Full house at the SIO’s investor-dedicated side event during Climate Week Zurich, “From Soil to Capital: Scaling Nature & Food Systems Through Institutional Impact Investing”!
PANEL I: Institutionalisation of Impact Investing
PANEL II: Financing the Transition: Food Systems, Nature & Real Economy Impact
Event details here
The event brought together a diverse investor-linked audience and top specialists to discuss how #ImpactInvesting is moving from niche to core allocation, and how #Nature, #FoodSystems and real economy strategies can absorb more institutional #PrivateCapital.
Key takeaway: #ImpactInvesting is no longer a niche conversation. The question is now how to institutionalise it without diluting its purpose.
Reflections from the first panel moderated by Kostis A. Tselenis, Swiss Impact Office:
Nadina Stodiek, Schroders, reminded us that #ImpInv is already “established, accessible and profitable”. Next step: #scale, through strong partnerships with specialised players who can grow assets without compromising integrity.
Sinisa Vukic, Cardano, pointed to one of the key barriers: perceived #risk. Many strategies do not yet have 20+ years of track record, and many come from first-time managers. Clearer evidence, standardised reporting and peer examples matter, but #PensionFunds also need to be genuinely open to allocating.
Julia Balandina Jaquier, Tara FO / Swiss Platform for Impact Investing (SPII) brought the #FamilyOffice and #NextGen lens: ambition is high, but execution still depends on better governance, stronger advisers and more institutional-quality impact solutions.
Adelina Toader, Kapnest, moderated the 2nd panel, and highlighted that investor demand is growing, but regulatory complexity, limited investable pipelines and the lack of large-scale impact wealth management capacity are slowing development:
Mona Huys, Mercer, underlined that investing in nature and food systems is essential for resilience and ecosystem health, but also makes economic sense as private markets opportunities continue to emerge.
Florence Kiss, Lombard Odier Group, stressed the need to mobilise capital to transform global food value chains and regenerate nature as part of building a #NetZero, nature-positive economy with resilient long-term value.
Tom Kagerer, Vlinder, reminded us that after decades of #NaturalCapital depletion, the next decades must be defined by #restoration and #conservation, with proven solutions ready to scale.
Nabil Marc ABDUL-MASSIH, INOKS Capital S.A., brought the #PrivateDebt and agri-food value-chain perspective: financing #inefficiencies in EU #FoodSystems remain materially underserved, and debt can be a powerful instrument for real economy impact.
For SIO, the conclusion is clear: Nature finance, sustainable food and agri, and #NBS are #investable, understandable and increasingly institutional. The task now is to strengthen LP #governance alignment, improve execution capacity and mobilise more capital into strategies that can deliver both positive impact and returns.
Our thanks to all speakers, guests and friends who joined us.