NN Investment Partners is the asset manager of NN Group N.V., a publicly traded company listed on Euronext Amsterdam. NN Investment Partners is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands and manages approximately EUR 287 bln* (USD 313 bln*) in assets for institutions and individual investors worldwide. NN Investment Partners employs around 1,000 staff and has offices in 15 countries, servicing clients across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.
NN Investment Partners is part of NN Group N.V., a publicly traded company.
* Figures as of 30 September 2019
Aberdeen Standard Investments is dedicated to helping investors around the world reach their desired investment goals and broaden their financial horizons.
We seek to provide world-class investment expertise across a breadth of markets and asset classes. Our full range of solutions span equities, multi-asset, fixed income, liquidity, sovereign wealth funds, real estate and private markets. Coupled with a range of investment approaches, from quantitatively-managed ‘smart beta’ to highly active alpha-seeking strategies, we transform new investment ideas into practical investment products designed to deliver real value for money to investors.
We have one of the world’s largest teams of investment professionals with approximately 1,000 portfolio managers, analysts and product, risk and trading specialists located globally ensuring close proximity to our clients and the markets in which we invest. In addition, we have 500 client specialists working closely with investors and professional advisors to understand their goals and deliver innovative, world class investment solutions. Today, we manage €587.6bn of assets on behalf of governments, pension funds, insurers, companies, charities, foundations and individuals across 80 countries (as at 30 June 2019). The largest active asset manager in the UK, we are also one of the top five asset managers headquartered in Europe and one of the biggest active asset managers worldwide not owned by a bank. As a responsible global investor, we leverage our scale and market leadership to raise standards in both the companies and industries in which we invest, and drive best practice across the asset management industry.
Octopus Group
Octopus is a group of companies which invests in the people, ideas and industries that will help to change the world.
We believe that the companies serving two of our most important needs – our financial wellbeing and our planet’s future – are failing. And we want that to change. We want everything we do, whether that’s in financial services or energy supply, to have a positive impact on the people it touches.
In our financial services business, we care as much about the impact our investments have, as we do about the returns that we generate for our investors. We manage more than £8.6billion* on behalf of retail and institutional investors, specialising in renewable energy, real estate, smaller company and venture capital investing.
Our energy supply business – Octopus Energy, is one of the fastest growing companies in the UK. It has grown from start-up to more than 1.5 million customers over the last four years and is now the #1 rated UK energy supply business, and the only one to be recommended by Which? three years in a row.
Octopus Energy, Octopus Investments, Octopus Renewables, Octopus Real Estate, Octopus Ventures, Seccl Technology and Octopus Wealth are all part of Octopus Group.
*Includes funds under advisory mandates and the Octopus Cash service.
Energy Impact Partners (EIP) is a specialized growth equity venture capital firm focused on technologies reshaping the future of the energy industry by making it smarter, cleaner, more resilient, and customer-friendly. EIP is backed by 20+ of the world’s most progressive and forward-looking energy and industrial companies, who invest in EIP as a strategy for accelerating the pace of innovation, and better positioning their operating businesses for an increasingly electrified, decarbonized, and decentralized future. In turn, EIP leverages the incredible buying power, technical expertise, and global reach of its partner coalition to find and invest in top companies that will lead and enable the transition to a clean energy future. EIP’s utility partners include Southern Company, National Grid, Xcel Energy, Ameren, Evergy, Fortis Inc., AGL, Avista, MGE Energy Inc., TEPCO, PTT Public Company Limited, OGE Energy Corp., TransCanada, and Alliant Energy.
Created in 1991, La Financière de l’Echiquier (LFDE) is one of the leading asset management boutiques in France, investing in listed companies in Europe and worldwide. LFDE relies on its conviction management expertise to offer its institutional, wholesale and private clients the sustainable products and solutions they need to enhance the value of their investments. LFDE currently manages around EUR 9 billion, has more than 130 employees and has a commercial presence in Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the Benelux countries. LFDE is part of the Primonial group, an independent leader in France in designing, managing and providing investment solutions.
