OppenheimerFunds may be expanding on its line of environmental, social and governance, or ESG, related ETFs after appointing Aniket Shah as Head of Sustainable Investing.
“As investor demand for sustainable investing strategies continues to rise, expanding our ESG capabilities to further meet client needs remains an ongoing strategic priority for the firm,” Art Steinmetz, Chairman and CEO of OppenheimerFunds, said.
Shah will be responsible for working with OppenheimerFunds’ portfolio managers and investment product specialists to further integrate sustainable investing practices across all aspects of the firm’s business activities to better serve investors, according to a note.
For the past three years, Shah served as Head of Financing for Sustainable Development for the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network where he worked with governments, investors, corporations and non-governmental organizations on ESG integration and sustainable development financing issues.
“As sustainable investing continues to establish itself as a critical investing channel for a growing number of clients, developing a framework to implement sustainable practices throughout the firm has become increasingly important to our success in ESG,” Sharon French, OppenheimerFunds Head of Beta Solutions, said. “Aniket’s depth of expertise, diverse global public and private sector background and extensive knowledge of sustainable investing dynamics will significantly advance our position with clients and better orient us for growth in sustainability going forward.”
OppenheimerFunds already offers some ESG-related ETF strategies, including the Oppenheimer ESG Revenue ETF (NYSEArca: ESGL) and Oppenheimer Global ESG Revenue ETF (NYSEArca: ESGF).
ESGL targets broad U.S. large-caps through the S&P 500 but screens through Sustainalyics’ proprietary scoring system that focuses on those with positive ESG attributes and employs a revenue-weighted methodology.