Affirmative Investment Management
Affirmative Investment Management (AIM) is one of the world's first dedicated impact bond fund manager. By combining mainstream portfolio management with sustainability principles, AIM makes a positive social and environmental impact without compromising on returns.
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About
Affirmative Investment Management (AIM) is a global fixed income manager focussed on delivering mainstream market returns with impact. AIM is one of the world’s first fund manager to dedicate their investment strategy to impact bonds (i.e. labelled and unlabelled green bonds, social bonds and sustainable bonds). AIM's innovative formula is a fusion of mainstream portfolio management and sustainability. This approach is new in the marketplace and draws on the experience of a team of leading experts in investment and sustainability, providing positive solutions to global challenges. AIM’s focus is to promote robust verification and reporting, along with active engagement, whilst ensuring repeatable performance and sustainable impact.
Established in 2014 by Stephen Fitzgerald and Stuart Kinnersley, AIM is 100% owned by its employees and headquartered in London, with offices in Washington and Sydney. AIM is comprised of like-minded investment professionals who are advocates for social and environmental change. The company was instrumental in the evolution of green bonds and has the longest track record in the impact bond market.
CFS’s alliance partnership with AIM gives Australian retail investors access to an innovative approach that fuses mainstream portfolio management and sustainability.
A trusted team of specialists
Impact Fixed Income Specialists
Pioneers of green bonds, with the longest track record in the market.
Robust verification and reporting process
Maintains strong principles of integrity and transparency.
Expert team
Experienced team with strong investment credentials.
Investment approach
AIM’s investment approach embeds sustainability criteria at the core of its investment process, with an investable universe of impact bonds (including labelled and unlabelled green bonds, social bonds and sustainable bonds) that have passed an Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) and sustainability screen. The verification process is one of positive selection to identify and verify issues and issuers that deliver a meaningful and measurable impact. AIM invests in bonds that fulfil their sustainability criteria, which cover a broad range of factors such as credit worthiness of the issuer, environment/social benefits and ability to determine that proceeds are dedicated to positive impact.
AIM’s investment philosophy is based on three core commitments:
1. A focus on fixed income investments that generate a positive environmental impact and social benefit.
2. Fundamental fixed income discipline with no compromise on returns.
3. Transparent impact reporting that describes the expected and realised impacts from activities funded by bond proceeds.
Fixed income impact investing
Learn about the importance of fixed income impact investing and AIM's approach with Kate Temby and Katie House.
- What is fixed income impact investing?
- The role of fixed income on the road to net zero
- Appointing an impact or sustainable investment manager
- Measuring the impact of fixed income investments
- The future of sustainable investing
- How to accurately assess net zero plans
- Accurately report across asset classes, particularly impact investments
- Understanding and avoiding greenwashing
Fund
Affirmative Global Impact Bond Fund
A dedicated impact global fixed income fund that is strongly underpinned by environmental and social values, combined with mainstream portfolio management, to deliver financial returns for clients
Meet the team
Stephen Fitzgerald
- Managing Partner
Stephen Fitzgerald
- Managing Partner
Stephen has over 30 years' experience in funds management. He serves on the board of Lombard Odier Asset Management, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and the British Museum Investment Sub-Committee. In Australia, he is also a member of the NSW Government Expert Advisory Panel on Social Impact Bonds and, since its inception in April 2010, has been a Member of the Champions of Change Coalition (formerly Male Champion of Change). Stephen was an appointed member of the Board of Guardians of the Future Fund (Australia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund) and served for a period of five years until April 2016 and has recently completed his term serving on the board of QBE Insurance where he chaired the investment committee.
Previously, Stephen was Chairman of Goldman Sachs, Australia and New Zealand. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1992, as Chief Investment Officer for International Fixed Income and Currency within GSAM and has since been based in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney and served on the firm’s Partnership Committee, European Management Committee and Asia Pacific Management Committee.
Stephen was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for services to Investment Management and the Environment on Australia Day 2019.
Justin Eeles
- Head of Portfolio Management
Justin Eeles
- Head of Portfolio Management
Justin has been instrumental in the green bond market since its early development, having managed the world’s first green bond fund, World Bank Green Bond Fund, whilst at Nikko Asset Management. He is the most experienced investment practitioner in the marketplace in terms of running a dedicated green bond portfolio successfully against a recognized standard benchmark, having consistently achieved this since 2010.
