Navigating nature

From navigating market crashes to embracing ESG and technology, Adrian Poole and Gregor Bamert reveal how 40 years of real estate debt investing have moulded Aviva Investors’ strategy – and what it takes to stay ahead in a rapidly changing market.

Following our participation at COP16, the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, we reflect on the key themes that emerged, outstanding challenges, and what this all means for investors.

Long-term trends like climate change are particularly important for buy-and-maintain investors. How can they integrate climate objectives, such as net zero by 2050, into their portfolios?

Creating sustainable transport solutions is vital to meet net-zero pledges, but progress has been patchy. To encourage mobilisation across value chains, we brought together a range of sector experts to identify key blockers and potential solutions.

From aviation to heavy industry, achieving net zero requires a collective unlocking of entire ecosystems. This is what our sector roundtables aim to do, by bringing together stakeholders from across the value chain of high-impact sectors.

Annual general meetings (AGMs) are an opportunity for responsible investors to share their priorities with companies and express their views on key elements of strategy and governance. Our Stewardship team reviews our 2024 AGM engagement and voting activity.

Our society, economies and financial systems are embedded in nature, not external to it. This paper sets out the actions we are taking to understand nature-related risks and opportunities to deliver outcomes that meet our clients’ needs, and to support nature-related global goals.

From direct investments and engagement with companies to dialogue with governments and regulators, we believe stewardship efforts can deliver better outcomes for clients.

While there are obstacles to overcome, the coming years could see new opportunities for the UK government and the private sector to work together on infrastructure projects, says Darryl Murphy.

In the first instalment of a new series of case studies on our real asset investments, we look at Curtain House, a Victorian warehouse Aviva Investors is converting into a modern, environmentally friendly office building.

Our in-depth Roadmap for the UK’s journey towards a low-carbon economy contains policy recommendations to unlock private investment in the transition.

Do energy-efficient buildings have more pricing power, and what could that mean for those investing in the built environment? We bring together the views of leading capital markets researchers, a valuer and an asset manager for the second part of our deep dive into green premia, analysing the investment implications.