Allianz Global Investors has appointed Matt Christensen as Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing. In this role, he will accelerate the growth of Impact Investing as part of the company’s growing private markets platform; lead the continued integration of ESG factors across AllianzGI’s existing range of public markets products, including stewardship activities; and support the development of new SRI products.
As well as succeeding Beatrix Anton-Groenemeyer, who is retiring as Chief Sustainability Officer, Christensen will have investment oversight for the firm’s impact investments, which is an increasingly important part of AllianzGI’s Sustainable Investing proposition for clients.
Christensen will join AllianzGI in December from AXA Investment Managers, where he has been Global Head of Responsible Investment and Impact Strategy since 2011. Before this, he was the Founding Executive Director of the think-tank Eurosif (European Sustainable Investment Forum) from 2002.
Deborah Zurkow, Global Head of Investments for AllianzGI, says: “We are delighted to be welcoming Matt Christensen to Allianz Global Investors. His reputation in Impact and Responsible Investing, together with his entrepreneurial spirit, make him a great fit for us and the direction we are committed to taking our client offering. Under his leadership, we will continue to invest in all aspects of Sustainability from Active Stewardship and ESG integration to flagship impact strategies and more SRI-compliant products. Matt’s experience in impact investing is particularly significant given its position at the nexus of two strategic cornerstones for AllianzGI: the build-out of our private markets offering as well as sustainability.”
Christensen will be based out of AllianzGI’s Paris office with a team based across several locations globally. His appointment will be followed by other hires as part of AllianzGI’s strategic build out of its Sustainable Investment proposition for clients.
