Stockholm (NordSIP) – At the start of January, Lauri Ehanti was appointed Head of Investments at Aalto University Endowment, in Espoo, Finland. He started in this new role on January 1st, 2025, and reports to Marianna Bom, Chief Financial Officer.
Ehanti Takes Over
As part of his new responsibilities, Ehanti is responsible for the management of the university’s investment portfolio, including the planning and execution of the investment strategy, external manager selection and management of the internal investment team. His duties also include risk management and internal control practices, reporting to the Aalto University Board on the portfolio performance, and working closely with the external advisory Investment Committee of the university.
Ehanti joined Aalto University as a financial analyst in 2011. In 2015 he took up the role of portfolio manager responsible for manager selection (long only) and private equity. In 2020, he was promoted to senior portfolio manager and Deputy Head of Investments, responsible for Hedge Funds, Alternative Credit & Private Equity. Prior to joining Aalto University Ehanti worked as a portfolio analyst at OKO Bank between 2004 and 2008 and at Pohjola Bank between 2008 and 2011.
The Investments of Aalto University Endowment
Aalto University’s endowment is responsible for generating annual funding to enable the university to fulfil its strategic goals and support high-quality education, research and innovation. The endowment provides the university with increased financial independence and enhances its funding stability. The endowment’s capital comes from donations and from the Finnish government. In June 2024, the market value of the endowment was approximately €1.5 billion.
The portfolio is completely managed externally and its structure is based on risk categories. Asset classes are grouped in the portfolio based on their primary risk. The structure aims to combine academic theory and our sound investment judgment. The endowment portfolio is divided into three main parts.
The largest part of the portfolio, generally making up 60% to 80% of portfolio over the long-term focuses on growth and is made up of equity (“equity risk”) and fixed income products (“Credit risk” products such as high yield and distressed debt). The second largest part of the balance sheet falls under the category of “Diversifying sources of return”, which Aalto University’s endowment argues should represent no less than 10% over the long-term. This focuses on alternative assets such as hedge fund strategies. The smallest portion of the endowment’s balance sheet is described as covery liquity needs. It should represent a minimum of 5% of the endowments’ assets, and include risk-free assets, such as cash and money market investments, and interest rate risk assets, such as government bonds.
As of the end of June 2024, Aalto University endowment allocations included 59-1% to equity risk, 18.2% to alternatives, 16.5% to credit risk, 4.7% to interest rate risk and 1.4% to risk-free assets. The endowment’s investments provided a 7.9% return for the first six months of 2024.
Responsible Investments at Aalto University
Sustainability is at the core of Aalto University, which sees its purpose as shaping a sustainable future through research, education and positive societal impact. The endowment integrates ESG and sustainability into all investment decision-making and aims for a carbon neutral portfolio in the long-term.
“Our external managers are encouraged to use multiple approaches to responsible investing. For example, exclusions are a useful tool for some investment strategies, whereas integrated ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) analysis and active ownership can bring better results and impact on others. (…) We control our exposure to investments with a high ESG risk and negative impact, while aiming to increase our exposure to investments with a positive ESG profile and impact,” the Finnish asset owner explains on its website.
According to Aalto University endownment’s 2023 responsibility report, 88% of external managers have signed the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), 98% have a dedicated ESG Policy, 45% explicitly target a positive sustainability profile. 68% of external managers use negative screening or have an Exclusions policy, 80% have an active engagement policy. Last but not least, 50% of their funds are classified as Article 8 or 9 according to the eU Sustainable Finace Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
Aalto University is a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and a member of FINSIF and Standards Board for Alternative Investments (SBAI).