The asset manager AllianceBernstein is collaborating with leading scientists to develop new research on climate risk and investment performance.
This research project will be run from Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
Scientific experts and financial profession will develop this new curriculum after identifying the need for an educational, research-based programme to integrate an analysis of how climate change implications can effect economic and financial outcomes.
The collaboration will focus on how to integrate a deeper understanding of climate science with companies’ risks and opportunities.
Columbia University’s Earth Institute director Alex Halliday says: “The climate crisis is fast becoming the major issue that society has to address across all sectors.
“There is an urgent need for businesses to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the huge risks that are to be faced. Assessing and factoring in climate risk in a more comprehensive and granular fashion than can be achieved from relatively blunt and misleading economic models will have far reaching impacts. Therefore, this venture is sorely needed and will deepen the knowledge of members of the financial sector to make informed decisions based on a planet that is changing due to global warming.”
AllianceBernstein president and chief executive Seth Bernstein adds: “This opportunity supports AB’s strategy to incorporate environmental factors into our investment processes.
“This extensive curriculum will empower our investment managers to better assess these increasing climate complexities, engage more effectively with companies and ultimately build more sustainable portfolios for clients.”
AB added that as an active manager focused on building robust, sustainable portfolios for our clients, it was well positioned to identify, research and engage with companies on critical climate-related risks and opportunities.
All investment teams at AB will enrol in a pilot program over the next year during which the curriculum will be presented in integrative, interactive intensive sessions.
The investments teams will be guided to evaluate how companies’ risks and opportunities are associated with global climate change, including rising sea levels, wildfire hazards, predictive modelling for extreme weather and other potential consequences.
The outcomes of this program will enhance the curriculum, so that it can serve as a model for the broader investment industry.