Fitch Ratings is a leading provider of credit ratings, commentary and research. Dedicated to providing value beyond the rating through independent and prospective credit opinions, Fitch Ratings offers global perspectives shaped by strong local market experience and credit market expertise. The additional context, perspective and insights we provide help investors to make important credit judgments with confidence. Fitch Group is a global leader in financial information services with operations in more than 30 countries. Fitch Group is comprised of: Fitch Ratings, a global leader in credit ratings and research; Fitch Solutions, a leading provider of credit market data, analytical tools and risk services; BMI Research, an independent provider of country risk and industry analysis specializing in emerging and frontier markets; and Fitch Learning, a preeminent training and professional development firm. With dual headquarters in London and New York, Fitch Group is owned by Hearst.
Moody’s is a global integrated risk assessment firm that empowers organizations to make better decisions.
Investors are looking for ways to generate positive investment outcomes and impact, while managing financial risks and returns. Moody’s capabilities in ESG and climate risk expanded in 2019 with majority investments in two new affiliates: Four Twenty Seven, a leading provider of climate intelligence and data, and Vigeo Eris, a global leader in specialized research, decision-making tools and assessments for sustainable and ethical investments.
STOXX Ltd. is a global index provide that currently calculates a global, comprehensive index family of over 10,000 strictly rules-based and transparent indices. Best known for the leading European equity indices EURO STOXX 50, STOXX Europe 50 and STOXX Europe 600, STOXX Ltd. maintains and calculates the STOXX Global index family which consists of total market, broad and blue-chip indices for the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific regions and the Latin America and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) sub-regions, as well as global markets.STOXX indices are licensed to more than 600 companies around the world as underlyings for exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), futures and options, structured products and passively managed investment funds. Three of the top ETFs in Europe and approximately 25% of all assets under management are based on STOXX indices. STOXX Ltd. holds Europe’s number one and the world’s number two position in the derivatives segment. Since September 2019 STOXX is part of Qontigo.
Ortec Finance was created in 2007 through a management buyout of the company ORTEC B.V., which was founded in 1981 by four innovative students of econometrics at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam who believed that mathematical models could be used to optimize the performance of companies. More than 35 years later, this is still the core of its expertise. With a team of 275 experts in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Switzerland, Ortec Finance serves its customers completely independently.
Ortec Finance is a leading provider of technology and solutions for risk and returns management.
For over 40 years, MSCI has measured and modelled Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk.1 MSCI is a leading provider of ESG and climate research, indexes and analytical tools, including ESG ratings of over 13,500 issuers (including subsidiaries)2 and over 1,000 ESG Equity and Fixed Income Indexes3. We aim to help investors integrate ESG across their entire investment process; powering better investment decisions.
As an international group committed to sustainability and well established through its banks in more than 25 locations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, J. Safra Sarasin Group is a global symbol of private banking tradition, emphasizing security and well-managed conservative growth for clients.
The J. Safra Sarasin Group is part of the family-owned Safra Group, a highly regarded name in global Private Banking with a long and successful history. All the companies in the Safra Group are built on strong financial foundations. Family ownership provides the Group and their clients with stability and a consistent long-term approach.
Northern Trust Asset Management is a global investment manager that helps investors navigate changing market environments, so they can confidently realize their long-term objectives. Entrusted with $885 billion in assets,1 we understand that investing ultimately serves a greater purpose and believe investors should be compensated for the risks they take — in all market environments and any investment strategy. That’s why we combine robust capital markets research, expert portfolio construction and comprehensive risk management to craft innovative and efficient solutions that deliver targeted investment outcomes. As engaged contributors to our communities, we consider it a great privilege to serve our investors and our communities with integrity, respect, and transparency.
For four decades, State Street Global Advisors has served the world’s governments, institutions and financial advisors. With a rigorous, risk-aware approach built on research, analysis and market-tested experience, we build from a breadth of active and index strategies to create cost-effective solutions. As stewards, we help portfolio companies see that what is fair for people and sustainable for the planet can deliver long-term performance. And, as pioneers in index, ETF, and ESG investing, we are always inventing new ways to invest. As a result, we have become the world’s third largest asset manager with nearly US $3.12 trillion* under our care. * This figure is presented as of December 31, 2019 and includes approximately $45 billion of assets with respect to SPDR products for which State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) acts solely as the marketing agent. SSGA FD and State Street Global Advisors are affiliated.
