Acadian Adds First U.S. Institutional Investor in Sustainable Global Strategy
October 17, 2022 – The Boston-based asset manager announced its first U.S. institutional investor in its Sustainable Global strategy, with a seed investment from sustainability-focused allocator McKnight Foundation. The investment underscores increasing demand in this space.
“Acadian is using natural language processing to harness growing climate disclosure and other unstructured data. This allows them to craft climate-aware strategies for their clients and add differentiated signals to their systematic model to enhance return forecasts," said Elizabeth McGeveran, Director of Investments at McKnight Foundation. "This strategy will help McKnight reach our commitment to achieving a net zero endowment by 2050 or sooner—with weighted average carbon intensity more than 30% below a 2020 benchmark baseline and on a net zero glidepath that will improve by 7% annually.”
Added Ms. McGeveran, “Our seed investment in this Fund diversifies our public equity portfolio, creates additional exposure to value, and augments our approach to mission alignment."
Acadian has long been active in the ESG space and was the first systematic investment manager to sign the UN PRI in 2009. Acadian has been managing dedicated Sustainable portfolios since 2005. Other responsible investing solutions include the Emerging Markets ex-Fossil Fuel strategy incepted in 2016, as well as a significant portion of assets under management with client-driven ESG tilts—which the firm has been implementing to varying degrees since the 1990s.
The strategy employs the firm’s systematic process to invest on financially material ESG alpha signals, engage in active ownership, and take advantage of flexible portfolio construction techniques to capture exclusions and climate action targets. Said Acadian CMO and Head of Global Client Group Kelly Young, “We believe that there is a considerable edge we can bring to ESG investing through our systematic approach, and we are excited by the conversations we are having with our client partners to build customizable solutions that integrate sustainability preferences.”
Acadian Asset Management LLC invests on behalf of pension funds, endowments, governments, foundations and other institutional investors, with US$90.5 billion in assets under management globally, as of June 30, 2022. The firm uses an innovative array of disciplined, systematic investment techniques across stock-specific, macro, and peer forecasting models. Acadian offers systematic macro, ESG, equity alternatives, managed volatility, and long-only strategies, including emerging markets, small-cap, and international equity. Acadian has affiliated offices in London, Sydney, and Singapore.
The McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. In 2021, McKnight committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its $3 billion endowment by 2050 or sooner. A leading funder of climate solutions in the Midwest, McKnight is the country’s largest private foundation to pursue a net zero endowment. Learn more at mcknight.org/impact-investing.
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