Connecting past and present
A disconnect at the heart of the financial system
When we founded Arkadiko Partners in 2017, we were responding to a disconnect at the heart of the financial system. Commitments to sustainability, stewardship and long-term value were multiplying, yet much of the world’s capital still moved within structures shaped by short-term incentives, fragmented governance and limited internal capability. Too often, sustainability was handled as a reporting or marketing exercise, set apart from the core questions of investment and ownership.
An opportunity to help Asset owners and managers change from within
Colin had seen this at close quarters. Having founded and led Hermes EOS, then the world’s largest stewardship service, he understood that bringing asset owners together to act as good corporate owners addressed only part of the problem. The asset managers who allocate capital were under growing pressure from their clients. Yet, many seemed stuck: building separate teams and creating product labels to signal their commitment, rather than evolving their core investment models and practices. The opportunity was to help these firms change from within.
A different kind of advisory partner
So we built a different kind of advisory partner: one that combines insight and strategic thinking with practical implementation support, and that understands sustainability and stewardship as belonging inside the investment process rather than alongside it. The management of long-term capital requires our industry to evolve.
Connecting a fragmented present to an integrated future
Our vision is for a purpose-led financial system that contributes to a more sustainable and resilient world. We work to help investors align their purpose, beliefs, strategies and stewardship practices, so that these genuinely shape decisions, behaviours and outcomes, and to support the strong, compassionate leadership that long-term institutions increasingly need.
That ambition led us to the Arkadiko bridge: a Mycenaean structure on the Peloponnese in Greece, dating to the Bronze Age and still in use today. One of the oldest arch bridges in existence, it gave us our name and the metaphor at the heart of our purpose: a crossing built to endure, connecting a fragmented present to an integrated future for sustainable asset management.
Five years of progress, and a call for more
To mark our fifth anniversary in 2023, we gathered clients, supporters and colleagues in the City of London, united by a shared commitment to sustainable investment and a belief in the industry’s capacity to change.
This film captures something of that evening: what it looked like when people who have given years to this work came together to reflect on how far it has come, and how much further it still needs to go.