Ritesh Bamania

Asset manager Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) has launched an SFDR Article 9 compliant Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF).

The fund aims to provide bilateral senior secured private loans to a variety of North American climate transition-oriented industries.

Firms that LOIM invests in range from renewable energy companies to electric vehicle charging providers.

The EAPF, part of the UK Local Government Pension Scheme, manages assets of approximately £4.5 billion on behalf of active and closed pension funds of the Environment Agency (EA), a non-departmental public body sponsored by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Ritesh Bamania, head of UK & Ireland institutional sales at LOIM, commented: “The EAPF is recognised for its strong sustainability focus and we are excited to be working together with them as a key partner.”

“Many clients have embraced private debt to diversify away from equities and shift toward stable cashflows. Our strategy seeks to deliver both these traditional objectives and a sustainability tilt to help accelerate the transition to net zero.”

Graham Cook, chief investment officer at the EAPF, added: “The transition to a net zero global economy will be highly dependent on the targeted provision of debt financing to corporations to help them make the necessary changes to their business models.”

“This was something the Environment Agency Pension Fund identified as a priority for investment in our net zero policy.”

LOIM is the asset management division of Lombard Odier Group, a Swiss private bank with a focus on sustainable lending.