Finance is an extraordinarily powerful agent of change. Our starting assumption is that there is the potential for it to unlock a different trajectory of change. Finance is the cornerstone of any functioning economy, and is a significant contributor to GDP in its own right, employing millions of people around the world. It is a service industry, in service to two distinct but connected sets of clients. There are those who have capital, and whose capital is stewarded by sector professionals, managing risk and return in pursuit of their financial objectives. And there are the businesses and countries, to which the finance industry efficiently channels those funds, helping to deliver corporate and sovereign objectives.

What role does the finance sector have in response to the multiple chaotic transitions underway? Long-term economic growth and social stability are not a given. Planetary health and stability seem to be slipping from our grasp. Systemic risk is increasing. Although no one sector or system can control what happens next, finance can significantly influence the trajectory. 

This paper looks at some of the innovative ideas gaining interest in corners of the finance sector, primarily viewed through a capital markets investment lens, and from a European perspective. 

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