Kirsten Meder, CAIA, CMT
ESG/SRI Investment Strategist
What are your key responsibilities?
My role is multifaceted, but my primary focus is on working with clients to help them express their values in hypercustomized public equity portfolios. In doing so, I collaborate with our business development, portfolio management, and marketing teams to create portfolio analyses, impact reports, and other values-aligned investing resources. Additionally, I partner with our research team on projects like model ESG portfolios, ESG attribution, and measuring impact. I enjoy staying on top of industry trends and developments, engaging with our data vendors, and exploring new ESG data sets for ways to develop strategies and solutions to further support our clients.
Describe your key previous work experience.
Prior to joining Aperio, I was a Portfolio Manager at Lattice Strategies and Hartford Funds, where I was responsible for managing multi-asset SMA portfolios for high-net-worth clients. In this role, I focused on strategic and tactical asset allocation, risk management, multi-factor and macroeconomic modeling, alternative investment due diligence and manager selection, and client communications. I previously worked for Bank of America/Merrill Lynch as a Research Analyst on their fund-of-hedge-funds team, and also worked at Columbia University as a Research Staff Assistant in the Astronomy Department, studying infrared galaxy spectra from the Spitzer Space Telescope.
What is the most interesting aspect of the job to you?
I love the combination of breadth and depth my role affords. ESG issues are both global in scope and extremely personal to each client, allowing for many different interpretations of value and impact. I enjoy the cross collaboration among ESG, research, portfolio management, and our other teams in creating solutions for our clients. I love how the ESG and impact investing space is constantly evolving, and I’m always learning from my colleagues, our clients, and peers. It’s exciting being on the cutting edge of creating hypercustomized investment solutions that incorporate individual investment values and preferences.
Describe some noteworthy projects you have worked on that directly impact Aperio’s clients.
Since joining Aperio, I’ve worked with our team in developing new strategies focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and racial justice. Additionally, I’ve had the opportunity to explore issues ranging from deforestation and sustainable agriculture to incorporating Islamic values into a portfolio. Currently, I am exploring ways to create custom place-based tilts. I’ve compiled a comprehensive data dictionary spanning all of our data sources and have participated on projects related to impact reporting, ESG attribution, and upgrading our data and analysis systems.
What do you like most about working at Aperio?
Everyone is incredibly open-minded, comes from diverse backgrounds, and strives for personal growth. Aperio is also unique among the many investment firms in terms of the emphasis on truth, transparency, and how we can best serve our clients. It is one thing for a company to say it’s committed to these things, and quite another to experience it living up to these aspirations. I also love the Aperio book club and look forward to our discussions and intellectual sparring.
List any committees or organizations you are a member of outside Aperio.
I am on the PTA board at my children’s school—where I focus on fundraising and environmental/nature/garden projects—and the board of directors for Jasmine Blossom Thai Cuisine. I am a member of SPUR (the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association) and am involved with the CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) and CMT (Chartered Market Technician) organizations.
What are some non-work-related things we should know about you?
When I’m not working, I’m an avid reader, gardener, baker, and gamer (video games, board games, logic puzzles). If you don’t find me with a book, shovel, spatula, or controller in hand, I’m likely out hiking around the Bay Area with my kids and three golden retrievers.
What postsecondary degrees and/or professional certifications do you possess?
BA in Astrophysics and Physics from the University of California, Berkeley; MA in Social Entrepreneurship and Change from Pepperdine University; and CMT (Chartered Market Technician) and CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) professional designations.