Alumna Masja Zandbergen-Albers

Since the start of her career in fund management Masja Zandbergen-Albers has been advocating sustainability. However, in the nineties neither clients nor colleagues were particularly interested. Now she is Head of Sustainability Integration at Robeco in Rotterdam, which she has seen transforming into a leader in sustainable investing. She works with a team of fifty people that has been developing a wide range of green investment strategies that is matched by very few other asset managers.

Originally, I was considering an Economics study, but since math came easily to me, I opted for Econometrics. My father told me that the best place to study this subject was Erasmus School of Economics and with hindsight I think he was absolutely right. The fact that I have continued to live in Rotterdam ever since is no coincidence. The city’s hands-on-mentality really appeals to me. In addition, it is a very international place with people from all walks of life.

How did it feel to be one of very few women during your study? 

It was not an issue. During many of the seminars I would be the only female student, but I was there to study so it did not matter. Being a member of SSR, offered me plenty of opportunities for a nice social life. At work, I have often been in predominantly male environments as well and actually I view it as something positive. Men are a bit more direct, which suits me fine. Sustainable investing is traditionally an area where you will find more women. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that it is because we put our money where our mouth is. For a long time we have had different priorities than men and it is great that these have now become more mainstream in the investment world.

Can you describe your career?

I joined Robeco in 1997 as a trainee. I have always been convinced of the necessity for shareholder engagement and attention to sustainability. However, there was not any real demand for that yet from our clients so it was difficult to generate interest within Robeco. When we started Robeco’s engagement team in 2005 our activities were mostly limited to voting and engaging with companies. In 2008, I felt it would be good for my personal development to gain some experience with management. At the time, that opportunity was not available within Robeco so I left to become an interim manager. Back then the group of people involved in sustainable investment was still very small and I was able to find interesting assignments. One of my clients was Syntrus Achmea, now Achmea Investment Management, where I was initially asked for a maternity cover of the Head of Sustainable Investment. Later I joined them as Head of Equities and (temporarily) credits, which gave me the opportunity to learn about the whole investment chain including back office and IT. I had a great time and stayed for 4 years, but when they moved to Zeist my commute from Rotterdam became so time-consuming that I decided to leave. It was great to come back to Robeco as Head of Research for the Global Equity team, but I did indicate that I would like to be involved in sustainable investing. When the post of Head of Sustainability Integration became vacant, I was able to realise this goal. 

'I have always been convinced of the necessity for shareholder engagement and attention to sustainability.'

What is it like to work for Robeco?

Founded in Rotterdam, the company is now owned by Orix of Japan. We have offices in 16 countries, but the investment department in Rotterdam is also very international with colleagues from all over the world. My team enjoys doing things together; recently, we went ice-skating. Even the ones who have not grown up with skates put on a brave face. The sustainable investment center of expertise now has 50 people and they embody a wealth of experience. In turn, this knowledge attracts young talent that is eager to learn and committed to add value to what is already there. 

What distinguishes Robeco’s approach in sustainable investing?

We have now been active in this area for so long that we have already been through a very thorough thought process to get to where we are. People who are new to this type of investing are still debating what it actually means. I am convinced that we can help our clients better because we have charted the way to different types of sustainable investing and the consequences for the selection of investable stocks (the universe). Yes, such choices may have an impact on potential returns, but we can guide newcomers to informed decisions, based on our experience. There are few asset managers that offer such a broad choice in sustainability strategies, ranging from equities to bonds and everything in between. Analysis of financially material ESG issues is part of the investment process for 96% Robeco’s assets under management, we apply exclusion criteria for all our funds and for 22% we are going even further by looking at the carbon footprint of investments or the contribution to the realisation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In terms of assets under management in funds that adhere to the strictest regulation on sustainability we find ourselves in the top 10 in Europe, according to Morningstar Fund Research.

When we participate in groups of institutional investors that are trying to make a difference, we only do so if we can play an active role. We are a founding member of the Net Zero Asset Managers Alliance and play a role in various initiatives regarding biodiversity. Another example is our membership of the Climate Action 100+. Together we have been able to nominate a board member at Italian energy company Enel, which resulted in a more active dialogue on sustainability between the company and the investment community. These activities take a lot of time and effort, but supporting such initiatives in name only is just not enough.

What is the relationship with Erasmus School of Economics?

Many of my colleagues are alumni from Erasmus School of Economics or other faculties. Some of them still work part time at EUR: Guido Baltussen is Head of Factor Investing and Co-Head of Fixed Income at Robeco. He is also a Professor of Finance at Erasmus School of Economics. Joop Huij is responsible for Robeco’s sustainable index solutions and is an Associate Professor of Finance at Rotterdam School of Management where he teaches asset management. Conducting academic research is facilitated very well within Robeco. Several of my colleagues have (co)authored papers in scientific journals, which has helped us to develop our investment philosophy further.

How do you define sustainability?

Sustainable investing can take many different forms. It is very important that there is sufficient transparency to allow the client to understand what funds are really doing in this area. However, labels can also complicate things, especially if they vary from country to country. Sometimes it becomes almost impossible to market the same fund in different countries while complying with all local regulations. It is good that the EU has come up with the SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation), but it is still work in progress and should not lead to an emphasis on box ticking instead of intrinsically motivated decision-making. What I like about SFDR is its emphasis on double materiality. On the one hand integrating ESG criteria and mitigating ESG risks in the investment process will lead to better investment decisions. On the other hand ‘Money, money, money’ is not enough. To paraphrase Abba, we should also be encouraged to ask ourselves ‘Does your mother know?’. You want to be able to explain how the companies you select play their part in creating a sustainable future. 

Can you give some examples of engagement activities and their impact?

We have screened our portfolios for CO2 emissions and selected the 200 biggest emitters. For these companies we studied all the information regarding their 2050 targets. Some had no information at all and others just did not have credible plans. It has led to increased engagement with companies where we see room for improvement. In those cases where we considered the transparency subpar, we have decided to demand more openness through voting at AGMs, even if there were no proposals on this topic on the agenda yet. We voted against other items on the agenda and explained our stance to the company in writing. For the companies with the lowest scores in our climate framework and where the follow up is insufficient, this may lead to exclusion. When we started excluding tobacco one of the major companies in the sector wrote to us, stating that they would be smoke-free by 2050. We replied that we would gladly reconsider an investment if they could let us know by the time they had achieved this goal.

What is the benefit of your Econometrics study in your work?

I am no longer actively programming or developing models, but I have been trained to analyse data and other information very quickly. This mindset is something I use every day and I am very happy with the solid foundation that was built during my Econometrics study.