#22 Leaders in Investment podcast: Stephen O’Neill, Head of Infrastructure & Natural Capital at NEST Invest

#22 Leaders in Investment podcast: Stephen O’Neill, Head of Infrastructure & Natural Capital at NEST Invest

From Leaders in Investment - IPE by IPE

October 16, 2025 · 31 min · Season 1 · Episode 22

About this episode

Stephen O’Neill discusses investment strategies in infrastructure and natural capital at NEST Invest.

In this episode, Stephen O’Neill, Head of Infrastructure & Natural Capital at NEST Invest – the £55bn, 13 million member DC master trust which holds the savings of one in three UK workers – offers his perspective on themes including the energy transition as a tailwind for the renewables sector; the rationale behind Nest’s investment in IFM Investors; the fund’s increasing allocation to timberland and views on nature capital, more broadly and the risks that keep him up at night. This episode of Leaders in Investment is sponsored by UBS. "In order to continue to meet savers’ retirement goals, private markets are not going to be just a nice-to-have, but will be essential." In this podcast series from IPE and IPE Real Assets, members of our editorial team speak to leading figures in the institutional investor community to curate a library of in-depth, focused content.  Conversations with chief investment officers and other asset-owner leaders will range across beliefs, objectives, investment philosophy, strategy and outlook. Engaging with asset owners both in Europe and beyond, this series will provide unique access to the thinking…

People in this episode

Host: IPE

Guest: Stephen O’Neill

Topics covered

  • energy transition
  • renewables sector
  • investment strategy
  • nature capital
  • timberland allocation
  • private markets

Keywords

  • infrastructure
  • natural capital
  • renewables
  • investment
  • energy transition
  • timberland
  • private markets

Sponsors

UBS

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NEST Invest, IFM Investors, IPE, IPE Real Assets

Places: UK

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