Executive interview: Nicolas Moreau’s orderly transition
Despite the intellectual capital afforded to an asset manager owned by one of the world’s biggest banks, HSBC Asset Management is steering clear of cryptocurrencies for the moment, the firm’s chief executive tells Funds Europe.
Nicolas Moreau, the CEO since September 2019, says he’s “sceptical” of bitcoin, partly because of its associations with illegal activity – but more so on environmental grounds. “I do not think bitcoin is scalable without damaging the planet because it consumes so much energy,” he says.
Moreau’s argument is notable for being predicated on bitcoin’s environmental impact rather than for the more standard technical reasons, such as crypto use-cases, or economic viability. However, the green-tinged objection should not be surprising – not at a time when, for the past two years at least, HSBC AM and many other asset managers have fully bought into ESG investing.