Investing for the Future
Additionally, our thematic investment specialists systematically evaluate environmental, social and governance factors as part of their investment process. Our investment solutions adhere to our Investment Criteria and exclude securities prohibited by our Enhanced Sustainable Exclusions policy. And our teams believe in substantive engagement and accountable, active ownership.
Our teams aim to invest in companies positioned to sustainably benefit from long-term structural change. Some of our thematic investment solutions have been awarded the Febelfin Label1 for sustainable and socially responsible financial products. Neuberger Berman has been awarded top scores in the most recent UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) assessment report2 for its overarching approach to ESG strategy and governance, and integration across asset classes. It has also been named a Leader, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in ESG practices.
In addition, we look to identify environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities when evaluating the themes which we believe have the potential to offer long-term sustainable growth. We believe some of these developments have the potential to profoundly change our lives over the long term.
As such, we think thematic investing can have a dramatic impact; thus it forms a core part of our equity investing platform. Our dedicated thematic and research team are focused on identifying the investment opportunities within this space:
Hari Ramanan, Managing Director, joined the firm in 2019. Hari is a Portfolio Manager and CIO of Global Research Strategies at Neuberger Berman and leads the investing activities of the firm’s research-centric core and thematic funds. Prior to joining Neuberger Berman, Hari was Managing Partner of Valarc Holdings, a long-biased hedge fund backed by endowments and foundations to invest in a concentrated portfolio of globally traded equities that it looked to own for multiple years. In addition, the firm opportunistically took short positions in individual companies globally. Before founding Valarc in 2014, he served as a Portfolio Manager and Head of International Equities at Eminence Capital, a $7 billion equity long-short investment firm investing in quality companies globally. He joined Eminence in 2007 with a mandate to spearhead the firm’s international investing efforts. Prior to Eminence, Hari was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Basso Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm in Connecticut where he focused on European equity and distressed debt investments. Hari began his career at Lehman Brothers Private Equity Division in New York. He subsequently worked for Advent International, the global private equity firm, in London and focused on European buyouts. Hari earned his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in Mathematics and Economics from Knox College in 2000. Hari served on the Board of Trustees of Knox College and its Investment Committee from 2009 to 2019.
Michael Barr, Managing Director, joined the firm in 2006. Michael is an Senior Research Analyst for the Global Equity Research Department. His coverage responsibilities include Commercial Aerospace, Airlines, Defense, Transportation and Specialty Metals. Before joining the firm, Michael spent two years as a research analyst at Shockoe Capital in Richmond, VA. Prior to that, from 1999-2004, Michael was an associate analyst at Prudential Equity Group in New York where he covered both the Aerospace and Defense sectors as well as Transportation and Airlines. Michael received his BA in Economics from the University of Virginia in 1999.