The partnership between UC Berkeley Executive Education and Janus Henderson, a global asset manager, has given birth to the Janus Henderson x Berkeley Insight Collective. Jointly, it focuses on research and education programs that aim to equip Janus Henderson’s investment teams with tools to measure the effects of climate change and biodiversity on financial values. This is a strategic attempt at combining academic research and investment expertise to improve portfolio management for its clients’ financial results.
The first stage of the partnership will be in education: development of specialized curricula for portfolio managers and analysts focused on the financial implications of climate-related risks and biodiversity challenges across markets around the globe. Horizonally, the partnership is likely to expand further in terms of new research areas, wherein investment teams of Janus Henderson would be working closely with professors of UC Berkeley as well as the clients in exploring new verticals.
Michelle Dunstan, Chief Responsibility Officer at Janus Henderson, said she believes UC Berkeley’s world-class academic assets-most notably its Haas School of Business and Rausser College of Natural Resources-should be fully leveraged. She commented that especially regarding global warming and biodiversity, these two subjects greatly impact cash flows of companies, valuations, and cost of capital. The combination with UC Berkeley is to offer the investment teams and clients highly evolved tools to have a comprehensive financial perspective on companies.
UC Berkeley Associate Professor Dara O’Rourke underscored the fact that investors need to address what supply chains will be vulnerable to climate change. He said the partnership would bring together leading-edge climate science with business analytics to deliver innovative solutions for climate challenges.
This partnership underscores a growing trend in sustainable finance where investment firms integrate ESG factors into their strategies to address economic impacts of environmental challenges. By combining Janus Henderson’s portfolio research capabilities with the academic infrastructure from UC Berkeley, the initiative looks to develop unique insights and methodologies that bridge the gap between academia and the financial sector.
This move is in line with the broader efforts of the investment industry to address climate-related risks and biodiversity loss as critical financial considerations. In other words, it reflects a commitment to placing investors in the best possible position to navigate this rapidly evolving sustainability landscape to eventually deliver better both financially and environmentally.