Pathfinder bolsters responsible investment capability

Fund manager Pathfinder has appointed two staff to support its focus on responsible investment.

Wednesday, February 14th 2018, 6:00AM

Rebecca Lindegger is an ESG and responsible investment specialist who has recently returned to New Zealand.

She had been in London advising European private equity investors and corporates on ESG.

Pathfinder said her work included analysis of carbon intensity, supply chain risks and other specialised ESG due diligence.

The other new addition is Bob McCutcheon, who joins the team with a focus on strategy and compliance. He has experience in project management, business operations and IT.

Chief executive John Berry said maintaining Pathfinder’s focus on responsible investment required quality ESG analysis.

“Rebecca will lead our in-house ESG capability and company engagement. We will also continue to work with external provider Sustainalytics for global ESG ratings,” he said.

“In five years it won’t be unusual for New Zealand fund managers to have in-house ESG specialists – at the moment we are quite unique.

"There is a lot of talk offshore about fund managers who market themselves as ‘responsible’ but don't allocate appropriate resource to responsible investing.

"Doing this properly requires a balance of both external research and internal capability. I have seen critics in Europe throwing the ‘greenwashing’ label at fund managers who don't have the appropriate internal ESG expertise but market themselves as responsible managers. This is important because it requires more than a finance degree to interpret ESG information. Rebecca has an MSc in environmental science. We see taking on this skillset as a trend going forward for fund managers."

Tags: Pathfinder Asset Management responsible investing