The ESG/impact fixed income team at Nuveen picked up the asset manager investment team of the year award after being praised for delivering "real impact at meaningful scale" by an IMPACT Investment Awards judge.

The team – led by Stephen Liberatore – manages $23 billion from the $1.4 trillion US asset manager, including through its flagship $7 billion Core Impact Bond Fund, which has supported the growth of the labelled and unlabelled sustainable bond market since its launch in 2012.

In particular, the awards judges praised the ongoing work of the team – which also includes Jessica Zarzycki, Adam Guerino, and Alan Papier – to find "creative & innovative structures solving real challenges in the market".

For example, the Nuveen team has regularly supported first-of-their-kind impact structures – such as debt conversions and outcomes bonds – by providing structuring guidance and anchor investment.

Recently, this has seen Nuveen back the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) 'Amazonia Bond', various 'blue bonds', and a green bond from the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority to finance its residential solar programme.