Mackenzie Investments, in a series of statements, has announced that it is expanding its presence in environmental, social and governance (ESG) analysis and investing by launching a second, new sustainable investing “boutique” and two new sustainable funds for retail investors. The firm also appointed a new senior vice president and portfolio manager to lead some of these efforts.

The firm announced April 13 that Andrew Simpson, formerly the director of investment management with Vancity Investment Management, has joined the firm as senior vice president and portfolio manager. Simpson will lead Mackenzie’s newest sustainable investing team, which will focus on ESG analysis. The boutique is Mackenzie’s second in this space, after it acquired Greenchip Financial Corp., which specializes in environmental thematic investing, back in December 2020.

The announcement about Simpson’s appointment follows on the heels of an earlier announcement introducing two new sustainable investing funds. The two new mutual funds, launched April 9, include the Mackenzie Greenchip Global Balanced Fund and the Mackenzie Global Sustainable Bond Fund.

The Greenchip equities team, an entity that is separate from the boutique team Simpson will be heading, will manage the global balanced fund’s equity portfolio, investing in medium and large market capitalization companies that are focused on developing products or services that are directly supporting various environmental sectors. The fund’s fixed income component is managed by Mackenzie’s fixed income team, which will invest primarily in labelled green bonds and other debt instruments that are financing environmental and sustainable solutions. The sustainable bond fund, meanwhile, also managed by Mackenzie’s fixed income team, invests in environmental, social and governance bonds from best-in-class ESG issuers.