As Head of Portfolio Management at Affirmative Investment Management, a role he has held since 2015, Justin assists in developing solutions to meet investors' needs with the management of portfolios of green and other use of proceeds bonds.
Justin has more than 30 years' experience in the investment industry, managing multi-currency fixed income portfolios across the yield curve. He has worked with a broad range of clients from captive insurance funds, to retail funds and institutional mandates, as a portfolio manager at Aviva Investors and Nikko Asset Management. Justin has managed single- and multi-currency portfolios, in both developed and emerging markets, across all maturities, as well as money market funds.
Richard Petit
- Head of Credit
Richard Petit
- Head of Credit
Richard Petit has over 17 years' experience in both buy and sell-side credit research and in credit rating agency. Before joining AIM in 2020 Richard was at Schroders for almost 2 years as a credit analyst having previously worked at a number of asset managers, including Gordian Knot and HSBC asset management. Richard also spent 7 years at rating agency Fitch Ratings and a year in Societe Generale IB’s sell-side credit research. Over the years, Richard has been covering a range of sectors including telecoms and media, oil & gas as well as utilities.
Kate Temby
- Head of Client Engagement
Kate Temby
- Head of Client Engagement
Kate has over 28 years' experience in investment management and financial markets. She joined AIM in 2017, as a partner, with the ambition to help deliver both financial returns and impact through mainstream investing.
Kate has an extensive background in leadership, financial markets, communication and client engagement, having been employed for 17 years by Goldman Sachs, most recently in GSAM. Kate led the Asia Pacific Ex-Japan institutional sales team, which managed over $40bn of assets on behalf of clients in the region. Kate has also worked in New York and Toronto, with Goldman Sachs and PwC, respectively.
Kate is a Board member of Netwealth (ASX: NWL) and Chair of NWL’s Investment Committee and Corporate Sustainability Committee . She is also a member of Investment Committees for Conscious Investment Management (Australian Private Equity Impact Fund) and Melbourne Grammar School. Kate is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a graduate of AICD (Australian Institute of Company Directors).
Steph Anthony
- Partner, Client Engagement
Steph Anthony
- Partner, Client Engagement
Steph joined AIM’s Client Engagement team in November 2019.
Steph came to AIM from Seven Investment Management (7IM), an investment management business based in London, incorporating asset management, discretionary fund management and platform services, where she was an Investment Analyst. Sitting in the Portfolio Management team, Steph focused on the firm’s sustainable offering, co-managing their multi-asset Sustainable Balance Fund. She undertook fund manager research and selection across equities and fixed income, in both ESG-oriented and traditional funds, as well as assisting in the day-to-day management of 7IM’s active fund range. Prior to this role she worked both on the client side, in the Relationship Management department, and in the Project Management team.
Steph is a CFA® charterholder and holds the Investment Management Certificate: Level 4.
Steph holds a BA (Hons) in History from the University of Oxford.
Katie House
- Analyst, Sustainability
Katie House
- Analyst, Sustainability
As a member of AIM’s Sustainability Team, Katie conducts sustainability verification analysis on green and other use of proceeds bonds and supports AIM’s impact reporting capability.
Katie joined AIM in Summer 2019. She was previously a Senior Research Analyst at Climate Bonds Initiative. Katie had been at Climate Bonds for over 4 years where she had predominantly worked on the Climate Bonds Standard; a certification scheme and rule set defining what projects and assets are eligible for green bond financing across multiple sectors. While at Climate Bonds, Katie also supported the development of the European Commission’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.
Nick Reid
- Analyst
Nick Reid
- Analyst
Nick joined AIM’s Client Engagement team in May 2023.
Prior to this, Nick worked as a Senior Analyst within the Institutional Oversight team at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, responsible for oversight of middle office functions on behalf of institutional clients. Prior to this, Nick worked as a strategy consultant at Charles River Associates in London. He holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Edinburgh.
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Information on this webpage is provided by Avanteos Investments Limited ABN 20 096 259 979, AFSL 245531 and Colonial First State Investments Limited ABN 98 002 348 352, AFSL 232468. It may include general advice but does not consider anyone’s individual objectives, financial situation, needs or tax circumstances. You should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statements (PDSs), Investor Directed Portfolio Service Guides (IDPS Guides) and Financial Services Guides (FSGs) before making any recommendations to a client. The PDSs, IDPS Guides and FSGs can be obtained from www.cfs.com.au or by calling us on 13 18 36.