Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG), a company of Manulife Investment Management, has appointed Eric Cooperström as Managing Director, Impact Investing and Natural Climate Solutions.
In this newly created role, Cooperström will be responsible for enhancing the sustainability and responsible investing capabilities for Manulife Investment Management’s timberland and agriculture teams and will also work closely with them to develop and support an investment thesis and value proposition for clients interested in impact-first investments.
Historically, Manulife Investment Management’s timberland and agriculture investments have emphasised good stewardship of ESG factors as important contributors to achieving long-term market rates of return. However, as climate change related effects on the environment become more pronounced, the need for mitigation and adaptation through natural climate solutions becomes more obvious. Through its capabilities in timberland and agriculture, Manulife Investment Management is well-positioned to offer strategies that prioritise environmental and social impact equal to or above financial returns – or impact-first investments – to clients.
“We are excited to have Eric onboard as his expertise and background will be integral in developing our impact-first investment strategies,” says Brian Kernohan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Private Markets, Manulife Investment Management. “We believe forests and farms are natural climate solutions, and we see removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in trees and soils as a viable option for investors who are looking to optimise and prioritise carbon sequestration.”
Cooperström reports to Kernohan and is based in San Francisco.
Prior to joining Manulife Investment Management, Cooperström was a Senior Director at NatureVest, the impact investment arm of The Nature Conservancy, where he was responsible for asset management and for developing the conservation impact investment strategy. Previously, he was program-related investment lead at the Skoll Foundation. He also worked at Volta Capital and Capital Dynamics in London as an investment associate and was an analyst at investment bank Houlihan Lokey. Cooperström graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Arts in International Relations and International Economics and the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.
