What sustainable investing looks like in practice with Shanu Mathew (Lazard Asset Management)

Sep 30, 2025

Shanu Matthew, Senior VP at Lazard Asset Management, shares insights on sustainable investing focused on the energy transition. He discusses the four pillars of sustainability and how stocks are selected using a unique sustainability scorecard. Shanu highlights the surge in AI-driven investments in data centers, the challenges of rapid demand vs. utility planning, and creative solutions developers are exploring. He emphasizes the importance of monitoring industry signals for investors and argues for the critical role of storage in managing AI workloads.

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ADVICE

Think In Multi‑Year Investment Horizons

Underwrite prospective holdings for a multi-year thesis, typically three to five years.
Exit when the thesis breaks or the risk-reward becomes unfavourable after appreciation.

INSIGHT

AI Is Driving Broad Market Exposure

AI demand has become a dominant market narrative, with up to 40% of S&P exposure levered to AI.
The trend spans chips, hyperscalers, infrastructure owners and the full data‑centre supply chain.

INSIGHT

Hyperscalers Are Flooding CapEx Into Data Centres

Hyperscalers are spending eye‑watering CapEx; Lazard estimates roughly $0.5tn this year with forecasts much higher.
That spending drives demand across chips and physical data‑centre infrastructure.

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How do public markets really view the energy transition? And what signals are investors looking for before they back the companies building tomorrow’s energy system? Financing the energy transition isn’t just about building projects, it’s about convincing capital markets to back them. Uncertainty around policy, regulation, and profitability often slows the flow of capital into clean energy and without clear signals, institutional investors may hesitate, leaving projects underfunded and slowing down the pace of change.

So what will it take to unlock that investment at scale? In this conversation, Quentin is joined by Shanu Mathew, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Lazard Asset Management, explains how public markets view the risks and opportunities of the transition. He shares what investors are really looking for, from policy clarity to proof of long-term returns and how these signals can accelerate the deployment of capital into the companies and technologies shaping our net zero future.

Key topics covered include:

• How public markets evaluate energy and climate-focused companies.

• The signals investors want to see before deploying capital.

• Why policy clarity and consistency are critical for unlocking investment.

• The impact of market volatility, interest rates, and geopolitics on investor appetite.

• What listed markets reveal about the future shape of the energy transition.

Note: Our guest caught a slip of the tongue—at timestamps 22:52, 23:08, and 23:21, they said "per square foot" but meant "per megawatt."

About our guest

Shanu Mathew is Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Lazard Asset Management, where he manages global public equity portfolios for institutional investors. With a focus on energy and climate, he brings a unique perspective on how public markets assess risk, opportunity, and long-term value in the transition to net zero. His insights highlight what investors need to see to unlock capital at scale for the clean energy transition. For more information on Lazard Asset Management - head to their website.

About Modo Energy

Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage solutions understand the market - and make the most out of their assets.

All of our interviews are available to watch or listen to on the Modo Energy site. To keep up with all of our latest updates, research, analysis, videos, conversations, data visualizations, live events, and more, follow us on LinkedIn. Check out The Energy Academy, our bite-sized video series breaking down how power markets work.