National Employment Savings Trust, London, appointed Campbell Global, part of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, to run a global portfolio of direct investments focused on core traditional timberland.
The retirement plan aims to deploy up to £550 million ($714 million) over a three-year period, a spokesperson said.
The appointment follows a competitive procurement process in which 12 fund managers applied to offer NEST access to sustainably managed timberland. NEST launched a search for a timberland manager in September.
Campbell Global will seek out opportunities for NEST in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and Chile.
"We believe in Campbell Global we have found a partner that can grow alongside NEST, meeting our high bar for responsible investing — they’ve demonstrated they want to be good stewards of the environment and the forests, and the communities around the forests," said Stephen O'Neill, head of private markets at NEST, in a news release. “We believe the importance of preserving natural capital will only increase in the coming years. Many aspects of our ecosystem such as forestry, water and agriculture are closely linked to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 will require natural capital preservation.”
NEST had assets of £36 billion ($45 billion) as of February.
