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.
For Funds Society, Madrid