Commerz Real establishes impact investment division & appoints head of sustainability
Commerz Real has created Impact Investment division and appointed Tobias Huzarski as the head.
With this appointment the asset manager intends to place its focus to a greater degree than in the past on capital investments whose returns are not measured solely in terms of economic success, but also with a view to their positive impact on society and the environment.
"More and more investors would not only like to earn money, but also do something good with their investment," said Andreas Muschter, chief executive officer of Commerz Real. "As an established asset manager for real assets we intend to meet this need and assume responsibility."
It is planned to develop a portfolio with the focus on the so-called "ecological and social return". This can encompass funds for institutional and private investors oriented to the UN sustainable development goals, for example. Above all it is intended to invest in renewable energies to a greater extent.
"Impact Investment will network the core areas of sustainability, digitalisation and real assets in a consistent and creative manner. We will develop solutions that offer investors access to conservative and sustainable investments, and in doing so attain positive ecological, social and civil outcomes," explained Huzarski, who before joining Commerz Real co-founded a private platform which invests in proptechs. Prior to this he had worked at Man Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in the areas Private Equity and Real Estate Investments.
Huzarski will collaborate closely with the new head of Sustainability at Commerz Real, Viola Joncic. As the interface between the specialist areas, together with Huzarski she will develop and implement a sustainability strategy. This also includes the performance of current and future investments being analysed more closely with a view to ESG criteria than has been the case to date. Joncic was most recently manager Sustainability Services at the accounting organisation Deloitte, where she headed consulting projects for handling the topic of social and ecological sustainability and was responsible for sustainability report audits.
