Alphinity appoints ESG and sustainability manager


Global equities boutique fund manager Alphinity Investment Management has added to its environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment and research capabilities with the appointment of Jessica Cairns.
She was appointed to the newly-created role of ESG and sustainability manager, which the firm said would support its effort to integrate ESG-related matters across its domestic and global equities funds, including the Alphinity Sustainable Share fund.
Cairns’ most recent role was senior sustainability advisor at Transurban, where she was responsible for the company’s response to the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).
Prior to that, she spent four years as a case manager at the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, where she was responsible for helping infrastructure teams achieve better infrastructure sustainability.
Her appointment followed that of research analysts, Jacob Barnes and Andrey Mironenko, who were appointed earlier in the year.
Barnes had joined from First State Super where he was a senior investment analyst in its direct equities team and now focused on consumer stocks as a member of the domestic equities team.
Mironenko joined after seven years with McKinsey and now focused on information technology and chemical companies, as well as the Sustainable Share fund.
Stephane Andre, Alphinity principal and portfolio manager, said: “Jessica is already playing an important role in assisting the Sustainable Share Fund Compliance Committee in refining the investment universe for the Fund which considers companies’ contribution towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
“Along with the analysts, she will also help to drive company and market engagements, and ensure Alphinity remains a leading thinker in ESG and SDG matters.
“Jacob and Andrey’s work is also providing impact and has helped to deepen Alphinity’s fundamental research analytical capabilities, which underpin our investment philosophy.”
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