The California State Teachers Retirement System, which manages over $350 billion on behalf of California’s educators, picked global investment manager Ninety One to deliver financial results alongside positive sustainability outcomes.
Ninety One’s $4.2 billion global environment strategy invests in wind and solar energy, green batteries, sustainable building materials, energy-efficient appliances and lighting and other solutions for the low-carbon transition. Holdings include Schneider Electric, Power Grid Corporation of India, and Orsted.
The fund’s long-term investment horizon and active engagement give CalSTRS “access to the structural tailwinds to participate in outperformance and real impact,” said Ninety One’s Sangeeth Sewnath.
Institutional impact
CalSTRS has been growing its Sustainable Investment and Stewardship Strategies, or SISS, portfolio since 2019. It selected Nordea Asset Management’s Global Stars Equity fund for a $450 million sustainability mandate in September.
The pension manager has backed larger funds including Generate Capital’s $1.5 billion sustainable infrastructure fund, which closed at the beginning of this year; and smaller funds managed Congruent Ventures and At One Ventures.
With pressure to divest from fossil fuels and other harmful sectors, large pensions like California Public Employees Retirement System, or CalPERS, and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, or NYSCRF, are restructuring their portfolios to favor greener funds (see, “Institutional investors seek bigger stakes in climate assets in private markets”).
