Stockholm (NordSIP) – ThomasLloyd, an impact investor specialising in high growth Asian emerging market sustainable energy infrastructure has announced the appointment of Gianluca Cerami to the newly created role of Executive Director, Wholesale and Institutional Clients Nordics.
Cerami and the Nordics
Cerami will be based in Copenhagen, and will focus on introducing the firm and its offering to investors in the Nordic region and build partnerships with institutional investors and wholesale clients including pension funds, endowments, banks, wealth managers, family offices and investment platforms across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
Cerami has two decades of experience in investment management including 12 years working directly with institutional investors and intermediaries in the Nordic region. He has worked as GAM’s Client Director for institutions and intermediaries in Northern Europe since 2015. Prior to his position at GAM, Gianluca worked in New York, Amsterdam and Stockholm for Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management. He also worked at Morgan Stanley after starting his career with Oppenheimer & Co in New York.
“At this point in my career, being able to join a purpose-driven, global impact investor such as ThomasLloyd, that specialises in investment solutions that both deliver financial returns and create a positive social and environmental impact is a privilege and an honour. Real sustainable impact alongside final returns is not only the future of investing, but also critical if investors are to play their part in the UN’s Global Roadmap to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,” Cerami explains.
“The Nordics have been at the forefront of sustainable investing for many years and we are looking forward to bringing our investment expertise and demonstrable track record in delivering positive and measurable impact to investors in the region. This appointment represents an important strategic development that supports our geographical expansion,” Michael Sieg, ThomasLloyd’s Chief Executive, said.
“Gianluca is a well-known and a highly experienced professional with a great understanding of investors’ objectives and preferences in the region. We are confident his expertise and our strong sustainability credentials will enable us to meet the needs of investors sharing our philosophy and ambition, and contribute to securing a significant reduction in CO2 whilst making a real impact to the lives of millions of people and our planet through our investments,” Sieg added.
Taking Impact to the Next Level
Discussing the ability of Thomas Lloyd to meet the needs of Nordic investors, Cerami focuses on the firm’s ability to take sustainability to the next level. “Nordic investors are extremely sophisticated in terms of their quest for ESG solutions given their sustainable evolution has been much more pronounced than other regions,” he says.
“The reason why ThomasLloyd fits well with Nordic investors is simply aligned interest – we believe ESG factors incorporated into investment decisions — while important, is no longer enough. True ESG is impact investing – being able to demonstrate a credible social or environmental impact alongside financial return,” Cerami adds.
“By focusing on sustainable energy infrastructure assets, including renewable power generation, transmission infrastructure, energy storage and sustainable fuel production, in fast-growing and emerging economies across South and South East Asia, we are able to tackle the CO2 problem at source – supporting countries with their energy transition, limiting C02 emissions and generating compelling financial returns for our clients in the process,” Cerami explains.
ThomasLloyds
The addition of Cerami to ThomasLloyd’s team follows the firm’s listing of the ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Trust on the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) main market. The Trust, which attracted major British and European investors including the UK Government via its MOBILIST initiative, was awarded the Green Economy Mark by the LSE. According to ThomasLloyd, “it is to date, the first dedicated offering on the exchange providing investors with the opportunity to invest directly in sustainable energy infrastructure assets in fast-growing and emerging economies in Asia.”
ThomasLloyd is signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investments (UN PRI), supports various initiatives for sustainable investment such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Global Compact, the Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN) and the Climate-Related Financial Disclosures Task Force (TCFD) the French Social Investment Forum (Forum pour L’investissement responsible) and the Swiss Sustainable Finance network.
