Robeco has added four new members to its Sustainable Investment (SI) Research team. Rachel Whittaker will join as head of the team on 1 September 2021, and the team will be further strengthened by researchers Giulia Schettino, Ally Wong, and Federico Silvano.
Whittaker, who will be based in Zurich, is a seasoned SI professional with over 20 years of industry experience. She joins Robeco from UBS where she was an SI strategist in the CIO Office of the global wealth management arm. Having already worked for Robeco from 2015 to 2017, her new role as head of SI Research will see Whittaker lead a growing international team of research analysts. Her and her team’s responsibilities include identifying the impact ESG has on business fundamentals, increasing and broadening SI sector knowledge and further developing the SDG framework for mapping and measuring SDG contributions across all investment portfolios. Whittaker will be a thought leader and ambassador of SI expertise, ensuring Robeco’s investment teams’ access to extensive sustainability know-how, which is an integral part of the investment process.
Researchers Schettino and Wong, who both join from UBS, will be covering Robeco’s TMT FiRe (technology, media and telecom, financials and real estate) SI Research cluster and heavy industries cluster respectively. Mr. Silvano, who comes from Allianz Global Investors, will also join the heavy industries SI Research cluster as a researcher.
Robeco’s SI Centre of Expertise brings together its investment professionals focused on sustainable investing. The centre consists of four pillars: SI Thought Leadership, SI Client Portfolio Management, SI Research, and Active Ownership. The team is headed by Carola van Lamoen.
Carola van Lamoen, Head of Sustainable Investing, says: “Robeco has a leading position in SI and SI Research is a key component in our investment process. That leading position enables us to attract world-class experts, and we are excited that with these professionals on board we will be broadening and diversifying the team, further strengthening our research capabilities and contributing to better-informed investment decisions for our clients.”
