This is the tenth such global forum on philanthropy that has held. The event last week was conducted in St Moritz, Switzerland.

Clients of the Zurich-listed bank, philanthropy leaders and policymakers from around the world gathered in the famous Alpine resort, for a two-day event that is designed to highlight current major issues such as “impact investing”, “venture philanthropy” and the practical processes involved in setting up philanthropic campaigns.

WealthBriefing - sister publication to this website - was the exclusive media partner to cover this event and your correspondent moderated a panel discussion today around the topic, "Philanthropy & Investing - Broadening the Opportunity for Impact.” 

The Swiss bank’s event is a sign of how such wealth management firms realise that philanthropy, far from being a peripheral issue for high net worth and ultra high net worth clients, is becoming an increasingly regular topic. Philanthropy can be a way to engage with clients at a more emotional level and is also seen as a good way to engage with younger people.

Among those speaking at the event were Vuslat Doğan Sabancı, chairwoman, Hürriyet, Turkey; Carolina Müller-Möhl. Other speakers were Alexander Friedman, global chief investment officer, UBS; Kathryn Shih, CEO, UBS Wealth Management, Asia-Pacific, Melanne Verveer, US Ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues and Michael Kimmel, Professor, State University of New York.

This publication will provide further reports on the discussions at the event in due course.