High net worth individuals – those who own at least $1m in financial assets – are a major source of investment worldwide. This 10-million-strong global elite has combined assets of $40tn, according to the latest annual world wealth report published by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch.

The financial crisis may have dented the numbers, but the total investible income of the world’s wealthy few remains staggering. The average high net worth individual owned $4m in financial assets at the end of 2007, while the number of emerging market-millionaires is growing. Rich private investors will not vanish any time soon.

Yet for all their combined wealth and power, the world’s richest have to date been overlooked by promoters of sustainable investment. Ethical investment specialists and campaigners have become more influential in recent years, but so far they have tended to focus on converting large institutional investors, such as insurance companies or pension funds, to their cause.

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