The Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) has announced the launch of a new Compassion in Financial Services Hub, in the hope of shaping a more inclusive, sustainable financial system.

The initiative will bring together those already working in the financial services industry, as well as policymakers, academics, community leaders, and civil society organisations.

According to the EFI, the hub will explore how the concept of compassion can be operationalised in financial services to address systemic challenges, while also unlocking new opportunities for innovation and long-term success.  

Already on board as a founding partner is Evelyn Partners, one the largest UK wealth managers, which will provide philanthropic support for the hub’s activities, and collaborate on student-led projects from a dedicated desk space in the EFI’s FinTech Ward.   

By integrating compassion within financial systems, the hub aims to help the sector and companies meet their ethical and long-term business goals while contributing to a just, sustainable, and ethical economy.

As well as reimagining financial services to lead with compassion, the hub will also help to form sustainable business practices that benefit not just companies but the planet, too, by aligning financial services firms with shared global actions like Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).   

“Compassion brings the resolve, the methods and the strength of connection that will enable the financial services industry to lead authentically in responding to many of the intractable and complex global and national challenges,” said Liz Grant, co-director of the new hub and of the Global Compassion Initiative at the University of Edinburgh.

To achieve these lofty ambitions, the hub will look to examine ways in which behaviours decisions within the financial sector inadvertently or directly cause or contribute to suffering, and seek to identify structures that support or hinder compassionate behaviour in the industry.

By integrating interdisciplinary research, collaborative dialogue, actionable strategies, and new technology, the Futures Institute hopes it will be possible to develop new mechanisms alleviating suffering through a redesign of the way financial service organisations currently operate.

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A tenet of the plan is to evaluate the data practices of FS firms in an effort to understand how systemic challenges, such as biases, inequities, and exclusions are embedded in their systems. 

By critically examining data practices and their impacts, the hub aims to co-create innovative financial products, services, and policies that foster systemic change.

“Trust in the Financial Services sector fell sharply after the 2008 global financial crisis and, despite some recovery, remains at a low level,” said Tobi Schneider, sector engagement lead for the initiative. 

“To rebuild and sustain trust, we need to envision financial systems where compassion is embedded as a core guiding principle, fostering decisions and actions that prioritise people, communities, and the planet.”