For more information please contact us at info@vsqm.com
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) supports society by providing authoritative information about the past, present and future climate in Europe and the rest of the World.
The C3S mission is to support adaptation and mitigation policies of the European Union by providing consistent and authoritative information about climate change. We offer free and open access to climate data and tools based on the best available science. We listen to our users and endeavour to help them meet their goals in dealing with the impacts of climate change.
In response to COVID-19 and the unpredictability of holding physical events in the short term, the Sustainable Investment Forum Europe 2020, in official partnership with UNEP-FI, returned between 8-22 September as a 4-part digital event series, running weekly for one month – WATCH LIVE OR ON-DEMAND.
Climate Action is committed to enabling debate, encouraging dialogue and collaboration to lay the foundations for sustainable finance, and we provided an online environment for over 1,000 attendees to engage with the sustainable finance community in these unprecedented times.
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Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainable Finance
Andrew has over 30 years of experience as a global risk and finance specialist and was recently appointed to lead a new cross sector global team to develop and expand Fitch’s analysis of ESG and sustainable finance. Andrew is responsible for developing Fitch’s sustainable finance strategy, both within the ratings business and across the broader Fitch group, by determining investor and banker needs, and driving the development of new teams to provide products and services for this rapidly growing area. Initially the sustainable finance team is based in London, New York and Beijing, but will expand in size, scope and location dependent on identified constituent needs.
Andrew has held several senior management roles within Fitch over the last 14 years. In Europe from 2004 to 2010 he ran the energy, utilities, project finance and regulated transportation analytical groups. From 2010 to 2017 he was based in Singapore and led the development of Fitch’s Asia Pacific Corporate Ratings Group. Then on his return to Europe in 2017 he was regional head of Fitch’s EMEA Corporate Ratings Group, and also successfully ran a global executive project to transform and improve Fitch’s overseas office network.
From 2000 to 2004, Andrew was head of ABN Amro’s structured industry finance, power and utilities group for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He also previously worked for Edison Capital Europe as a private equity investment director in infrastructure, for the energy company PowerGen plc (now EON) as a senior project finance manager, and in the banking sector as a mezzanine, leveraged buy-out and cross-border M&A lender and advisor.
From 2006-2010 Andrew actively assisted the United Nation’s Economic Council for Europe advising on energy and risk issues, and was a member of the UNECE Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Sustainable Energy Developments. Andrew speaks regularly at conferences and forums on a wide range of risk based issues. He is currently a trustee of the Great Ormand Street Hospital based children’s charity CLEFT.
Andrew graduated with a BSc Hons in Psychology from Bristol University in 1989, and has a postgraduate diploma from INSEAD business school (CGEM 2016).
Chair
Dr Ben Caldecott is the founding Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme. He is an Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, a Supernumerary Fellow at Oriel College, Oxford, and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. Ben is also the COP26 Strategy Advisor for Finance based out of the UK Cabinet Office.
Ben specialises in environment, energy, and sustainability issues and works at the intersection between finance, public policy, and academe, having held senior roles in each domain. Ben has authored and edited a substantial number of publications related to sustainability and is an experienced media commentator and public speaker. He is also a regular peer reviewer and has a number of board and advisory panel appointments, including with the University of Oxford Socially Responsible Investment Review Committee, The Prince of Wales’s Accounting for Sustainability Project, ATLAS Infrastructure Partners Ltd, Impact Lens Ltd, the British Standards Institution (BSI), and the Green Alliance.
Ben currently serves on the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee and the UK Department for International Trade’s Export Guarantees Advisory Council. In his capacity as a Member of the UK Green Finance Taskforce, he chaired its Workstream on Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD) Implementation. He also chaired the International Green Finance Coordination Group on behalf of the UK Green Finance Institute and the UK Government.
