From student to committed alumnus and donor: Christian Wiehenkamp gives back to his alma mater

Now Christian is going one step further. Through Effectual, a financial services firm that he co-founded, he will be supporting the research activities of the Institute for Adaptation | Maastricht (IAM), part of the School of Business and Economics (SBE) and led by Professor Rachel Pownall, for the next three years. This structural contribution will enable research and education that provides insight into the major transitions and social developments of our time, such as the ubiquity of AI, climate change and pension changes. IAM’s work is highly complementary to Effectual’s research-driven business – applying the economic theory of externalities to build sustainable investment strategies that perform financially. UM and Effectual are looking forward to an active research collaboration on studying the links between sustainability and economic value creation. This will allow students to better prepare for the major social challenges they will encounter in their lives.

Through its scientific research, UM, together with donors such as Effectual, aims to create impact and contribute to timely and successful societal adaptation. This is a wonderful example of how a committed alumnus contributes to scientific innovation within UM, not only personally but also professionally.

Effectual has been established by Perpetual and the family of Hans Wilsdorf, an exceptional entrepreneur and philanthropist, following their commitment to future generations. To be effective, actions need to be based on facts. This is why Effectual has built a framework for sustainable investment based on economics and science, rather than ambiguous, conflicting and subjective ESG criteria.