Pixabay CC0 Public Domain. Regnan lanza el fondo Global Equity Impact para inversores pertenecientes a la Unión Europea
Regnan, the responsible investment management business affiliated with JO Hambro Capital Management (JOHCM), has announced the launch of the Regnan Global Equity Impact Solutions Fund (RGEIS) for EU-based investors. The firm has also appointed Freeman Le Page as Portfolio Specialist.
In a press release, the asset manager revealed that the strategy will be available via Regnan’s Dublin-domiciled OEIC fund range. This comes after the launch of vehicles for UK and Australian-based investors in October and December 2020 respectively.
The fund aims to generate long-term outperformance by investing in mission-driven companies that create value for investors by providing solutions for the growing unmet sustainability needs of society and the environment, using the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 underlying targets as an investment lens. Regnan also pointed out that it is a high conviction, diversified, global multi-cap fund with a strong emphasis on driving additional impact through engagement.
An annual management charge of 0.75% will apply for the Dublin-domiciled fund’s ‘A’ share class, with euro, unhedged and hedged, sterling and US dollar share classes available, subject to a minimum £1,000 investment, or currency equivalent. Furthermore, founder investors can take advantage of a seed share class featuring reduced fees and an expense ratio cap.
A new portfolio specialist
The asset manager also announced the appointment of Freeman Le Page as Portfolio Specialist. He joins from Newton Investment Management where he was SRI Client Director, managing accounts for investors with responsible investment mandates. Based in London, Le Page will be supporting Regnan’s investment strategies and the growth of the business in this newly created role.
Led by Tim Crockford, the Regnan Equity Impact Solutions team are pioneers in impact investing in public equity markets. The team previously managed the Hermes Impact Opportunities Equity Fund, which Crockford launched in December 2017.
“We are excited to bring the fund to European investors after the launch of our UK and Australian funds last year. We are seeing increasing interest in public market impact investing across Europe. Investors are being drawn to an approach that promotes long-term investment in companies providing solutions to the environmental and social problems facing the world while at the same targeting an index-beating return”, Crockford said.
Pixabay CC0 Public Domain. SKY Harbor transforma todas sus estrategias en sostenibles
SKY Harbor announced in a press release the transformation of all of its investment vehicles into ESG funds. Additionally, two of these US high yield strategies are widening their potential investment universe by incorporating non-dollar issuers and are thus becoming global.
The asset manager highlighted that it has long been supporting high yield investors in their quest to integrate sustainability into their risk-taking. As a further evolution of this commitment, all three sub-funds of the SKY Harbor Global Funds Sicav –totaling over 2.8 billion dollars of assets under management– are now effectively embedding sustainable investment principles.
“The below investment grade issuer universe is not well-positioned for the transition to a more sustainable economy given that in many cases they have secularly or cyclically challenged business models and lack the scale that would be supportive of a pivot to more sustainable products, processes and behaviors. We do, however, believe that supporting the companies where the commitment is sincere is our duty as responsible asset managers. Furthermore, we are convinced that investments in companies that position themselves for a more sustainable economy will deliver higher returns with lower risk over time”, said Hannah Strasser, founder and CEO of SKY Harbor.
The asset manager pointed out that, consequently, now the entire SKY Harbor Global Funds Sicav is complying with the latest and most stringent regulatory developments within the European Union, notably meeting the “significantly engaging” criteria from the French AMF doctrine. This means that eligible bond issuers will be measured by their transparency and disclosure of key climate-related risks, commitment to the communities in which they operate, focus on governance, health and safety, and policies and commitments around diversity and inclusion. All in all, “exposure to sectors and industries that are deemed to have unsustainable characteristics is minimized“, they said.
Further proof of its commitment is that all the commingled funds that SKY Harbor is either managing or sub-advising in Europe, in the US and in South America, which account for the majority of their assets under management, are about to implement such a Sustainable investment approach.
Foto cedidaPaul Schofield, nuevo director del equipo de renta variable sostenible y de impacto de NN IP. . Paul Schofield, Jeremy Kent y Pieter van Diepen se unen al equipo de renta variable sostenible y de impacto de NN IP
NN Investment Partners (NN IP) announced in a press release the strengthening of its sustainable and impact equity team with senior appointments. Specifically, Paul Schofield, Jeremy Kent and Pieter van Diepen will be the ones to join the company as of 1 April and will be based in London and The Hague.
