Aviva Investors, the investment arm of Aviva plc, expanded their Real Assets team with three new sustainability hires: Phillipa Grant, Elizabeth Ortiz, and Jeremy Ho.

All three will report to Edward Dixon, who leads Responsible Investment for Real Assets at Aviva Investors. Phillipa Grant joins as the Director of Sustainable Investments, Elizabeth Ortiz as an Associate, and Jeremy Ho as an Analyst.

Phillipa, a chartered engineer, brings eight years of experience from AESG, a global sustainability consulting firm. At Aviva Investors, she will focus on making their real estate funds more sustainable. This includes advising on strategies, investment decisions, and ensuring their portfolios deliver on sustainability goals.

Elizabeth Ortiz joins from KPMG, where she helped companies develop climate strategies. At Aviva Investors, she will concentrate on integrating sustainability into client investments across private markets. Before KPMG, Elizabeth investigated whistleblower cases. She has a background in political science and environmental science.

Jeremy Ho, a graduate of Durham and Imperial College Business School, will research sustainability and assess potential investments for Aviva Investors' growing private lending business. He previously worked at wealth management firms, analysing investments across different asset classes.

These hires come after Aviva Investors' own research found that over half (51%) of global institutional investors are increasingly interested in real estate investments that demonstrate a positive environmental and social impact.

Edward Dixon, Head of Responsible Investment, Real Assets, at Aviva Investors, said:

“We are really pleased to extend the responsible investment capabilities of our Real Assets function through the appointment of Phillipa, Elizabeth and Jeremy. Our recent Real Assets Study showed that 57 per cent of institutional investors have a commitment to reaching net zero, so it is vitally important we have the resources and expertise to guide our clients and show how real assets allocations can align portfolios with those objectives. All three hires bring an enviable level of expertise from across a range of geographies and sectors to address this need and we believe they will materially advance the breadth and depth of our sustainability offering to clients.”

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Source: Aviva