Abrdn joins university to boost innovation
Scottish investment giant Abrdn has teamed up with the University of Edinburgh to create a facility dedicated to fostering innovation in the investment sector – saying it will “help shape the future” of the latter.
Thenewcentreforinvesting Innovation is being bankrolled to the tune of £7.5 million over five years by Abrdn, which recently hailed 2021 as its “reset” year, and the venture will be based in the University’s Edinburgh Futures Institute, which is focused on addressingcriticalchallenges facing society.
The partnership has been supported by Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, and is expected to see academic and business expertise feeding into collaborative research.
"This will support investment strategy at Abrdn by leveraging world-class academic insight on the challenges and opportunities facingthecompany’sclients and the global investment sector. It will also drive new understanding of investment-related social and environmental sustainability issues,” the Edinburghbased finance firm said.
Alan Coutts, investment chief operating officer at Abrdn will chair the Centre’s strategic opportunitiesandfuturesboard,with Sotirios Sabanis, director of knowledge exchange at theschoolofmathematics, acting as lead for the University as centre director.
Professor Peter Mathieson, principal and vicechancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said: “Through our partnership with Abrdn, our multidisciplinary researchers will be working with a global asset-management business to help shape the very future of investment.”