Dutch pension provider PGGM has awarded a £2.2bn active, sustainable public equity mandate to M&G Investments, adding to the "growing momentum and commitment from European asset owners towards sustainable investment solutions".

The £2.2bn mandate is modelled on M&G’s Positive Impact Fund, and will be managed by M&G fund manager and team head, John William Olsen, together with the wider impact equities team and head impact strategist, Ben Constable-Maxwell, who oversees the impact approach.

Purpose-built as a dual objective impact equity strategy, the fund blends quantifiable societal and environmental outcomes with long-term financial performance.

PGGM said that it had been seeking a partner that was capable of achieving an optimal balance between return, risk, and sustainability within its listed equity portfolio.

Commenting on the appointment, M&G Investments chief executive officer, Joseph Pinto, said: “This mandate is testament to M&G’s growing impact capabilities across asset classes and the strength of our approach, expertise and proprietary framework in impact public equities that’s been cultivated over many years.

"It underscores the increasing demand for actively managed, research-led equity strategies that are resilient in the face of both economic and environmental change. 

"We are proud to be awarded this mandate by PGGM to serve the millions of Dutch participants entrusting us with their retirement savings.”

Adding to this, M&G Netherlands director of institutional business development, Sander van der Wel, said: “By embedding sustainability into a mainstream equity mandate, PGGM has demonstrated that sustainability is integral when seeking to generate risk-adjusted returns and, as a leader in this sector, will push the wider industry towards ever higher sustainability standards. 

"Our partnership demonstrates how we can help clients achieve their sustainability objectives alongside investing for growth on behalf of millions of people saving for their retirement.”

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