- JP Morgan Asset Management (JPM AM) has expanded its global sustainable investing team and platform with the creation of two new roles. Roland Rott has been appointed Head of Sustainable Investing Research and Soňa Stadtelmeyer-Petru Lead Sustainable Investing Strategist in EMEA. Both will report to JPM AM’s Global Head of Sustainable Investing, Jennifer Wu. Based in London, Rott, who was formerly Head of ESG & Sustainable Investment Research at La Fran?aise Group, will oversee a team that will develop ESG and thematic research, data and analytical solutions for JPM AM’s portfolio managers, research analysts and clients. Stadtelmeyer-Petru, who was previously Head of Sustainable Investing at Allianz Investment Management, will oversee JPM AM’s sustainable investing efforts in EMEA.?
- A number of changes have been made to the financial reporting board of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). Frederik Walmeus is to replace Anders Ullberg as Sweden’s Board Representative while Marie Seiller is taking over from Patrick de Cambourg as the French Representative. Ullberg is taking up a new role as EFRAG Administrative Board member and de Cambourg has been appointed a Sustainability Reporting Board member. The moves are part of EFRAG’s integration of sustainability reporting into its structure, which led to the creation of the Administrative and Sustainability boards.???
- Global asset manager First Sentier Investors has made three appointments to its responsible investment and corporate sustainability teams. Rebecca Antonini has been appointed to the newly-created position of Head of Corporate Sustainability, reporting to Chief Financial and Strategy Officer Suzanne Evans. Based in London, she has been with the firm for 15 years, working in Australia, Asia and the UK. Cressida Grant has been appointed Head of Corporate Philanthropy and will report to Antonini. Joanne Lee has been appointed Responsible Investment Specialist. Based in Hong Kong, she will be responsible for the delivery and promotion of the firm’s responsible investment strategy and credentials in Asia.?
- Alix Faure and Marie Gauthier have joined the ESG team of global asset manager Comgest. Faure, former Head of Sustainable Investment at AFG, joins the firm in the newly created role of Head of Responsible Development. Gauthier, a former Assistant Vice-President of Sustainable Finance at WWF in Singapore, has joined the asset manager as ESG Specialist. Both will be based at Comgest’s Paris headquarters.? ?
- AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) has appointed Amit Singh Head of Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement, effective immediately. Based in London, he will drive the design, development, implementation and evaluation of AXA IM’s inclusion and diversity strategy globally, reporting to Pascale Demont, Global Head of Talent & Transformation.?
- BNP Paribas Real Estate UK (BNPRE) has appointed Donna Rourke to the newly created role of Director of ESG. She will be responsible for driving strategy, integrating and embedding ESG into the day-to-day business.?
- Climate Solutions, the climate-focused capital raising and strategic advisory firm, has appointed Will Howard Davies as Chief Investment Officer. He joins the firm from the UK government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where as Head of Financing Green he led work on the UK’s inaugural sovereign green bonds, green gilts and on the UK Infrastructure Bank.?
- David Singh has joined the consulting and technology business of Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in the newly created role of Head of Climate Analytics and Exposure Management. Based in London, he will lead the company’s climate analytics and exposure management activities.?
- BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) has launched two new thematic index ETFs integrating an ESG approach. The Easy ECPI Global ESG Med Tech ETF replicates the ECPI Global ESG Medical Tech index, which selects 50 active companies contributing to sustainable medical technologies, such as biotech, life sciences tools and services, and healthcare. The Easy ECPI Global ESG Hydrogen Economy ETF tracks the ECPI Global ESG Hydrogen Economy index, offering investors exposure to 40 companies contributing to the transition to hydrogen-based technologies. These funds broaden the asset manager’s existing range of thematic ESG ETFs, which also includes low-carbon, the circular economy and green real estate.?
