Philippe Jabre’s son launches fund focused on ‘conscious capitalism’
Jabre Capital is targeting investments in areas such as renewable energy and online education
The son of Philippe Jabre, a star of Europe’s hedge fund industry in the early 2000s, has entered the family business with a fund focused on “conscious capitalism”, underscoring the generational shift taking place in asset management.
Philippe, 60, was a top hedge fund manager at GLG Partners in London, but in 2006 he received a then-record fine for an individual of £750,000 from the UK regulator for trading on confidential information, although the authorities stopped short of calling his actions intentional. He moved to Geneva to set up Jabre Capital, which raised billions of dollars in assets.
Now, 34-year-old Michel Jabre has launched a fund at Jabre Capital seeking to capitalise on demand for sustainable and environmentally focused strategies by investing in areas such as renewable energy, electric vehicles and online education, which he thinks will thrive and benefit society as a whole.
“Our overarching philosophy is based on conscious capitalism, whereby businesses should serve all stakeholders, including employees, humanity, the environment, not just the ones they’ve historically served — the management team and shareholders,” Michel told the Financial Times.
“As capital continues to move into younger hands, the finance world will continue to evolve in this direction.”
Jabre Capital made strong returns after the financial crisis, but said in 2018 it would return outside money to clients after suffering heavy losses.
Following the closure of the firm’s funds, Michel, who had been running a small portfolio, took nine months off “to think, relax, read a lot and travel”.
“I explored concepts around impact investing [and] sustainability,” added Michel, who said at a recent conference he “had been deeply put off by all the greed [he] had seen in the financial system”.
“I told myself that many industries seemed to be undergoing a significant change [so] why should finance and asset management be exempt?” he said.
Michel rejoined Jabre Capital in late 2019 and launched his fund last summer as part of the firm’s return to managing funds for outside investors. The fund, which invests in small and mid-cap stocks, does not short sell but does use derivatives to hedge its positions. It also gives 22 per cent of its performance fees to charities and non-governmental organisations. His father is also an active philanthropist.
Hedge funds and other alternative investment managers have been slower than traditional asset managers to move into sustainability-focused investing, but have recently spotted moneymaking opportunities and the chance to attract investors.
“Today we are seeing an evolution [as] new hedge funds, small and large, question their ethical stance when investing and actively looking to make a difference in their own capacity,” said Petra Dismorr, chief executive of consultancy NorthPeak Advisory, which works with hedge funds.
Covalis Capital has been keen to raise as much as $1bn for a fund that will try to profit from trends in environmentally focused investing, while firms such as Caxton Associates and Man Group have used environmental, social and governance criteria as a key part of their investment processes for some time.
Michel said he was relaxed about the asset management industry’s so-called “greenwashing” — using environmental concerns as an advertising gimmick — of investments, which critics argue undermines genuine efforts to make the sector more sustainable.
“Greenwashing doesn’t matter, it’s still pushing people in that direction,” he said. “Whether people are authentic or not, the conversation is still moving in that direction.”