Apostle appoints carbon markets lead

Former Executive Director of Carbon and Power Markets at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Luke Donovan, has been appointed as Partner, Global Carbon Markets at Apostle Funds Management (AFM).

Donovan’s addition to the investment team comes as the manager is set to launch its Global Carbon Credit fund and establish its presence in the impact, ethical and net zero space.

Donovan brings over 15 years of experience in the energy finance sector, with previous roles at Origin Energy and CBA where he was responsible for the bank’s carbon emissions trading globally.

“We are thrilled to welcome Luke and his strong leadership to the Apostle team,” AFM’s Managing Director, Karyn West, said.

“Luke’s rare technical skill set and deep sector expertise with global carbon markets is critical to our strategic positioning in providing solutions to our clients.”

Donovan said he was looking forward to working with Apostle to accommodate the changing needs of institutional markets.

“I was seeking to partner with a fund distribution and product management group that could support the creation of products relevant to this market amid shifting demand,” he said.

“Apostle is a great natural fit, I welcome a collaborative partnership in delivering sophisticated products and services to the institutional market in global carbon markets.”

The hire is the latest in a raft of appointments at AFM to bolster its climate and impact offering, with Eric Chu joining as the firm’s first Chief Operations Officer and Kylie Parkyn as an ESG adviser in line with the launches of its People and Planet fund and Ethical High Yield Credit fund.

“We have the right expertise and the right products to deliver institutional grade ethical and impact strategies for our clients,” West said.

“We have seen an enormous shift in demand from clients and we felt there was a limited selection in the market to meet new sustainable requirements. This is why we have curated a team of specialists to support our holistic investment strategy.

“We are focused on the future of investing and believe you can create positive real-world outcomes without sacrificing financial returns.”