Private markets: how do we tackle ESG issues?
How does abrdn deal with ESG concerns in private markets? We discuss our approach.
The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and an investor may get back less than the amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future results.
We provide credit facilities to private equity funds so that they can bridge investment requirements without having to draw capital from their investors. The benefits across stakeholders include operational efficiency, enhanced internal-rate-of-returns (IRRs) and, in turn, less negative returns in the early years of an investment.
Why are we offering fund financing to investors:
Head of Infrastructure Debt
Jeremy is the Head of the Infrastructure Debt Team with responsibility for sourcing, analysing and managing illiquid debt opportunities within agreed policy and mandate frameworks.
Prior to joining the company in September 2014, Jeremy was Head of the Public Sector Team at Nationwide Building Society. Whilst at Nationwide, his primary areas of focus had been in Infrastructure (primarily PFI) and Social Housing where he has over 20 years of experience and was responsible for an overall loan book exceeding £12bn. Jeremy has 10 years’ investment experience at abrdn and more than 40 years’ experience in banking & finance.
Abrdn manage debt investments exceeding £4bn across the breadth of infrastructure sectors. Jeremy has been personally involved in sourcing and writing a significant proportion of this book including debt investments in renewable energy, utilities, affordable housing and transport. Jeremy is an associate at the Associate of the Institute of Bankers.
Head of Commercial Real Estate Debt
Neil is the Head of Commercial Real Estate Lending at abrdn. He joined in 2013 and has worked in the industry for more than 30 years. He started his career with NatWest and subsequently worked for a number of international banks. Before joining the company, Neil was at Deutsche Pfandbrief Bank, where he was responsible for the their Continental European (ex-Germany) loan book and was the only non-German domiciled person to be given the powers of a voting member of the credit committee. Neil has extensive experience in both originating and restructuring in the UK and Europe. This has provided ample opportunity to both initiate new relationships with borrowers and maintain good working relationships in more challenging restructuring situations. The CREL platform has grown to 10 mandates, with a mix of segregated and pooled funds. Neil is also President of the Association of Property Lenders (the UK lending representative body), an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and co-Chair of the abrdn Balance Network.
Head of Fund Finance
Shelley Morrison leads the strategy for Fund Finance at Abrdn. She has extensive experience in the origination, structuring and execution of fund level debt facilities across multiple asset classes. She has been with abrdn since 2019. Before joining abrdn, Shelley was a Director in the Fund Finance team at RBS for 6 years where she managed a portfolio of subscription loans, NAV loans and GP finance to global funds across Private Equity, Private Debt, Infrastructure and Real Estate. Prior to that, she worked in structured asset finance at RBS and Lloyds for 10 years, with a focus on commercial ship finance. Shelley holds the both the IMC and CISI certificate in Corporate Finance and the CFA Certificate in ESG Investing. Shelley sits on the Fund Finance Association EMEA Executive Committee and Women in Fund Finance Committee. Shelley received a first class MA (honours) degree in Geography and an MSc in Social and Political Theory, both from the University of Edinburgh.