Stockholm (NordSIP) – Back from the summer holidays, it appears that not all of us in the sustainable finance community have been indulging in idle beach activities. For some, like Anna-Stina Wiklund, the season offered an opportunity to embrace new challenges instead. On 7 August, she shared on social media the news of her appointment as Head of Sustainable Investing and Portfolio Manager at the Church Pension Fund, Finland. Upon reading the update, NordSIP reached out to her for a quick comment on this exciting move.
Wiklund confesses that she was not really looking for a new job when a head-hunter contacted her in early May to gauge whether she would be interested in working for the Church Pension Fund and in this particular role. She was, however, flattered and duly impressed by the pitch and decided to go and discuss the position in more detail. “The first interview led to another, and during the process, it felt like it could be time for me to move on to new challenges and, also, to ‘the other side of the table’, to the pension fund world,” she explains. “I really look forward to getting to know the team and the ways investments are made within a pension fund that is a long-term investor.”
Since its establishment in 1991, Finland’s Church Pension Fund has been one of the Nordic country’s forerunners in responsible investing. Currently holding assets under management of EUR 1.812 million, the Fund remains true to Lutheran ethics and the essential task of managing pension assets profitably, securely, and responsibly.
“The Church has historically been a place for some, especially institutional investors, to look for guidance as to what is right and what is wrong when investing responsibly,” asserts Wiklund. “It will, therefore, be interesting to see what role the Church will assume in upcoming ESG-related discussions like the social taxonomy in the EU, sustainability within artificial intelligence, etc.,” she adds. Needless to say, the newly appointed Head of Sustainable Investing herself will be one of the key people to lead the organisation’s work in tackling these and many other issues.
A multiple Iron(Wo)Man, Wiklund has certainly never been one to sit still or shy away from challenges. In 2020, upon shifting career paths to embrace a role as Head of Sustainable Investing at Ålandsbanken, she shared what she found most attractive in this new venture. “Working in sustainability means you learn something new every day,” she said on that occasion. Undoubtedly, the organisation she is now joining will offer plenty of opportunities for further development and professional growth. No wonder she sounds genuinely excited about her new venture. “Very interesting times we are living in, definitely!” she exclaims.