Vice President – Fundraising & Impact Investing
Ms. Gorham heads global fundraising and impacting investing activities supporting EIP’s European, North American, and Infrastructure platforms. Additionally, she oversees impact measurement and reporting, and GP-LP collaboration on shared ESG priorities. Prior, as Sr. Product Manager at S&P Global Market Intelligence, she oversaw renewable energy and ESG content businesses and served on S&P Global cross divisional ESG Task Force. Earlier, Bethany worked in technical roles at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Laboratory (NREL) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Bethany has a Masters in Environmental Management and Climate Sustainability from Harvard University and a BBA in Finance from Texas Christian University.
Co-Founder
Chris Hulatt is one of the founders of Octopus. He oversees the growth and running of Octopus’ institutional investment offer, which currently totals more than £2.4bn in funds under management.
Chris founded Octopus to challenge the traditional asset management model, where good performance is based on outperforming a benchmark regardless of whether a loss has been made.
Chris is on the investment committee of several Octopus funds, which aim to champion UK growth companies and offer investors access to real assets that are long-term in nature, cash-yielding and resilient to economic headwinds.
Before starting Octopus, Chris led one of the Global Equity sector research teams at Mercury Asset Management. Chris has a first-class MA in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Chris was also named EY’s UK Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017, alongside co-founder Simon Rogerson.
Head of Strategic Asset Allocation
Craig leads the Strategic Asset Allocation team at Aberdeen Standard Investments. The team is responsible for the firm’s long-term investment views and strategy. Craig has had a long career in the investment industry: he established successful governance and sustainability functions at Friends, Ivory & Sime and at Insight Investment; he created BMOs innovative reo® corporate governance service; and helped establish and shape the Principles for Responsible Investment and the FTSE Russell ESG index family. Subsequently he has worked in asset allocation focusing on the economic drivers and long-term asset class returns. Craig has a PhD in behavioural finance, and is a senior lecturer at Edinburgh University Business School, where he set up the Centre for Business and Climate Change. He has published widely on long-term and sustainable investment topics.
Head
Eric Usher currently heads the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, UNEP FI, a global partnership bringing together the UN with 230 banks, insurers and asset managers working to develop the sustainable finance and responsible investment agendas. Eric oversees governance, strategy and day-to-day management of UNEP FI’s work programme and global network development. Over the years UNEP FI has established some of the most important sustainability oriented frameworks within the finance industry, including the Principles for Responsible Investment (2006), the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (2012) and work now underway on the establishment of Principles for Responsible Banking. Since joining in 2015, Mr. Usher has focused on accelerating the deep integration of sustainability risks into financial practice, including addressing climate change, natural capital loss and human rights abuses, as well as building out the frameworks for positive impact finance needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Eric sits on several industry bodies including as UN representative on the Board of the Principles for Responsible Investment, as a member of the Evaluation Council of the French sovereign green bond, as Director for the impact fund REPP Africa and founder of the Seed Capital Assistance Facility.
Prior to leading UNEP FI, Mr. Usher has over twenty years of experience in the low carbon sectors, spanning technology commercialisation in Canada, solar rural electrification in Morocco and financial sector development across emerging markets. During 2011, Mr. Usher worked on the establishment of the Green Climate Fund and led efforts to create its Private Sector Facility. Eric has been an editor of the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report published annually with Bloomberg and was lead author for finance of the IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources. Before joining the UN, Eric was General Manager of a solar rural electrification company based in Morocco.
Project Manager & Corporate Governance Policy Advisor
Hannah joined the Lab in 2017 and has managed the projects on performance metrics, climate-related reporting and workforce disclosures. Hannah moved from the FRC’s Corporate Governance Team, where she worked on reviews of the Stewardship Code and UK Corporate Governance Code and ran the 2016 Stewardship Code tiering exercise.
Hannah is a qualified lawyer and prior to joining the FRC, worked in the Australian Department of the Treasury on corporations and corporate law policy.
Head of Sustainable Finance Advisory
Jacob Michaelsen is Head of Sustainable Finance Advisory at Nordea, the largest Nordic bank and leading Debt Capital Market house in the region. Through this role, Jacob is in constant dialogue with investors, issuers and the broader market on all matters related to the Green bond market and sustainable finance more broadly. Prior to working with Green bonds Jacob was a part of the Bond Syndicate team at Nordea where he led the execution of a broad range of new issues.
