Systems, a Know Your Broker (KYB) platform, has created a new environment, social and governance (ESG) division and appointed Anita Karppi in the newly created position of Chief Revenue Officer and Head of ESG.
The new Plia ESG platform will be available at the end of this year with zero membership/license adopters until the third quarter 2022.
The aim is to help the financial community crowdsource best practices, benchmarks, and technology to allow investors to more easily adopt and integrate ESG into their businesses and partnerships.
Just as investors look to create transparency, accountability, and impact with their portfolio companies, the platform will enable investors to collaborate with their counterparties such as vendors, broker-dealers, service providers to generate consistent outcomes.
It will also support financial markets participants in their compliance with new regulations, such as the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the associated reporting requirements that will be implemented in mid-2022.
Additionally, Plia ESG will integrate the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to create further alignment with this widely shared global blueprint for a sustainable future.
Plia was deveolped in 2012 to manage the due diligence process and streamline the secure transfer of information between asset managers and their counterparties for risk management and best execution purposes.
Earlier this year, Plia announced an investment from the Plato Partnership to launch a Know your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering initiative, in early 2022. This new platform aims to create dramatic improvements following frustrations by industry members regarding standardisation, security, and inefficiencies with existing internal or external systems.
Bill Stephenson, CEO said, “In addition to finding ways to generate alpha through ESG research integration, we believe investors should work closely with their operational and investment partners to fully align their ESG goals and expectations. We look forward to working with the Plia Advisory Boards, ESG experts, industry groups, and the Plato Partnership to help create some working standards and best practices that sync with investors’ goals of creating a better place to live and work for all.”
Dave Lauer, CTO added, “The appointment of Anita will take our business to the next level, and I am excited to be building products that our clients believe will help them improve their process and outcomes for end clients. Her credibility, reputation, network, and drive will help us achieve our goals to become the leading platform for KYB, KYC, and now ESG. These are three important areas that will add transparency and alpha to the investment process.”
Karppi said, “I am truly delighted to be appointed to this position and very excited about the future vision and roadmap of Plia. I have been working with Bill and Dave since March of this year, and together we have a clear vision to grow and scale the business to help the global investment community. The ESG initiative aligns with my passions and I am excited to be spearheading a product that will help the industry engage and collaborate on these important challenges.”
Karppi has 22 years of experience in capital markets across the buyside at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, FlexTrade, and Reuters before founding the Buy-side Trading Community in 2009. She will continue her role on the Executive Team at the Plato Partnership.
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