The asset manager revealed that Schofield has been appointed Head of Sustainable & Impact Equity, leading a team of 19 experienced investment professionals. He brings over 20 years of experience in equity investing and joins from Allianz GI, where he was Lead Portfolio Manager of the Sustainable Equity range alongside several other global equity strategies. At NN IP, he will report to Jeroen Bos, Head of Specialised Equity and Responsible Investing.
Meanwhile, Kent has been appointed senior portfolio manager of NN IP’s Sustainable Equity funds. With 13 years of experience, he also joins from Allianz GI, where he held the role of senior portfolio manager for the global sustainable equity strategies. Kent will report to Schofield. They both had a seat on Allianz GI ESG committee and its Proxy Voting committee.
Lastly, Van Diepen has been appointed NN IP’s Head of the Sustainable and Equity analyst team, consisting of seven buy-side analysts and two data scientists. He will also take on the role of senior analyst on the FinTech and Financial Inclusion value chain and will report to Schofield. With over 12 years of experience in financial markets, Van Diepen joins the firm from Aberdeen Standard Investments where he held the role of Investment Director within the global equities team.
Furthermore, the team is adding 3 new members: Giovanna Petti, analyst of Environmental Solutions & Materials; Dirk-Jan Dirksen, analyst of Digital Transformation; and Jeff Meys, dedicated to Consumer Trends.
“We are very pleased to welcome 6 new members to our team. Paul, Jeremy and Pieter bring a wealth of experience and knowledge in equity investing and sustainability to NN IP and are fully aligned with our responsible investment philosophy”, said Jeroen Bos, Head of Specialised Equity & Responsible Investing at NN IP.
In his view, they are well-positioned to directly add value to their sustainable and impact equity investment processes, benefitting their clients. “These appointments clearly underline our ambition to maintain our leadership position in responsible investing, an area where we have a strong and longstanding heritage and where we will continue to invest”, he concluded.
Pixabay CC0 Public Domain. Bloomberg y Rockefeller AM lanzan índice de mejora de ESG
Bloomberg and Rockefeller Asset Management announced the launch of the Bloomberg Rockefeller U.S. All Cap Multi-Factor ESG Improvers Index, available through the Bloomberg Terminal. The index combines Bloomberg’s renowned risk model, data, and index capabilities with 40 years of ESG expertise from Rockefeller AM.
Both firms pointed out in a press release that, unlike other ESG indices that emphasize screening around ESG leaders or laggards, this one ranks a company’s improvement in performance on material ESG issues relative to industry peers. It also combines the Rockefeller ESG Improvers ScoreTM, an uncorrelated and proprietary alpha enhancing factor, with quality and low volatility factors to pursue outperformance over traditional market-cap weighted indices with low tracking error and minimal sector or other factor deviations. They also stated that another distinctive aspect of the index is that it incorporates shareholder engagement techniques that help create shareholder value and catalyze positive change.
“We believe that investors will increasingly differentiate between ESG leaders and improvers – firms showing the greatest improvement in their ESG footprint. And that the latter offers a greater potential for generating uncorrelated alpha over the long-term,” said Casey Clark, Managing Director and Global Head of ESG Investments at Rockefeller Asset Management.
Meanwhile, Alan Campbell, Head of Index Product Management at Bloomberg, claimed that institutional investors are focusing now on underlying ESG factors and trends, so they are expanding their index offering to include ESG improvers. “Together with Rockefeller we are providing investors with a product that captures high quality and low volatility companies that exhibit positive ESG momentum.”
Lastly, Chip Montgomery, Managing Director and Head of Business Strategy & Corporate Development at Rockefeller AM highlighted that given Bloomberg’s history as a multi-asset index provider, and their experience in the ESG space, they “felt this was a natural partnership to bring ESG Improvers benchmarks to the market”.
Foto cedida. S&P Dow Jones Indices y la Bolsa de Santiago lanzan el Índice S&P IPSA ESG Tilted
S&P Dow Jones Indices, the world’s leading index provider, and the Santiago Exchange, announced last January 20th the debut of the S&P IPSA ESG Tilted Index, the latest in S&P DJI’s growing family of global ESG indices based on some of the world’s most highly tracked regional and country-specific benchmarks.
