Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC joins Arctic Economic Council
Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, the asset management and investment advisory division of global investment and advisory firm Guggenheim Partners, has joined the Arctic Economic Council.
Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC has been an investor and long-time advocate for Arctic development, said a news release from the Arctic Economic Council (AEC) released on Monday.
“Securing sustainable development by strengthening the Arctic Investment Protocol is one of the priorities of the Icelandic businesses’ AEC Chairmanship,” said Heidar Gudjonsson, current chairman of the AEC.
(The Arctic Investment Protocol was launched by the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council (GAC) in 2015. The GAC released the protocol with six principles to guide investment to help balance the environmentally sensitive realities of region with the massive global investment opportunities resulting from climate change’s rapid transformation of the Arctic and resulting interest in the region from the international business community as economic activity increases and new trade routes open up.)
“As advocates for responsible Arctic investments, Guggenheim Partners has promoted long-term investments in the Arctic for years,” Gudjonsson said. “We are very pleased that we are now able to welcome them as Arctic Partners in the AEC and look forward to continued work on promoting sustainable investments and the Arctic Investment Protocol.”
`Sustainable approach to investment in the region’
Scott Minerd, global chief investment officer and chairman of investments at Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC, said that close partnerships were important to ensure responsible development in the region.
“We are honored to formally join the AEC as an Arctic Partner,” Minerd said.
“The region is feeling the severe effects of environmental changes arising beyond its borders; and when the makeup of the Arctic changes, it has a devastating ricochet effect with which the entire globe must contend. Considering this reality, it is vital that stakeholders partner together to ensure a sustainable approach to investment in the region. By working more closely with the AEC, we can continue to meet this responsibility.”
The Arctic Economic Council was established during Canada’s most recent chairmanship (2013-2015), of the Arctic Council, an international forum made up of the world’s eight circumpolar nations and six Arctic Indigenous groups.
First California-based member
Thomas Mack, the AEC’s Vice Chair representing Aleut International Association, which represents the Indigenous people of the Aleutian and Shumagin islands and the western part of the Alaska Peninsula, said Guggenheim Partners’ interest in the Arctic was a positive signal.
“As the Arctic gains more and more global attention, we need more stakeholders originating from outside the region who can follow Guggenheim Partners’ example and are willing to learn to understand the region,” Mack said. “We are open for business, and I am delighted to see stakeholders outside our region also see that. It is a pleasure to welcome our first California-based member to the AEC.”
The AEC initially conceived as an entity to advise the Arctic Council on business issues but has evolved to also facilitate business-to-business activities in the North and promote responsible economic development.
The chairmanship of the AEC rotates among the circumpolar countries to mirror the Arctic Council’s rotating two-year chairmanships.
Write to Eilís Quinn at eilis.quinn(at)cbc.ca
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Canada announces $2M for research into carbon neutral mining in the Northwest Territories, CBC News
Finland: Gold mine in southern Finland to shut down after court denies appeal, Yle News
Greenland: Greenland issues new exploration, prospecting licences to Anglo American, Eye on the Arctic
Iceland: Norwegians and Icelanders let Alaskans in on the secrets to economic prosperity, Alaska Dispatch News
Norway: Minister downplays environmental impact of planned mine in Arctic Norway, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Putin, Modi work on Arctic cooperation during Russia meeting, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Modi’s Sweden trip highlights India’s interest in North, Radio Sweden
United States: U.S. must pay attention to growing China-Russia alliance in Arctic: expert, Alaska Public Media
