John Lobb

Nanuk Asset Management (Nanuk), an industry leader in sustainable and responsible investing, this week announced the appointment of John Lobb as a Portfolio Manager. The appointment adds further resources to Nanuk’s experienced investment team which is focused on opportunities arising from the long term trends associated with environmental sustainability and resource efficiency.

With over 32 years experience as an equities analyst and portfolio manager, Mr. Lobb brings a wealth of experience to Nanuk. Prior to joining Nanuk, he served as a Global Equities Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst at Insync Funds Management. Previously, he has also held key investment positions at Orion Asset Management, Credit Suisse Global Asset Management, and Citigroup Global Asset Management.

Mr Lobb joins an experienced investment team at Nanuk which includes Chief Investment Officer, Tom King, London based Portfolio Manager Binya Even, along with Australian based Portfolio Managers Jane Henderson, Tristan Patience, Peter Wilmshurst and Marie Miyashiro.

Mr King commented, “We are delighted to have John joining our team. His focus on identifying quality, undervalued businesses benefitting from structural tailwinds is very well aligned with our approach. He is well known to us having previously worked with Tristan and Nanuk director Tim Ryan.”

“John’s experience will improve our capacity to research the expanding numbers of opportunities related to the emerging ‘sustainability revolution’ and his focus on quality and growth will complement the approaches of our existing team.”

“It is an exciting time for sustainably themed investment, with technologies such as electric vehicles, renewable energy and the internet of things moving from infancy to maturity and new opportunities emerging in areas such as hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and artificial intelligence,” Mr King said.

Nanuk recognises that environmental challenges present both opportunities and risks for investments. The recent breaking of global temperature records, with average global temperature reaching 17C this month, surpassing the previous record of 16.9C set in August 2016, serves as a clear reminder of the likelihood of further government support for more sustainable technology as we move through this decade.

Dan Powell, Head of Distribution for Nanuk, commented, “Investor and financial adviser demand for sustainable investment continues to grow due to several key factors. Investor preferences, regulatory mandates, corporate pledges, increasing recognition that climate factors impact investment performance, and that significant change at a global level creates investment opportunities and risks which all contribute to this trend”.

Mr Lobb holds a Bachelor of Economics Majoring in Finance and Accounting from Macquarie University and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment through FINSIA.

Mr Lobb is based in Sydney and started with Nanuk on 17 July 2023.

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Marie Miyashiro

Nanuk Asset Management (Nanuk), an industry leader in sustainable and responsible investing, has appointed Marie Miyashiro to the newly created role of Senior Investment Analyst as the firm experiences strong growth.

Marie Miyashiro has over 20 years of experience in global equities research and was most recently Global Equities Analyst at Platinum Asset Management Limited. Prior to Platinum Asset Management, Ms Miyashiro has also previously held roles at AMP, Credit Suisse and Citi Research.

Nanuk Asset Management is exclusively focused on sustainably themed responsible investments – specifically, investing globally in listed companies whose activities and practices contribute to or benefit from the transition to greater global sustainability.

In 2022, Money Magazine recognised the Nanuk New World Fund as ‘Australia’s best international shares ESG fund’ and in March 2022 the Nanuk New World Fund was listed on the ASX as an exchange traded managed fund under the ticker code NNUK.

Paul Chadwick, Managing Director of Nanuk Asset Management, said that in addition to Marie’s strong experience in global equities she also has extensive expertise in the Asian equities sector, particularly in Japan, as well as extensive experience with infrastructure and utility projects. This will extend Nanuk’s footprint in these growing markets.

“Investing in areas related to sustainability shows no signs of slowing down. Our focus is global and the ongoing expansion at Nanuk comes as we continue to see an increase in investors and advisers seeking global equities strategies that deliver both strong returns and positive environmental benefits,” Mr Chadwick said.

I am delighted to have Marie join our talented team. Marie provides further depth to the Nanuk investment team as she brings highly valuable insights into the global equities market from a career spanning over two decades. Her deep knowledge and understanding of the market will play a pivotal role in our active approach moving forward.”

Marie joins a talented investment team at Nanuk which includes Chief Investment Officer, Tom King, London based portfolio manager Binya Even, along with portfolio manager’s Jane Henderson, Tristan Patience and Peter Wilmshurst.

Marie holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. Marie is based in Sydney and started with Nanuk on August 16, 2022.

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Tristan Patience

Nanuk Asset Management sees growing evidence that listed global companies engaged in artificial intelligence and machine learning are contributing towards more environmentally sustainable and resource efficient outcomes.

The simple answer is that AI has advanced to a point where it is fundamentally changing industries by creating commercial solution efficiencies on an unprecedented scale. The application of Machine Learning in data centre power management illustrates this.

Data centres are being built around the world by private companies and governments in response to the rapid growth in data being generated by web-based activity. Google have shown that when they turn on machine learning they can reduce the power usage effectiveness of data centres, reducing cooling costs by 40%.

When scalable, this AI application could be replicated across other power usages to generate vast efficiency gains that will improve cost and environmental metrics.

AI Applications: A closer look at AI in the sustainability sector

AI excels at interpreting signals and real-time analytics which underpin a number of megatrends, five of which we touch on below.

Autonomous machines

Computer vision allows cars and industrial robots to identify objects around them. Real time analytics allows them to categorize and understand those objects. Predictive analytics allows whole fleets of vehicles or machines to be managed effectively.

The combination of those aspects enables fully-automated factories, which can work with humans and efficient fleets of self driving cars. Recognising their potential and the future shape of the industry, McKinsey has estimated that the auto industry has spent $50bn on AI, while robotic companies are also investing heavily to improve their ability to automate factories.

Smart Infrastructure

Renewable energy and predictive analytics can be used to manage intermittent generation sources and optimize battery storage. Vestas recently spent $100 million purchasing a data analytics company to improve its wind product offering.

Hexagon is working with government agencies to make smarter decisions for urban planning. This includes using security cameras with computer vision and predictive analytics which can better monitor the flow of people and vehicles, improving public transport utilisation and lowering congestion.

Resource efficiency – Water

Xylem manufactures technologies that can identify water pipeline leaks 150 times faster using AI tools that interpret the sound of the leak, resulting in faster repairs and less water loss.

Healthcare

Autonomous machines play an increasingly important role in surgery, improving patient outcomes and reducing costly hospital stay times. Elsewhere, computer vision and improved analytics are improving diagnostic technologies and making them more accessible, while predictive algorithms are facilitating more rapid drug discovery.

Food and agriculture

AI is improving yield management and population monitoring methods. Marine Harvest, a Norwegian salmon farming company, is using computer vision to find holes in salmon farm nets and predictive analytics to mitigate sea lice outbreaks.

Deep learning is also changing internet service interaction with customers, with key advances in the areas of speech interpretation and natural language. A prominent example is Amazon’s Alexa product.

The growing relevance of AI in listed companies

One way to measure the changing relevance of AI in the investment sector is to look at the frequency of AI references in listed company annual reports. Since 2014 the number of references to AI has exploded, rising from less than 200 annual reports to more than 3500 annual reports in 2018.

While further analysis is warranted in respect of the quality of the AI references in these reports – and indeed the materiality underpinning them – the data does indicate that companies are increasingly turning their minds to AI.

Our observation and analysis is that AI applications are proliferating and that business is approaching and/or embracing AI to extract meaningful resource and commercial efficiencies. AI is playing its part in what Nanuk sees as an unfolding “Sustainability Revolution” in which more sustainable technologies and practices will surpass and supplant existing unsustainable technologies and practices in coming years and decades.

By Tristan Patience, Investment Manager

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Tristan Patience

Artificial Intelligence (AI) describes programming computers to perform tasks that traditionally require human intelligence.

The current stage of AI is known as deep learning where artificial neural networks allow sophisticated and abstract models, as opposed to human-sponsored programming, to learn.  Applications of deep learning include image, sound and pattern recognition and behaviour prediction.  To achieve results, deep learning requires a significant amount of data and processing power.

AI currently excels at interpreting real world signals and its use is driving megatrends such as autonomous machines (cars, industrial robots) and smart infrastructure (public transport & power generation optimisation).

Nanuk’s AI portfolio exposure is through investments in four areas connected to those megatrends including:

• data management (handling large amounts of data)
• semiconductors (processing power)
• sensors (real-world signal interpretation)
• implementation (software, networking).

What does our exposure to AI look like?

The following is a summary of companies that we invest in or have considered based on their use of and engagement with AI technologies.

As a leader in cloud storage solutions Amazon is a trail blazer in data management.  Amazon’s data centres allow companies to store, maintain and analyse their data growing data. One of Amazon’s selling points is their ability to provide AI tools for their customers, allowing them to maximise the value of their data.  Another example is Cisco which specialises in equipment for these data centres.

Processing power which is necessary for AI programs to learn from data requires computer chips made from semiconductors.  Lam Research, Applied Materials and Teradyne are major suppliers to the semiconductor industry. Nvidia design chips that allow computers to perform the many calculations needed for deep learning and provides software and services to the industry.

Currently in our portfolio are Continental, Valeo, TE connectivity and AMS who supply sensors which interpret real world data. We have also invested in engineering software companies Hexagon, Ansys and Dassault systems which help customers implement AI, and Accenture which provides consulting services to a wide range of businesses on AI.

All of these companies reflect some of the key characteristics typical of Nanuk’s holdings. Strong, established and profitable companies which Nanuk believes are under-priced by the market.  Nanuk is excited about the opportunities brought about by AI to improve global resource efficiency and continue to deliver strong investment performance.

By Tristan Patience, Investment Manager

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