- Western Asset, the specialist fixed-income investment manager of Franklin Templeton, has launched the Sustainable Global Corporate Bond fund. Classified as Article 8 according to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the fund offers investors the opportunity to capitalise on opportunities in global credit markets while contributing to sustainability and decarbonisation goals.The fund is registered for distribution in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Greece and Cyprus.??
- Pure play asset management firm GAM Investments has introduced a low-carbon infrastructure strategy in Australasia. Managed by GAM’s Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS) team, it seeks to achieve medium- to long-term capital appreciation by investing in private funds providing access to energy transition infrastructure projects.?
- Blue Horizon, an impact investor in food system sustainability, is investing in the LatAM biotech Polybion, which has developed and is now producing animal-free and plant-based vegan leather called Celium, which is made from fruit waste. Blue Horizon’s investment will go towards upscaling production.?
- Alternative asset manager Gresham House has unveiled its new Forest Charter, which outlines its sustainability framework for all forestry investments. It covers a range of topics, including carbon emissions, biodiversity and supply chain sustainability. Gresham House’s forestry assets generate returns through the sale of timber and the capital growth of land and trees. Carbon credits are also produced by planting new productive woodland. As part of the Charter, the firm has committed to increasing the carbon sequestration of forests under management while reducing their operational carbon footprint and enhancing woodland biodiversity.?
- The E.P.I.C Global Equity Opportunities fund has been launched by Architas, an asset manager owned by AXA Group. The fund gives investors exposure to ethical investment opportunities across three core themes: digital transformation, health and wealth, and sustainable planet. It is classified as an Article 9 fund under SFDR.?
- Private equity firm EQT has launched its Active Core Infrastructure fund. Primarily focused on investment opportunities in Europe and North America, the fund will target core infrastructure companies providing essential services to society while contributing to the firm’s three core sustainability objectives: climate and the environment; sustainable growth and equality and people and society. Selected companies will be pursuing at least one of six sustainability objectives, including energy transition and decarbonisation, circular economy and resource efficiency, and equitable digital opportunities. Applying EQT’s active ownership strategy, the firm will develop tailored decarbonisation plans for each investment. The EQT Active Core Infrastructure will have a target fund size of €5 billion.
- German asset manager DWS has added two Paris-aligned benchmark ETFs to its ESG offering. The Xtrackers EMU Net Zero Pathway Paris Aligned UCITS ETF and Xtrackers World Net Zero Pathway Paris Aligned UCITS ETF both qualify as Article 9 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and aim to reduce emissions in line with the EU’s Paris Aligned Benchmark (PAB) regulation. The underlying Solactive ISS ESG Net Zero Pathway indices provides a 50% reduction in carbon intensity versus an equivalent non-ESG market benchmark, targeting 7% year-on-year decarbonisation. DWS will further incorporate the recommendations of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change’s (IIGCC) Net Zero Investment Framework (NZIF), including committing to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and reporting in line with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) framework.???
- Unigestion, an independent asset manager, has launched a global equity fund focused on addressing the transition to a low-carbon economy. The Unigestion Climate Transition fund falls under Article 9 of the EU’s SFDR and will be actively-managed. It will also contribute to a number of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically focusing on 7 (affordable and clean energy) and 13 (climate action). The fund aims to hold between 50-70 companies that are addressing climate change in line with the adaptation and mitigation activities defined in the EU Taxonomy Regulation.?
- MEAG, the asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO, is financing projects to reduce energy consumption in the building sector through the Solas Sustainable Energy fund (SSEF). It is advised by Solas Capital. MEAG’s investment in SSEF will enable the fund to make bundled investments in comparatively small-scale sustainable energy efficiency projects that would be otherwise difficult for large institutional investors to access. Other investors include the Ireland Strategic Investment fund (ISIF) and European Investment Bank (EIB).
Norman Alex
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Chris Manfield ([email protected]
) has been covering the ESG space for over 20 years both in a recruitment capacity as well as an asset raiser for institutional funds and investment capital for individual Green/Sustainable projects.
