Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute (AFII) secured the non-governmental organisation (NGO) of the year award after the increasingly influential, not-for-profit research and portfolio analytics group made "exciting" progress in 2024, including a ground-breaking handbook on sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs).
Founded in 2020, AFII chief executive Ulf Erlandsson told Environmental Finance he was grateful for the recognition from the market in what was a "significant year for our young organisation".
"AFII's aim is to provide fixed income investors with practical support in identifying and managing climate risks and opportunities, and we've taken some big steps forward in 2024," he said.
The critical yet constructive reports it has published have already proven hugely influential in what is the largest and most wide-reaching asset class in the world.
Over the last year, the AFII has doubled the size of its research team and produced more than 50 pieces of original bond research – including papers on the World Bank 'outcome bonds', long-dated oil company bonds, and its "flagship" practitioner's handbook to SLBs.
Erlandsson said this handbook was a particular highlight in 2024 and has already been downloaded about 1,500 times by market participants. Despite a dramatic slowdown in SLB issuance in recent years, the AFII said the "substantial pipeline" of more ambitious SLBs means it is upbeat about the prospects for the performance-based instrument. Indeed, Erlandsson said the approach to SLBs identified in the handbook "could help to reinvigorate that market" in the future.
What is more, the philanthropy-backed AFII has continued to innovate.
"Our recently launched model portfolio and analytics platform, Co₂liseum, gives investors insights on how to achieve climate performance to mainstream fixed income portfolios," Erlandsson said.
What is more, AFII recently proposed a new type of bond called the "transition linker". Erlandsson said this "impactful" new concept which "lowers the cost of capital for governments delivering on energy transition plans" was already gaining traction in the market.
