Nicole Carter, Deputy Head of ESG Strategy and an Executive Director, AQR Capital Management.

CFA Society of Columbus welcomes Nicole Carter, Deputy Head of ESG Strategy and an Executive Director at AQR Capital Management as our guest speaker.

Sustainable Alternatives

While it may remain contentious and still subject to definitional debate, ESG at least has well-established applications across passive and active long-only equities. ESG-focused alternative portfolios, though, are less common and more varied. This talk will explore implementation considerations for ESG in alternatives, especially in motivating the relationship between short selling and ESG, and review industry practice and regulatory responses. How seamlessly can ESG objectives, strategic asset allocation, and risk/return targets be combined?

Nicole Carter is the Deputy Head of ESG Strategy and an Executive Director at AQR Capital Management. She has been a member of AQR’s ESG Working Group since 2016 and chairs the ESG Reporting and Communication committee. Nicole is active in the sustainability investment community; she was appointed as an inaugural member of the UK Endorsement Board Investor Advisory Group and has served on ESG working groups of the Managed Funds Association and CFA UK. In addition to her ESG role, Nicole is AQR’s Head of Benelux, responsible for relationships with clients and prospects in the region. Prior to AQR, Nicole worked in telecommunications and for a retail-focused technology start-up. Nicole received her B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford, where she was the president of Oxford Women in Politics, and is a CAIA charterholder. She is pursuing a Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies: Sustainability at Harvard University.