Luxurious essentials

 

“When researching the topic of this issue of ERSTE RESPONSIBLE RETURN – The ESG

Letter, I followed my usual routine“, says Gerold Permoser, Chief Investment Officer (CIO)

and Chief Sustainable Investment Officer (CSIO) of Erste Asset Management.

​

 

I checked the etymology of the term (thank God for Wikipedia). Have I ever read a book on the topic? (not really)

What experience do I associate with the topic? (too many) Do I know experts? (oh, yes)

 

I am married to a person who appreciates the luxuries of life – my wife; and she clearly owns up to it. Therefore

an exciting and long discussion was easily found. What is luxury anyway? Should or may we all like luxury? I learnt

that in Portuguese there is a difference between luxus and luxuria. Although both are derived from the same

Latin word, only one refers to the luxury we are talking about; the other one means lust, i.e. one of the seven

deadly sins.

 

And all of a sudden we were sitting on the sofa, holding a glass of wine, and thumbing through Dante’s Divine

Comedy. We read the fifth canto and found out how the souls of “carnal malefactors” were condemned to drift

forever in the wind of the Second Circle of Hell, as punishment for their sins.

 

Dante’s scenario nonwithstanding, everything I described above used to be pure luxury until recently (and in

many regions of the world continues to be so). Books, wine, education, a comfortable flat where one can lounge

on the sofa, all this has been outside the confines of the everyday life and would be considered pure pleasure

by many. In other words, luxury. For my wife and me, on the other hand, the time spent together is the

essence of luxury.

 

The essentials of luxury change over time. Things that used to be unachievable are normal

today, but may not be so tomorrow. The same is true for the issue of sustainable

investment. Some people continue to regard the focus on E, S, and G risks as

luxury that not everyone can afford. But more and more

investors have started regarding this as

normal (or “new normal”, as it is called on

the financial markets). In this sense we look

forward to continuing the path towards

normality with you next year.

 

Merry Christmas and

a Happy New Year.