Centre for Investing Innovation

Centre for Investing Innovation

The Centre for Investing Innovation is a strategic partnership between global asset management company abrdn and the University of Edinburgh. It is addressing challenges facing the investment and asset management sector, including how to improve demonstrable societal benefit. Funded by a £7.5 million commitment from abrdn across a five-year period starting in 2022, the Centre is hosted by the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) and has been co-developed with the School of Mathematics and the School of Informatics (Design Informatics).

The research will focus across three key areas, with projects funded through co-creation activities between the University of Edinburgh and abrdn:

‘Sustainability’ considers the future trends at the forefront of differentiating outcomes associated to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and how they continue to be embedded in investment processes. It also explores how innovative investment practices can deliver societal benefits.

‘Thematic investing’ harnesses the insights of both abrdn and the University of Edinburgh to expand the delivery of innovative future investment themes including opportunities for innovative public sector investment.

‘Innovating investing’ further guides and embeds technology, data science and artificial intelligence into investment frameworks and processes.

Multidisciplinary co-creation is at the core of the Centre, and Design Informatics and EFI’s Data + Design Lab is a vital element of the partnership. The Data + Design Lab will bring collaborative design tools and the innovative approach that abrdn is looking for to help define challenges and scope projects for joint collaborative research.

People in collaboration:

Sotirios Sabanis (School of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh)