Asset Value Investors Further Integrates Assessment Of ESG Risk In Its Investment Process And Appoints Ben Levy As ESG Analyst

Asset Value Investors (“AVI”) announces the appointment of Ben Levy as ESG Analyst. His role at AVI will be to further integrate the assessment of Environment Social Governance (“ESG”) risk in the investment process at AVI.

Ben joins from management consulting firm Guidehouse, where he worked with corporate and public sector clients across the sustainability and decarbonisation spectrum, with a particular focus on sustainable finance. He also brings relevant global experience to the investment team at AVI, while at Guidehouse Ben served as the APAC Co-ordinator for the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). Ben holds a Masters from Imperial College Business School in Climate Change, Management & Finance, and the CFA Certificate in ESG Investing.

AVI prioritises its in-depth research in the companies it invests in across the globe. The appointment of Ben Levy as ESG Analyst demonstrates AVI’s commitment to responsible investing and understanding the ESG risks in its portfolio companies.

AVI conducts an ongoing ESG assessment of portfolio companies’ performance against defined ESG metrics and uses a scoring system to assess trends and highlight potential areas for engagement. As part of its activist engagement investment philosophy, AVI seeks to build constructive relationships with the boards and management of the portfolio companies, offering detailed suggestions to increase corporate value by building resilience to ESG risks and promoting responsible business practices.

Ben Levy commented: "I am excited to be joining the highly regarded team at AVI as an ESG analyst within the investment team. The firm is well established in the activist investor space, and I look forward to developing the integration of sustainability considerations into the investment process. Given AVI’s global investment portfolio, this is a particularly compelling time to engage with sustainability topics amidst ongoing uncertainty across the global markets in which they operate.”

Joe Bauernfreund, CEO and CIO at AVI, commented on the appointment, saying: "As long-term orientated engaged owners of companies, ESG is an important aspect of what we do.

“We are excited to bring Ben Levy to the team where his expertise in sustainable finance will come in handy and will allow us to further integrate the assessment of ESG risks in our investment process.”