Nick is a Resource & Environment investment actuary. Most recently he led the strategic advice for large EMEA institutions at Russell Investments and was their EMEA lead on Responsible Investing. He has since created Gordian Advice, a sustainable advisory boutique, focusing on integrating long-term environment, societal and governance (ESG) influences into investment strategies and portfolios.

Nick believes pension funds are a tipping point in defining their purpose. He sees that leading pension funds are not only reflecting on integrating ESG influences but are actively seeking opportunities that both generate returns and also deliver a positive impact for society. Those funds are reflecting on their purpose, the meaning of long-term investing and how they best understand their members’ preferences. They consider that all their beneficiaries have a vested and financial interest in the society they retire into. As a consequence, those leading funds are demanding more from their investments requiring them to generate both returns and impact. They typically find that such demands can be met with no material increase in risk nor loss of returns and that these approaches can even be risk/return enhancing.

Finally, Nick is a passionate believer on the importance of values & culture and an advocate for aligning the asset management industry with a broad societal purpose. He was Co-chair of Russell Investments’ EMEA Diversity & Inclusion committee and is an Ambassador for the Diversity Project.

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