„My father was a doctor and always wondered why I ended up in the finance industry. There must be something more interesting, something with more meaning.“ Philipp Mueller, CEO of impact investment manager BlueOrchard, reflects on a question that has accompanied him since the beginning of his professional career. It has become a leitmotif for him – that the search for ways in which capital can have not only an economic but also a social impact.

Mueller studied law at the University of Zurich, and began his professional working life in the insurance industry at Swiss Re. With a keen interest in how markets work, in 2008 he moved to Partners Group, a leading global asset manager. He worked there for a decade, including in Switzerland and the UK.

In London, Mueller began to question the social dimensions of capital more closely. „During that time, I took part in sponsored runs that raised money for a good cause, which is very common in London. That's when I started thinking about how to not just make a one-off donation that will then expire, but how to mobilise larger capital flows for a good cause in the long term that will also generate a good return.“

Another turning point was the birth of his first daughter. This experience made him think more about the future: „At that time, I thought about what kind of world we are leaving to our children, what kind of future we want to create. What kind of environment will they grow up in?“

In 2018, he moved to BlueOrchard. The ESG boutique has invested over $11 billion in more than 100 countries. He started as Head of Investment Solutions, and soon took on the position of Chief Executive Officer. His responsibilities include leading the management team and strategically managing the business units. The focus on sustainable investments offered Mueller the opportunity to combine his experience and beliefs. „Impact investing means investing in a targeted manner, and making the impact of the investments measurable," he explains. For Mueller, it is about creating sustainable investment opportunities that generate both ecological and social added value.

Mueller has mixed feelings about sustainability regulation. He emphasises that, on the one hand, it creates necessary guidelines, but on the other hand, it should not make access to sustainable investments more difficult, through excessive complexity. „If large sums of capital no longer find their way towards sustainability because the topic is too complex, then we may have achieved the opposite despite good regulatory intentions,“ he says. Instead of looking for perfection, he prefers to rely on a pragmatic approach.