The index uses rules-based selection criteria based on relevant ESG principles to select and weight its constituents from the S&P IPSA, Chile’s headline stock index, measuring the performance of the largest and most liquid stocks listed on the Santiago Exchange.
The objective is to give investors core exposure to the Chilean equities market while providing a significant boost in ESG score performance.
“Last year, ESG undeniably asserted itself as an essential strategy for the mainstream investor as the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice issues put the importance and relevance of corporate sustainability data and principles firmly in the spotlight,” said Reid Steadman, Managing Director and Global Head of ESG Indices at S&P DJI.
“We are thrilled to work with the Santiago Exchange to continue expanding our ESG strategy in Latin America with launch of the S&P IPSA ESG Tilted Index.
This new index will be a useful tool for investors looking to bring ESG principles into the core of their investment portfolios with the goal of attaining performance largely in line with the Chilean equity market.”
“Sustainability is a strategic cornerstone for the Santiago Exchange and the basis for our mission to publicize, disseminate and promote ESG best practices. As capital market articulators, by launching this new index we seek to encourage companies to manage ESG factors with the highest standards, while providing tools for better investment decision-making in order to boost the sustainable development of the market, and to allow Chilean issuers to position themselves globally”, said José Antonio Martínez, CEO of the Santiago Exchange.
Index Methodology
The S&P IPSA ESG Tilted Index starts with all constituents in the S&P IPSA. Companies involved in controversial weapons, tobacco, thermal coal, and companies with disqualifying United Nations Global Compact scores are excluded.
Remaining eligible companies are then weighted within their respective GICS Sectors by their S&P DJI ESG Score resulting from the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). Companies with relatively high or low S&P DJI ESG scores are overweighted or underweighted within their GICS Sector all while maintaining the same sector balance as the parent index, the S&P IPSA.
By maintaining sector neutrality with the eligibility universe, the index provides significant additional
exposure to ESG factors while maintaining relatively low tracking error with the broader market.
At launch, the S&P IPSA ESG Tilted Index will have the following 26 constituents:
Foto cedidaMichaela Collet Jackson, directora de distribución para Europa, Oriente Medio y África de Columbia Threadneedle.. Columbia Threadneedle nombra a Michaela Collet Jackson directora de distribución para Europa, Oriente Medio y África
Columbia Threadneedle Investments has announced in a press release the appointment of Michaela Collet Jackson as Head of Distribution EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa). Previously in BlackRock, she will take over her new role next March 22.
Collet will lead Columbia Threadneedle’s regional Sales and Client Service functions across Wholesale, Institutional and Insurance channels. Reporting to Nick Ring, CEO EMEA, she will join the firm’s regional leadership team and primary governance bodies.
“We look forward to Michaela joining Columbia Threadneedle to lead our UK, European and Middle East Sales teams and drive our distribution capability across client channels. Michaela is a results-focused leader who brings excellent experience in distribution strategy and execution, sales management and client relationship roles. She has an outstanding record of achieving growth through a highly effective combination of strategic direction, team leadership and client-focused organisational structure”, Ring said.
He also highlighted that Collet joins the asset manager at an “exciting time”, as they have consistently strong investment performance, a broad array of strategies across all major asset classes and experience creating bespoke solutions for their clients. “Under Michaela’s leadership we are well positioned to build deeper relationships, serve more clients and grow our EMEA franchise“, he added.
Michaela has over 18 years’ experience in the asset management industry in Europe. She joined Barclays Global Investors (BGI) in 2005 and later BlackRock in 2009 (when it acquired BGI), where she progressed through a number of distribution roles including iShares Business Development lead for international and private banks in the UK and Switzerland, Sales Director for the Nordic Institutional business, Head of Nordic Retail and Head of Solutions & Partnerships for EMEA Retail. In April 2020, she became Managing Director and Deputy COO for the EMEA Distribution business.
Foto cedida. Abbie Llewellyn-Waters, Rhys Petheram y Jon Wallace, nuevos cargos en Jupiter AM
Jupiter AM announced a number of senior appointments and changes within its sustainability suite, which also affect the Jupiter Global Ecology management team. In a press release, the asset manager pointed out that these decisions will allow them to continue to offer clients attractive returns through long-term sustainable investing.
