhabis-rapidly-changing-investment-landscape-debated-at-the-second-edition-of-asset-abu-dhabi-hosted-at-adfw-2023-301999772.html

Fintech PR

Exicom, India’s EV Charger Leader, expands into the UK Market, introduces a range of EV Chargers to accelerate EV Adoption

Published

4 hours ago

November 28, 2023

CISION (PR Newswire)

exicom,-india’s-ev-charger-leader,-expands-into-the-uk-market,-introduces-a-range-of-ev-chargers-to-accelerate-ev-adoption

Exicom, with the largest market share in India and a robust presence in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, now expands into the UK market
Introduces a range of powerful, scalable and user-friendly DC Fast Chargers at the London EV
Introduces a compact and easy-to-use range of SPIN EV chargers for home charging application
Having a strong foothold in India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East with supply of thousands of charges every month

LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Exicom, India’s largest EV charger manufacturer and a trusted partner for global automobile leaders, charge point operators and other ecosystem players has announced its strategic entry into the UK and Europe market. The company plans to strengthen its distribution channel and will be providing EV chargers through direct sales channels too.

As part of its global expansion strategy, Exicom has identified Europe as a key market for its cutting-edge home charging and business solutions. Celebrating this milestone, Exicom unveiled its first-of-its-kind EV charging product, Harmony Direct DC 360 Fast Charger at the London EV Show, designed especially for the European market. It is crafted to meet the requirements of today’s EV drivers and is aimed at aiding charge point operators in the installation of fast-charging stations. Setting the benchmark with up to 360kW of power and a modular design, it promises the quickest charging experience in the market for upcoming electric vehicles. Its ergonomic cable management maintains station tidiness, while the new sleek design, easy-to-use display terminal and innovative lighting system elevate overall user experience. These DC chargers are suitable for installation at fueling stations, retail locations, highways and commercial premises to charge electric fleets.

Exicom is also thrilled to unveil its latest breakthrough – the ‘Spin Air’ EV AC Charger, marking a significant milestone in home electric vehicle charging. Spin Air seamlessly integrates state-of-the-art technology, user-friendly features, and elegant design. Beyond its visual appeal, Spin Air exemplifies intelligence in charging methodology. Solar compatibility allows users to harness renewable energy, while load balancing and power sharing ensure optimal energy distribution within the home environment. Additionally, it’s seamless integration with Exicom’s Spin Control mobile app empowers users to remotely monitor, schedule, and receive real-time updates on their charging sessions. By blending convenience with control, effortless management is now just a tap away.

Originating from India, a worldwide centre for technological excellence, Exicom has led the way in providing crucial power and EV charging solutions in over 15 countries across the globe. Exicom chargers power electric drives across the entirety of India, enduring extreme weather and electrical conditions and now have a robust presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Middle East showcasing its prowess in the EV Industry. As it enters the UK market through the London EV Show 2023, Exicom’s primary aim is to simplify EV charging, guaranteeing its reliability and future adaptability, aligning with the UK Government’s vision of achieving zero-emission vehicles by 2035. With a wealth of over two decade’s experience, Exicom has secured the trust of the world’s largest automotive firms, thanks to its dedication to cutting-edge technology, punctual deliveries, and continuous round-the-clock customer support.

“With many governments and especially UK favouring faster adoption of electric mobility, the demand for innovative home charging solutions and fast charging stations is higher than ever. We are thrilled to introduce our new range of Harmony DC chargers which fit variety of use cases and are convenient to operate. Our SPIN Home chargers are compact, connected and compliant with UK smart charging regulations. With the expansion of our operations in Europe, we hope to play a key role in enabling low carbon society in these markets – said, Anant Nahata, CEO, Exicom.

Exicom is driven by a customer-first approach, with its differentiation being products developed based on design, form factor, and unique features, relying on innovation and R&D activities. Exicom’s global operations are supported by three state-of-the-art manufacturing units and two R&D centres in India. Following this approach for the European market, Exicom seeks to build a local sales, service and application engineering team to fulfil customer demands.

To explore more on Exicom’s EV charging technology, visit – www.exicom-ps.com

About Exicom:

Exicom entered the EV charging market in 2018 and offers full range of smart AC and DC fast charging solutions for passenger cars, and heavy-duty vehicles. It has sold more than 50K home chargers and 3000+ fast chargers in India and overseas markets.

Incorporated in 1994, Exicom is an India headquartered power management solutions provider operating under two business verticals. The first involves EV Charger solutions which offers smart charging solutions for home and businesses. The second vertical focuses on critical power solutions business, wherein the company services critical digital infrastructure by delivering overall energy management via its range of power and energy solutions.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287433/Exicom.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287434/Exicom_Logo.jpg