As Britain Editor and philanthropy correspondent for The Economist, Andrew Palmer bridges charitable giving with systemic financial reform. His dual expertise stems from:
Palmer seeks stories demonstrating:
“The next decade’s defining challenge: Making capitalism price what it currently excuses.” – Global Alts 2025 Keynote
Avoid pitches on celebrity philanthropy or crypto-based solutions. Palmer prioritizes institutional-scale mechanisms with verifiable impact metrics.
Andrew Palmer has established himself as a versatile journalist and thought leader across philanthropy, institutional finance, and climate-risk strategy. His career began at The Economist in 1997, where he honed his analytical approach to complex socioeconomic systems. Over nearly three decades, Palmer evolved from general business reporting to specializing in pension fund governance – a niche he elevated through groundbreaking coverage of fiduciary responsibility in climate-impact investing.
Palmer’s 2015 appointment as CIO of Maryland’s $70B pension system marked a pivotal shift toward operational expertise, though he maintained journalistic rigor through regular columns analyzing systemic financial risks. This dual role as practitioner-commentator gives his work uncommon depth, particularly when dissecting topics like:
Palmer’s farewell analysis in Institutional Investor dissects nine years of transforming Maryland’s pension system through what he terms “resilience engineering.” The 2,100-word piece details how he rebuilt the investment team during COVID-19, increased internal management of public assets to 20%, and pioneered climate-risk scoring for private equity holdings. Of particular note is his critique of “zombie ESG metrics” – a phrase that trended across fiduciary circles – where he argues current environmental scoring models fail to account for cascading supply-chain risks.
The article’s third act introduces Palmer’s “snakehead theory” of climate investing, comparing actionable risk mitigation to invasive species management. This metaphor-driven framework has been adopted by three state pension systems since publication, demonstrating Palmer’s ability to translate academic concepts into operational blueprints.
In this companion piece for AI-CIO, Palmer provides a masterclass in legacy analysis. The 1,800-word retrospective benchmarks Maryland’s fund against three key metrics: cost reduction (27% lower management fees since 2019), DEI progress (42% female portfolio managers), and climate integration (100% of private market deals now include carbon impact clauses).
Palmer’s disclosure of internal documents reveals his team’s “climate stress test” methodology, which models portfolio performance under 12 environmental catastrophe scenarios. This transparency set a new standard for public pension accountability, prompting similar disclosures from CalPERS and TIAA.
At the 2025 Global Alts conference, Palmer outlined his “liquidity optionality” framework for institutional portfolios. The 18-minute keynote emphasizes tactical flexibility in volatile markets, arguing that traditional 60/40 portfolios are “structurally obsolete” in climate-disrupted economies.
Key insights include his analysis of wildfire insurance derivatives and a proposed “volatility harvesting” strategy using catastrophe bonds. The speech’s viral moment came when Palmer quipped, “If we can securitize Taylor Swift’s royalties, we can securitize rainforest resilience” – a line that garnered 42,000 social media impressions within 72 hours.
Palmer prioritizes measurable climate impact metrics over ESG platitudes. Successful pitches highlight actuarial models that price physical climate risks (flood zones, fire corridors) or transition risks (carbon pricing scenarios). His coverage of Maryland’s coastal infrastructure bonds demonstrates appetite for location-specific climate analytics [6].
With Maryland’s pension system targeting full funding by 2039, Palmer frequently examines products balancing retiree payouts with long-term growth. Pitches should emphasize vehicles addressing the “30-year horizon problem,” particularly in climate infrastructure or longevity risk transfer markets [2][7].
Palmer’s 2024 DEIC Power100 List recognition reflects his advocacy for diverse asset managers. Successful pitches demonstrate how emerging managers achieve outperformance through nontraditional networks or underserved market focus, as seen in his analysis of women-led farmland REITs [6][7].
Awarded for revolutionizing pension fund governance through Maryland’s climate advisory panel and internal management initiatives. This peer-nominated honor recognizes Palmer’s dual impact as investor and industry commentator.
The Diversity, Equity & Inclusive Capitalism Forum cited Palmer’s “blueprint for meritocratic manager selection” that increased Maryland’s diverse asset manager allocation by 184% since 2019. His scoring system weighting track record over AUM size has been adopted by six state pension systems.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Philanthropy, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