In particular, the firm has named Abbie Llewellyn-Waters Head of Sustainable Investing, the fund manager Rhys Petheram has been promoted to Head of Environmental Solutions, and Jon Wallace has taken over the management of the Jupiter Global Ecology Growth Fund. Wallace will be replacing Charlie Thomas, Head of Strategy, Environment and Sustainability, who leaves after 20 years at the company.
“Drawing on Jupiter’s 30-year heritage of sustainable investing, this restructure and the series of appointments reinforce our commitment to this strategically important client proposition which we see as a cornerstone of our future business growth plans. We are pleased to be able to offer our clients a distinct choice of products, enabling them to achieve their sustainable investing goals in partnership with our dedicated and experienced team”, Andrew Formica, CEO, said.
She also claimed to be “delighted” to have Llewellyn-Waters and Petheram in these new roles where they will be “instrumental” in shaping, supporting and influencing the firmwide initiatives that they have been developing over the last year.
Meanwhile, Stephen Pearson, CIO, congratulated them on their new roles, created to drive forward Jupiter’s sustainability proposition, and paid tribute to departing manager Charlie Thomas: “Having taken on the management of Jupiter’s flagship Ecology unit trust fund nearly 20 years ago, he has become an important part of that fund’s long history and has made a strong mark at Jupiter and on the sector during his tenure. He has been a pleasure to work with and he leaves with our thanks for the valuable contribution he has made and our best wishes for the future”.
Three in-house professionals
With over 15 years of sustainable investment experience, Llewellyn-Waters will lead the firm’s sustainable investing capability, while also feeding into the work of Edward Bonham Carter, who has taken on a new role focusing on the company’s stewardship and corporate responsibility activities. As part of this, she will continue to play an important role in shaping best practice across the business in line with Jupiter’s commitment to ESG.
Meanwhile, Petheram is a recognised thought-leader in environmental fixed income investments with 20 years’ experience across fixed income and multi-asset portfolios. He has co-managed the Jupiter Global Ecology Diversified Fund since inception in 2016, delivering 27.5% relative to a sector average of 16.85% over this time.
In his new role, Petheram will work closely with Llewellyn-Waters, leading and evolving Jupiter’s expertise in investing in companies intentionally focused on providing solutions to sustainability challenges across key environmental themes. He will also oversee Jupiter’s environmental solutions range across asset classes, while continuing to co-manage the Jupiter Global Ecology Diversified fund.
Lastly, Jupiter AM highlighted that Wallace, who has worked closely with Thomas for over 10 years, has an in-depth knowledge of the portfolios and a strong expertise in seeking out the key innovators in the green technology space, making him “the natural successor” for this range. He will collaborate closely with Thomas to ensure a smooth transition of fund management responsibilities.
Although the pandemic is likely to negatively impact 2020-year-end fundraising, the attractive attributes that private infrastructure offers investors in the U.S. will drive assets under management to higher levels and new strategies will proliferate, according to one of the latest reports by Cerulli Associates “Cerulli Edge – U.S. Asset and Wealth Management Edition“.
The document highlights that the distinctive characteristics of infrastructure assets result in a unique risk and return profile: “With returns generally lower and less volatile, advocates perceive real assets as safe and defensive and less correlated with other asset classes”. Also, their long asset lives and often large investment sizes make them particularly attractive to larger investors, such as insurance general accounts, pensions, and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) that “seek to put substantial capital to work in long-life assets that match their long-term liabilities”.
The research reveals that digital infrastructure (fiber networks, telecommunication towers, and data centers) was one of the fastest-growing segments of infrastructure investment in 2020. By prompting a dramatic shift to work- and school-at-home, the pandemic highlighted the need for connectivity. “Investment is required for both upgrading aging data infrastructure and installing new digital assets, particularly in developing countries experiencing rapidly growing demand for connectivity”, Cerulli adds.
