Manulife Investment Management expands impact investing & natural climate solutions team

News provided by

Mar 25, 2021, 07:00 ET

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

BOSTON, March 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG), a company of Manulife Investment Management, announced today that Eric Cooperström has joined the firm as managing director, impact investing and natural climate solutions. In this newly created role, Eric will be responsible for enhancing the sustainability and responsible investing capabilities for Manulife Investment Management's timberland and agriculture teams and will also work closely with them to develop and support an investment thesis and value proposition for clients interested in impact-first investments.

Historically, Manulife Investment Management's timberland and agriculture investments have emphasized good stewardship of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors as important contributors to achieving long-term market rates of return. However, as climate change related effects on the environment become more pronounced, the need for mitigation and adaptation through natural climate solutions becomes more obvious. Through its capabilities in timberland and agriculture, Manulife Investment Management is well-positioned to offer strategies that prioritize environmental and social impact equal to or above financial returns – or impact -first investments – to clients.

"We are excited to have Eric onboard as his expertise and background will be integral in developing our impact-first investment strategies," said Brian Kernohan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Private Markets, Manulife Investment Management. "We believe forests and farms are natural climate solutions, and we see removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in trees and soils as a viable option for investors who are looking to optimize and prioritize carbon sequestration."

Mr. Cooperström reports to Mr. Kernohan and is based in San Francisco.

Prior to joining Manulife Investment Management, Eric was a Senior Director at NatureVest, the impact investment arm of The Nature Conservancy, where he was responsible for asset management and for developing the conservation impact investment strategy. Previously, he was program-related investment lead at the Skoll Foundation. He also worked at Volta Capital and Capital Dynamics in London as an investment associate and was an analyst at investment bank Houlihan Lokey. Eric graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Arts in International Relations and International Economics and the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.

About Hancock Natural Resource Group
Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG) is part of Manulife Investment Management's comprehensive Private Markets platform, which includes private equity and credit, infrastructure, real estate, timber and agriculture. HNRG's timber division manages approximately 5.6 million acres of timberland across the United States and in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and Chile. HNRG's agricultural investment group oversees approximately 400,000 acres of prime farmland in major agricultural regions of the United States and in Canada, Chile, and Australia.

About Manulife Investment Management
Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 17 countries and territories. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. 

As of December 31, 2020, Manulife Investment Management had CAD$966 billion (US$758 billion) in assets under management and administration. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com.

SOURCE Manulife Investment Management