The rise of global conflicts will undoubtedly be a focal point at this year's NATO summit, on 24-25 June in the Hague.

As a child in the 80s, I grew up with the threat of the Soviet Union, the Cold War and arms races. Alongside 550,000 others, I participated in the 1983 Malieveld demonstration against nuclear weapons. I remember the atmosphere well. Fear and agitation hung in the air. When the threat finally ended with the demise of the Soviet empire, everyone was very glad.

Here in Europe, we have been blessed with decades of peace. And we've prospered financially. But now as adults in 2025, the same worrying phrases are creeping into public consciousness again.

It’s clear that Europe must catch up to be able to defend itself. But as the narrative around weapons intensifies, I want to remind well-meaning professional investors of three urgent things.

Firstly: The European armament industry does not lack investment. They are asking for government contracts. The chairman of one of Europe's largest weapons manufacturers, Stefano Pontecorvo recently made this clear in a panel hosted by the European Investment Bank. "We don’t need your money", he explained. "Get us the contracts and reinvigorate the supply chain". 

Another leading figure in the industry wholeheartedly agrees. Frank Thiser, Chief Financial Officer of drone manufacturer Quantum Systems, highlighted that it is the lack of government demand for weapons that is causing a block, not a lack of private investment.

This clearly shows that governments are the key players in ensuring our safety. Investors must stay out of it. As I argued in my last column, there is a myriad of environmental, social, governance and financial reasons why private investments should never fund weaponry. It's an unwanted, unneeded and unsafe risk for fund and investment managers to take.

Secondly: To prevent future conflicts, we must embed social factors in our risk management. When it comes to the threat of war and conflict, governments and investors have different roles. While it’s governments’ duty to manage public welfare and defend our freedom, institutional investors and wealth managers should contribute to the long-term prosperity and profitability of economies. We must look to the future. This is where our skillsets are urgently needed.

My call to every investment manager right now, is to ask yourself, "Am I potentially fueling conflict, for instance by neglecting human dignity or increasing inequality?".

Each investment decision we make has an impact. Positive or negative. From textiles chains outsourcing garment workers to electric vehicle manufacturers relying on cobalt and lithium mining. If you can't clearly see the impact you're making, you cannot properly assess the risk. Then it is probably not a good investment.

When an investment contributes to inequality, it could lay the groundwork for future populism, uprisings and conflict. Desperate and traumatised people with no rights and nothing to lose are not born, they are made. And you don't need to be a genius to see how decades of inequality spark uprisings and bloodshed.

Exacerbating the problem, 360 million climate migrants are forced to move into new communities, further adding to social tension and anti-immigration sentiments.

The climate crisis is one of the main triggers for conflict and social risks. By ignoring the interests of the global south, unchained capitalism has created grave social consequences, most severely affecting those who hardly contributed or profited.

But in the end nature doesn’t discriminate: multimillionaires in Los Angeles – some without insurance – watched helplessly in January as their mansions burnt to the ground. And in China, people across the wealth spectrum suffer from air pollution. Environmental disasters and social unrest are obvious causes of conflict.

As investment managers, we therefore must embed social risk factors into our investment management process. We must instruct our teams to prove that assets are not exacerbating inequality or sowing the seeds for future tensions. This is indeed about reducing risks in investments. But it is also about seeking investments that strengthen the social fabric and make a positive contribution to conflict prevention.

Examples include local green energy generation and storage solutions that reduce our energy dependency or cooperative structures that leave no one behind in the energy transition. One can also think of affordable housing, clean water solutions, or access to financial services - all investable sectors. The current green taxonomy is more about positive impact than risk management. Until there is a social taxonomy, we must do this work ourselves, filtering out hazardous investments.

Thirdly: The world needs us to step-up with peaceful and profitable investments. The good news is there are hundreds – probably thousands – of diverse investment opportunities to deliver market-rate returns, which also promote peace and dignity.

Some low-hanging fruits are impactful microfinance loans. At Triodos Investment Management, we meet directly with the borrowers to see how they are using the funds. One example of an impactful micro loan is when farmers use the finance to adapt their crops for a changing climate, which of course also boosts their profits.

Peace and dignity takes many forms. When it comes to speeding up the energy transition - which of course, is deeply intertwined with reducing global environmental disasters and conflicts - we've found that inclusivity works best. When developers engage with local communities and give something back, the results are better.

At a minimum investment managers should be looking out for signs of co-operatives, profit-sharing and social improvements as they decide where to invest their clients’ money.  Long-term investment professionals must look at the bigger picture. 

As the NATO summit will surely highlight, we need unity. And we need to keep in our lanes. Let the government provide the contracts. And let us invest in a fair and peaceful economy. In the 1980s, our parents overcame the threat of war. Now it is our time to step up. We must align our money with our goals and invest in peace.

This column was originally published in Dutch on IEX Profs.