Axa Investment Managers has announced its organisational structure for deeper integration of responsible investment processes.
The firm says this is the next stage of its commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, which it announced in June as part of a wider investment plan.
There is now a central responsible investment team focusing on thematic research, corporate governance and shareholder engagement. The team will also develop quantitative solutions.
Specialists covering key areas of responsible investment have also been appointed. Lise Moret, who joined Axa IM in 2007, is responsible for the climate change strategy and Marie Fromaget has recently joined from Kepler Cheuvreux as human capital and diversity analyst.
Julien Foll covers health and Alice Val covers climate. The two, who were already employed at Axa IM, also have responsibility for green bonds.
Yo Takatsuki is to join Axa IM as head of environmental, social and governance research and engagement at the start of November. His previous role was as a governance and sustainable investment director at BMO Global Asset Management.
The firm indicated it would make further appointments of ESG specialists to conduct ESG analysis at the company level. Some have already joined the investment teams, the firm, said. Melina Leprince-Ringuet joined Axa IM in July this year from Inflection Point Capital Management and acts as a specialist for Framlington Equities. Shah Khan, who has been an analyst at UMB bank in the US and launched Captain Impact to promote impact investing, is now a specialist for Axa IM’s Rosenberg business.
Rebecca Greenberg, previously at Moody’s, and Augustin Monnoyeur, formerly at Credit Insights, are specialists for fixed income.
Andrea Rossi, chief executive officer at Axa IM, said: “Responsible Investment is one of our strategic priorities. Not only because clients are telling us that RI [responsible investment] matters to them, but also because we are convinced of the important role finance plays in fostering a society that supports fairness and equity, as well as an environment that can sustain us in the future.”
The firm is integrating ESG analysis into all of its investment platforms, providing fund managers with access to proprietary ESG scores and key performance indicators.
Specialists are being embedded into investment teams to support fund managers in making ESG and impact analysis in their investment processes.
Axa IM manages €442 billion of ESG-integrated assets under management, which is about 60% of the firm’s €759 billion of total assets.
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