Acadian appoints responsible investing director

Acadian Asset Management has appointed Andy Moniz as director of responsible investing.

Moniz would be responsible for leading Acadian’s global environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts and would oversee the firm’s ESG strategies, related research initiatives, and active ownership tactics.

Moniz would report to Acadian’s director of equity strategies, Ryan Taliaferro, and would work closely with senior members of Acadian’s global investment team, which included Matthew Picone, senior portfolio manager at Acadian Australia in Sydney.

Picone had been critical to Acadian’s ESG research and implementation efforts for a number of years and was a member of the PRI Australian Advisory Committee.

Moniz would serve as chair for Acadian’s responsible investing committee.

Moniz joined Acadian from Putnam Investments, where he served as director of applied data science investments with responsibility for creating systematic ESG stock selection strategies.

Prior to Putnam, Moniz served as managing director – chief data scientist and head of quant equity research at Deutsche Bank. 

Brendan Bradley, Acadian chief investment officer, said Moniz would lead Acadian’s global ESG initiatives and help further shape the firm’s responsible investing approach.

“Andy’s wealth of experience with ESG strategies in quantitative finance and data science will be a tremendous asset as we continue to evolve our research efforts and expand our sustainable solutions in this important space,” Bradley said.

The firm had $107 billion in assets under management as of 31 January, 2021.