Investing in life under water: Credit Suisse launches fund for the oceans

Credit Suisse is launching a new sustainability fund aimed specifically at improving the health of the planet's oceans, the Swiss investment giant announced yesterday, as it unveiled a new partnership with Rockefeller Asset Management.

The fund forms part of Credit Suisse's strategy to mobilise capital and finance projects that drive progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the bank said. Its latest initiative, the Credit Suisse Rockefeller Ocean Engagement Fund, aims to support SDG14, which covers 'Life Under Water'.

Working with non-profit The Ocean Foundation, Credit Suisse and Rockefeller Asset Management will seek to advise and steer portfolio companies towards tackling any practices that harm the ocean, the bank said.

"The ocean is amongst some of the least invested topics from the UN Sustainability Goals yet more than a third of institutional investors have expressed their interest in investing in the Blue Economy," said Marisa Drew, chief sustainability officer and global head of sustainability strategy advisory and finance at Credit Suisse.

"This Fund marks a stepping stone in making impact investing more mainstream and allows investors to have an impact on our ocean's health with investments as small as $100."

Human activity has impacted life in the oceans from a host of directions, from over-fishing decimating specific species, to rising temperatures causing the collapse of coral reefs, to widespread plastic pollution. As a result, SDG14 remains among the most challenging of the UN's goals.

However, the past year has seen a spike in interest from investors in ocean-related sustainable investments, with ocean impact funds like Althelia gaining significant traction with global finance players. Credit Suisse's new fund, which will launch on 30 September after a three-week subscription period, provides another example of this growing trend.

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• Topics
• Investment
• Credit Suisse
• Rockefeller Asset Management
• UN
• Ocean Foundation
• UN Sustainability Goals
• investment
• ocean
• SDG14