An Alternative Vision of Banking

We are thrilled to be welcoming Michael Diaz from the Alternative Bank Switzerland and Prof. Dr. Sebastian Utz from HSG School of Finance. 

Prof. Dr. Utz will give a short introduction on the topic  of sustainable investments and its differentiation to traditional investments. Mr. Diaz will then present us the vision of the Alternative Bank Switzerland and how it translates into practice. These presentations will be followed by a panel discussion which will also cover the topic of the HSG Impact Awards 2021 which both parties have worked on together recently. In this project, the factor of impact has been added to traditional portfolio theories which has been put into practice with the launch of the ABS sustainability fund.

Michael Diaz is member of the management board of Alternative Bank Switzerland and Head of Investments. ABS is the largest social bank in Switzerland. Mr. Diaz studied economics and applied ethics at the University of Zurich, graduating with a Master's degree each. He started his professional career at a large Swiss bank. He then spent twenty years in various functions and positions in the field of sustainable investments. He also is board member of the non-profit association CRIC for the promotion of ethics and sustainability in investment. 

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Utz is an Assistant Professor at the HSG School of Finance . His research areas focus on ESG and impact investments, sustainable finance, green & climate finance, and multi-criteria decision making. In 2021, he was ranked 70th in the forschungsmonitoring ranking of all scientists in business administration under 40 years in German-speaking countries and researchers born in these countries. Moreover, his research has been honored with the HSG Impact Award, the LIFE Climate Foundation Liechtenstein Impact Award, and the Shin Research Excellence Award of the Geneva Association, among others. Before joining HSG in August 2017, Dr. Utz was a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Regensburg. He received a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Augsburg, majoring in Operations Research, Statistics, and Capital Markets and . obtained his PhD in business administration from the University of Regensburg. 

We strongly encourage in-person participation (following university guidelines, a COVID pass will be required) as drinks will follow the event to offer networking opportunities. However, we will also make an online option available. In both case, please register with the following link.