Pedro Guazo, head of international and responsible investing at Northern Trust Asset Management, must be one of the few people working in fund management who has been responsible for feeding people affected by natural or man-made emergencies.

In 2010 Guazo joined the United Nations’ World Food Programme in Rome, which is usually the first organization that feeds people on the frontline after emergencies. However the programme realised that just bringing food could have negative consequences by depressing prices in the local economy, and that it could be better to provide money for people to buy supplies.

“We developed a very nice program for securely distributing digital cash to beneficiaries,” said Guazo. “I used all my knowledge of the financial system to make cross-border payments.”

Guazo chose a career in finance after growing up in Mexico in the 1970s and 1980s. The regular financial crises led to everyone talking about the impact of changes in interest rates, exchange rates and inflation on their lives. He worked at the Mexican financial services regulator, where he saw the vulnerability of the financial system, and at a development bank to create products and services for lower income people with no access to financial services.

“From the beginning of my career, the flavors were finance tied to social or economic development,” Guazo. “It has been about using the financial system to generate a positive social impact to create wealth for everybody.”

Before joining Northern Trust in 2025, Guazo was chief executive officer of the $100bn United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund’s Office of Investment Management. He moved from New York to London, where he now has a dual mandate of leading the asset manager’s business in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and its global responsible investing platform.

During his five-year tenure at the UN pension fund assets grew by nearly 60%, the portfolio entered new asset classes, and there was an extensive buildout of the private markets program. Guazo explained that the pension fund was one of the few that was mostly managed internally.

“It gave me an opportunity to manage an investment organization,” he added. “It was not just an asset allocation exercise as we were both an asset owner and an asset manager.”

Northern Trust is much larger than the UN fund organisation, and also does not have a captive audience as the manager has to persuade asset owners to award mandates. In addition, different clients have varied goals, and use assets for different purposes, which Guazo described as an exciting opportunity.

“Each asset owner has different values and principles and we have the capability to  implement diverse objectives,” he said.

Guazo said he was excited about joining Northern Trust because it is a global organization with a very important presence outside North America, and it has “very good” recognition for both asset management and asset servicing.

Daniel Gamba, former president of Northern Trust, said in a statement at the time: “Pedro’s experience in leading large and complex organizations around the globe, his successful track record managing large pools of assets and his extensive responsible investing background make him perfectly suited to lead our business in Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific, and further strengthen the solutions we provide to clients”

ESG

The United Nations pension fund was recognized as a leader in responsible investing by the Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative and was a founding signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment. Guazo said asset owners want long-term partnerships with managers who offer a wide range of solutions and services, together with a commitment to sustainability and responsibility.

“Northern Trust Asset Management is the fourth largest manager measured by assets in ESG mandates,” he added. “That is my favorite number of all.”

There has been a political backlash against ESG, especially in the U.S. However, Guazo said that nine out of 10 conversations that the distribution team has with existing or prospective clients refer to sustainability and responsible investing. Northern Trust Asset Management has grown the size of its stewardship team and issues research on sustainable investment themes.

The firm’s Sustainable Investing Trends for 2026 report said there is an intensified focus on national self-reliance and a fragmented policy landscape increasingly focused on consistent access to resources. The report highlighted key themes of climate resilience, resource constraints, security and resilience, which are all being shaped by the macro trend of artificial intelligence

“For investors navigating this complex environment, we anticipate perspectives not only to evolve, but to become more bespoke, resulting in growing demand for customized strategies, and interest for expression of custom views through both portfolio construction and stewardship,” said the report.

Guazo argued that there is no turning back for sophisticated asset managers who have integrated ESG as risk factors or as an alpha generator into their investment decisions. He said: “I don’t think they will change or that ESG is dead.”

Growth strategy

Since joining, Guazo has been travelling around the globe to meet his team, engage with clients and collaborate with the other parts of the group. For example, he sees asset services as key to the long-term strategy, which is being developed for each country by the end of this year.

“We will have a clear perspective of where we want to move in the next five years, to consolidate our presence in countries and probably explore other countries,” he added. “We have all the ingredients but the recipe will be different for the markets in each country.”

He argues that Northern Trust Asset Management is “very good” at providing tailor made solutions. These can cover a range of asset classes including bonds, equities and private markets, as well as strategies ranging from index-based to active or quantitative, and a variety of structures from ETFS to UCITS funds and separately managed accounts.

“We can add the additional spice of sustainability,” he added.

The fund management industry is facing fee pressures as the assets in passive strategies continue to grow. Guazo said the answer is for managers to become more efficient, more effective and more creative, for example, in thematic investments.

“We can differentiate ourselves on our capabilities,” he added. “That is why we are so excited about our quantitative strategies.”

Over the next five to 10 years, managers will have to move away from vanilla products and Guazo said they will have to be creative and develop other functionalities.

“Success will depend on how ready you are to change and innovate,” he added.”It will also depend on how flexible you are in developing and trying new products, and how close your relationship is with clients.”

In terms of success, Guazo could see the difference being made to people on the ground while working at the UN. He said: “Finance can absolutely have the same impact.”