Stockholm (NordSIP) – Franklin Templeton has taken the opportunity of the quieter Nordic holiday period to strengthen its Nordic distribution team. Amsterdam-based Remco van Dijk has been promoted to Head of Sales Nordics & Benelux Institutional, and David Andersson has joined the Nordics distribution team as Stockholm-based Sales Director Nordics. Andersson has over 25 years of investment industry experience and joins the firm from Natixis Investment Managers where he was Head of Nordic Markets responsible for wholesale and institutional distribution.
We briefly caught up with van Dijk and Andersson to get their perspectives on the ESG angle of Franklin Templeton’s offering. “We see increasing demand for sustainable investment products,” said van Dijk, “on the social side, and especially climate related.” He expects Natural Capital to continue growing as an investment theme: “Our natural resources and our climate are vital to economies and markets, and therefore our clients’ portfolios. Rising temperatures and sea levels, along with an increased incidence of extreme weather events pose a threat to the global economy. Biodiversity, public food supply, water scarcity, and surging demand for energy are just a few of the Natural Capital themes affecting investors today.”
Andersson concurs: “We are highly committed to the Nordic region, which is one of the frontrunners when it comes to sustainability. The investment choices that clients make have a profound effect on the world around us and together, we have the opportunity to work with them to effect real change.”
Commenting on the appointments, Bérengère Blaszczyk, Head of Distribution France, Benelux and Nordics, said: “We established our Nordic region office in Stockholm in 1999 and with the recent appointments we will build upon the team’s proven history of innovation to provide investment solutions aligned to clients’ ambitions.”
