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50 Shades of Green: The €850+ Billion Logic Behind AXA’s Investment Approach (#111)
SRI360 | Sustainable & Responsible Investing, Impact Investing, ESG, Socially Responsible Investing
Manage episode 517677123 series 3368148
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My guest today is Jamie Friedland, a former U.S. Treasury trader turned sustainability analyst at AXA Investment Managers – one of the world’s largest and most active players in sustainable investing.
He joined AXA Investment Managers – now part of BNP Paribas Group – in March 2022. Within the group, BNP Paribas Asset Management oversees over €716 billion in assets, while the broader platform manages around €1.5 trillion globally.
Approximately 90% of listed assets are classified under Article 8 or 9 of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, meaning they integrate sustainability or have a dedicated sustainable objective (Source: BNP Paribas/ AXA Investment Managers (Core) as of end of 2024).
At AXA, Jamie works in a central ESG role, focused on public investments and helping integrate sustainability across equities, fixed income, infrastructure, and alternatives.
The results are detailed – and sometimes strict. AXA applies hard exclusions in its green bond strategies. Nuclear energy, for example, is allowed in conventional mandates and in unlabeled strategies that hold green bonds. But it’s left out of AXA’s official green bond funds – because some clients have made it clear they don’t want it included in the list of eligible projects.
This is the real balancing act – between client preferences, shifting regulation, and ESG data that’s still catching up. Jamie likens it to steering a tanker: slow to move, but once it shifts, the weight behind it is massive.
Still, ESG doesn’t operate in a vacuum. The backlash – especially in the U.S. – has been loud, often political, and sometimes confusing. Jamie’s answer is disarmingly simple: ESG is just data. And more information is always better than less.
Today, he’s here to walk us through how one of the world’s largest asset managers turns ESG from principle into portfolio decisions. Tune in.
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DISCLAIMER: This communication does not constitute, on the part of AXA Investment Managers, a solicitation or investment, legal or tax advice.
Due to its simplification, this document is partial, and opinions, estimates, and forecasts herein are subjective and subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee forecasts made will come to pass. Data, figures, declarations, analysis, predictions, and other information in this document is provided based on our state of knowledge at the time of creation of this document. Whilst every care is taken, no representation or warranty (including liability towards third parties), express or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information contained herein. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the recipient. This material does not contain sufficient information to support an investment decision.
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Additional Resources:
- Jamie Friedland LinkedIn
- AXA Investment Managers website
- BNP Paribas Asset Management
- Point of No Returns 2025: A responsible investment benchmar
Chapters
1. Intro (00:00:00)
2. Childhood and early influences in Long Island and tennis (00:04:19)
3. National junior tennis career and Sharapova match story (00:05:21)
4. Choosing Northwestern and preparing for business (00:07:08)
5. Joining Traditum to build U.S. Treasury trading desk (00:10:05)
6. Advising South Florida marine nonprofit on revenue strategy (00:14:49)
7. Pursuing MBA focused on sustainability and finance at NYU Stern (00:17:53)
8. Joining Developing World Markets during COVID to deepen impact focus (00:22:04)
9. Transition to AXA for larger-scale sustainable investing (00:25:54)
10. AXA’s structure, scale, and global ESG footprint explained (00:27:13)
11. AXA’s three-pillar sustainability and ESG framework overview (00:32:41)
12. ESG integration in public markets and portfolio alignment (00:34:26)
13. Defining the investment universe and ESG screening layers (00:38:36)
14. AXA’s rejection process for questionable green bonds (00:41:36)
15. Excluding nuclear from green bonds (00:45:06)
16. Clients' ESG preferences shaping nuclear exclusion policies (00:48:11)
17. Post-investment emissions data used as core KPI (00:50:52)
18. AXA’s proprietary ESG scoring fills market coverage gaps (00:52:43)
19. The three-strikes policy defines engagement and exit timing (00:56:47)
20. ESG risk management strategies and reputational safeguards (01:00:07)
21. Pushback against ESG and the role of data (01:02:35)
22. Innovations in ESG driven by better data access (01:05:41)
23. Rapid-fire questions (01:12:01)
24. Contact info (01:16:22)
114 episodes