The sustainability driver
The demand for sustainable investments is also a key driver shaping infrastructure investing. Specifically, clean energy, water, and wastewater assets have become increasingly attractive to a growing pool of investors seeking sustainable or socially responsible investments. The report points out that often these investors, such as pension funds, are under pressure to meet climate change or sustainability goals, but other investors, including high-net-worth individuals and SWFs, have a growing appetite for investments that make a meaningful impact and also generate a competitive return.
“Additionally, the growing commitment by fund managers to make investments that meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors contributes to the escalating supply and demand for assets in the renewable energy and social housing space”, Cerulli says.
All in all, going forward, the large global, publicly traded alternative asset managers with multi-strategy platforms will be advantaged to source investments, launch products, and attract capital from investors worldwide. Investors’ appetite for sustainability and ESG strategies will continue to drive renewable energy investments. “Similarly, remote work and e-commerce trends that COVID-19 accelerated have stimulated global demand for digital infrastructure that is likely to continue”, the research concludes.
Foto cedidaRichard Graham, nuevo responsable global de relaciones con consultores de Janus Henderson Inverstors.. Janus Henderson Inverstors nombra a Richard Graham responsable global de relaciones con consultores
Janus Henderson Investors announced in a press release the appointment of Richard Graham as Global Head of Consultant Relations. He will be based in London and report to Nick Adams, Global Head of Institutional.
In this newly-created role, Graham will lead and drive Janus Henderson’s engagement with investment consultants on a global basis, developing and executing a coordinated coverage model. Additionally, he will have direct managerial responsibility for the UK based consultant relations team.
“Richard’s hire marks an important step in the continued growth of our institutional team, where we are dedicated to securing first-rate individuals to drive the development of this business”, Adams said. In his view, Graham’s arrival will allow them to “further build” upon their relationships with investment consultants across the globe, working alongside their local sales and client relationship teams.
Graham brings more than 20 years’ investment management experience, most recently at Schroders where he held various senior roles, including Global Head of Consultant Relationships where he had overall responsibility for the consultant intermediated business across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Prior to this he held positions at HSBC Asset Management and Deutsche Asset Management.
Lastly, Janus Henderson pointed out that this appointment builds on its institutional team’s strength and reinforces the firm’s commitment to growing its institutional business on a global basis.
Foto cedidaJim O’Donnell, Head of Citi Global Wealth.. Citi unifica su negocio de wealth management bajo la dirección de Jim O’Donnell
Citi has announced that it has created a single wealth management organization, Citi Global Wealth, unifying its teams in Global Consumer Banking (GCB) and the Institutional Clients Group (ICG).
In a press release, the firm has revealed that Citi Global Wealth will be an integrated platform serving clients across the wealth continuum, from the affluent segment to ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients. The new organization will be led by Jim O’Donnell, who joined Citi in July 1999, and will include the Citi Private Bank and Citi Personal Wealth Management.
O’Donnell will report to Anand Selva, CEO of Global Consumer Banking, and Paco Ybarra, CEO of the Institutional Clients Group. Prior to his appointment to this new role, he was Global Head of Investor Sales and Relationship Management, responsible for the distribution of global Markets products to Citi’s Equities, Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities clients.
“Making wealth management a key differentiator and source of enhanced returns for Citi will be a key element of our strategy going forward, and putting the full force of our firm behind an offering in this way is indicative of the approach we’re taking to transforming our bank”, Citi CEO Michael Corbat and Citi President and incoming CEO Jane Fraser said in an internal memo announcing the new business.
Meanwhile, O’Donnell pointed out that their clients are increasingly global in presence and financial needs, and they are committed to helping them preserve and build wealth for themselves, their families and future generations. “Creating a unified Wealth organization will help us to deliver the full, global power of Citi to clients while ensuring that we preserve the products, capabilities and expertise of the Private Bank and Consumer Wealth businesses”, he added.
Citi Private Bank serves more than 13,000 UHNW clients, including 25% of the world’s billionaires and more than 1,400 family offices across 50 cities in over 100 countries. The firm points out that its business model enables them to focus on fewer, larger and more sophisticated clients who have an average net worth above 100 million dollars.
Furthermore, through its Citigold, Citigold Private Client and Citi Priority offerings, Citi’s Global Consumer Bank provides institutional grade, personalized wealth management services to clients. The unit has approximately 200 billion dollars in investment assets under management globally and serves clients in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Mexico.