Head of Specialised Equity & Responsible Investing
Jeroen Bos, CFA, CAIA is Head of Specialised Equity & Responsible Investing at NN Investment Partners (NN IP) and part of its Management Team Investments. His portfolio of responsibilities includes a variety of Global and Regional Sustainable & Impact Equity Funds. Jeroen is also a member of NN IP’s ESG Board and has been instrumental in the development of ESG integration at NNIP in the last decade. His previous roles at NN IP included Head of Global Equity Research as well as Senior Portfolio Manager on several Global Equity & Thematic Funds. Before joining NN IP, Jeroen was a Director at UBS in New York in the Technology Equity Research Team. Prior to UBS, he was a Vice President at JP Morgan in London and a Senior Equity Analyst at MeesPierson/Fortis in Amsterdam. Jeroen is also a Board Member of CFA Society VBA Netherlands as well as a Board Member of the Work with Nature Foundation, a non-profit organization protecting Costa Rica’s rainforest.
Head of the Sustainable Finance Unit
Martin Spolc is the Head of the Sustainable Finance unit in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Financial Services. Prior to his current role, he was the Head of the Capital Markets Union unit, the Economic analysis unit, Deputy Head of the Banking unit and Assistant to the Director General, directly involved in developing the Banking Union and other key projects in the area of financial services aiming at restoring financial stability since the crisis. Before joining the Commission, he had worked at risk management consultancy and the banking sector. He is the holder of the CFA and FRM designations and member of the CFA Institute and Global Association of Risk Professionals.
Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Engagement
Martina Macpherson is Senior Vice President, Strategic ESG Engagement & Partnerships, at Moody’s, and President of the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets. Martina has held a number of ESG leadership roles including Head of ESG Index Products at S&P DJI, Managing Director of Sustainable Investments Partners Ltd. and Vice President of ESG at MSCI.
She has been working in the ESG, index and asset management industry for almost 20 years and has been a member of multiple sustainable finance associations and policy working groups at UK, EU and at an international level.
Currently, Martina is part of the UNGC SDG CFO Taskforce, the European Law Institute’s Sustainable Finance Working Group, CBI’s Transition Bond Technical Expert Group, and Enterprise Data Management’s Working Group on ESG Data and Metrics.
Martina is a visiting fellow in sustainable finance at University of Zurich and Henley Business School. She has an MBA certificate in finance and business from LSBF / UK, and a MA in Law and Human Sciences from University of Frankfurt in Germany. She is a doctoral fellow of the Institute of Certified Risk Management Professionals UK, a fellow member of the ICRS, and an alumni of the German National Academic Foundation.
Chief Strategy Officer
Dr. Fox-Penner is one of the foremost experts in the utility industry. He served as Principal and Chairman of The Brattle Group, a renowned economic and regulatory consulting firm, where he joined in 1996 and rose to become the longest-serving Chairman in the firm’s history. Prior, Dr. Fox-Penner served as a senior official in the White House Office of Science and Technology. He is also a professor at Boston University where he serves as Founder and Chairman of BU’s Institute for Sustainable Energy. Dr. Fox-Penner received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago. At EIP, he supports investment teams and partners, and oversees EIP’s portfolio ESG Impact quantification efforts. He is also author of the highly acclaimed book, Smart Power: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of Electric Utilities.
Chief Investment Officer
Valentijn is Chief Investment Officer of NN Investment Partners and chairman of the Management Team Investments (MTI)
Valentijn has over 18 years of experience working in financial markets. Valentijn is also chair of NNIP’s Tactical Asset Allocation committee and the firm’s key spokesperson on the macro and market outlook. Therefore, he appears frequently at client events, seminars and in financial news media like CNN, CNBC, RTLZ, NOS, BNR, Bloomberg and Reuters or journals like the FT, FD, IPE, and other newswires and social media channels.
Previous events attracted leading asset owners managing more than €3 trillion, as well as major asset managers, policymakers, banks, think-tanks and non-profit organisations.
Attendees
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Industry Leading Partners