Hargreaves Lansdown is the latest UK investment house to be targeted by Extinction Rebellion with activists staging a mock feast of petrodollar bills outside its Bristol headquarters, although the D2C platform is keeping mum on any instructions it gave to staff ahead of the protest.
Last week, Baillie Gifford was targeted by the environmental group for its investments in Shell.
A press release from the activist group accused Hargreaves of funnelling private savings into investments that fund fossil fuel extraction and its derivative uses. It said Hargreaves could instead use its financial clout to influence the government to come up with policies to help the UK become “zero carbon” by 2030.
Extinction Rebellion has also issued an invitation to chief executive Chris Hill and the Hargreaves’ board to discuss the company’s commitment to marketing sustainable investment products.
Hargreaves Lansdown did not wish to comment on whether it would be meeting with representatives from the group.
Instead, spokesperson Danny Cox gave Portfolio Adviser a statement: “Climate change is an extremely important issue which affects all of us. We aim to minimise our impact as a company, while helping clients make informed investment decisions, taking full account of environmental considerations.”
Hargreaves silent on instructions it gave to staff
Hargreaves Lansdown also refused to comment on instructions it had given to staff ahead of the protest.
Portfolio Adviser has heard reports senior staff were told not to arrive to work in fancy cars on Tuesday. Hargreaves Lansdown refused to comment on the validity of the claims in a phone conversation with Portfolio Adviser.
The platform also refused to provide detail on whether it had advised Bristol staff not to engage with protesters.
Extinction Rebellion told Portfolio Adviser it timed the protest to coincide with the lunch breaks of approximately 1,000 staff that work at the headquarters, but said its purpose was to highlight systemic issues in the finance system rather than to target employees personally.
Protester Mark Smalley said the purpose of the feast was to highlight the environmental mantra that people will not be able to feast on money when “the last tree is dead, the last fish caught and the last river poisoned”. As part of the performance, diners, representing the global investment industry, were “gorging on petrodollar bills while singing the praises of fracking and the exploitation of Arctic oil reserves”, Smalley said.
Most Hargreaves staff were impassive as they passed the protest but around a fifth took flyers that were being handed out by the activists, he reckoned.
Extinction Rebellion wanted to speak to Hill about the sustainable investment options Hargreaves offers its clients, said Smalley, who noted it was difficult to find much information on the company website. Hargreaves Lansdown features one ethical product, Kames Ethical Equity, in its Wealth 50 buy list.
In October, during the Amazon fires, Blackrock was targeted by Extinction Rebellion for investments that contributed to climate change and rainforest deforestation.
