ART looks to double sustainable investments team

The super fund said it aims to enhance its focus on sustainable investing across its $240 billion portfolio with eight newly created roles.

ART’s head of sustainable investments, Nicole Bradford, said that climate change and the global challenge of transitioning the economy to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 were among the driving forces of its expanding work in this space and need to grow the team.

“At Australian Retirement Trust, we believe that investing for the long term in the best financial interests of our more than 2.2 million members includes managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, like climate change, today,” Ms Bradford said.

“With the upcoming release of our Net Zero 2050 Roadmap outlining our current climate-related interim targets and proposed actions to support the climate transition in our portfolio, we now need to focus on building strong internal capabilities to support the investments team to implement this ambitious plan.

“As a systemic risk, if climate change is left unabated, it will impact the global economy. This means that to act in member’s best financial interests and help protect their future financial wellbeing, funds should be considering climate change alongside other traditional financial matters throughout all aspects of the investment process.”

She added that ART’s members are becoming increasingly conscious of ESG issues and have a growing demand to “understand how their retirement savings are meeting sustainable objectives”.

“For this reason, we are looking to grow our team to further drive implementation of ESG and climate change activities across our investment portfolio, as well as build out and deliver a number of areas of focus the fund is undertaking,” Ms Bradford said.

“That’s what my team are focused on supporting, so it’s an exciting time to be at the heart of something that is very member-focused.

“ART has already built a diverse team that empowers each person to deliver for our members while furthering their career. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of an expanding area within our organisation, which truly cares about its team members and delivering the best possible retirement outcomes for its 2.2 million members.”

ART said it is targeting individuals with expertise across stewardship, ESG integration, research, impact investing, managing sustainable investment options, and ESG data and analytics.

“I urge anyone who is interested to apply today and make a real difference to our members’ lives while working with some of the best minds in the industry and playing a role in shaping the future of sustainable investing,” Ms Bradford said.