Podcasts · The GoodStock Tapes Podcast

Are Financial Planners Ignoring the Biggest Risk of All?

22 Oct 2026 · 39 min · S1 E22

Simon is a former accountant and business leader who, alongside his brother Nick, established and funded an ambitious initiative to bring leading scientific and policy experts together to explain the growing risks posed by climate and nature breakdown.

Their message is that this is no longer simply an environmental issue. It is a question of economic stability, food security, national resilience and the future of our society.

For financial planners, that raises some uncomfortable questions.

What happens to long-term financial forecasts when the underlying assumptions about economic growth, functioning ecosystems and a relatively stable climate become less dependable?

Can markets accurately price risks for which there is no meaningful historical precedent? And when does discussing climate risk with clients become part of professional responsibility rather than a matter of personal opinion?

Simon explores the growing scientific concern around climate tipping points, the economic case for investing in the transition to a low-carbon economy, and why political leadership and collective action matter.

We also discuss the practical realities of introducing these conversations into client relationships, particularly when clients may be sceptical or uncomfortable.

Importantly, this isn't simply a conversation about the risks of doing nothing. It's about the extraordinary opportunity to build a healthier, more resilient and more prosperous society.

And Simon has a refreshingly straightforward message for financial planners wondering where to begin: start talking about it.

If you believe financial planning should be about protecting people's futures, not simply managing their investments, this is a conversation worth hearing.

Listen now, share your thoughts, and join the discussion about the role financial planners can play in creating a better future.

Financial planners prepare clients for market crashes, inflation and living to 100. But what happens when the greatest threat to their financial future is something our models have never experienced before?

National Emergency Briefing co-founder Simon Oldridge joins The GoodStock Tapes to explore why climate and nature breakdown could change everything we assume about risk, wealth and the future of financial advice.

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)