Claire Smith
Claire Smith is a vegan entrepreneur and impact investor based in Geneva, Switzerland. She created the humane investment platform Beyond Investing, which designs cruelty-free programs in public equity markets and undertakes venture capital investment in vegan, plant-based and cruelty-free businesses through Beyond Impact. Beyond Investing is the architect of the US Vegan Climate Index, a stock index which screens out all animal exploitation and fossil fuel from a US market benchmark, and which was listed on the NYSE as the US Vegan Climate ETF (ticker: VEGN) in September 2019. She is a co-founder of Beyond Animal, an online platform to accelerate the growth of a thriving vegan economy, and the chair of Beyond Cruelty Foundation, formed to campaign for zero animal exploitation and to fund safe havens for animals.
Previously, she was a research analyst, partner and shareholder at alternatives advisory firm Albourne Partners, covering managers globally across systematic quantitative equity, convertible and volatility and hedging strategies. Claire also led a project to expand Albourne’s proprietary database on alternatives managers and digitize the research process.
Prior to joining Albourne in 2004, Claire provided bespoke hedge fund research to London funds of funds and published well over 100 articles in the financial press. From 1986 to 1998 Claire was employed at various UBS group companies as a derivatives broker, marketer and structurer. Claire started her career in 1985 as a credit analyst at Chase Manhattan Bank after completing a Masters program in Chemical Engineering and Management at Imperial College, London.
Claire founded 100 Women in Finance in Geneva in 2007 and oversaw its growth in Switzerland through till 2014, as a member of the London Board, organizing over 100 events, including seven Galas which raised well over $1 million for charity.
Since 2013 Claire has served on the Board of AVVEC, a Geneva-based charity that provides support to victims of domestic violence.