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Emergent Asset Management
Emergent Asset Management, co-founded by Susan Payne, invests growth equity in natural capital across sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Emergent Asset Management
Emergent Asset Management was established by Susan Payne and Jimena Vallejo as a specialist investment manager focused on natural capital in emerging markets. The firm operates from Haslemere, United Kingdom, directing institutional capital into real assets and growth-stage companies that generate returns from sustainable land use, renewable energy, and resource efficiency. The strategy spans agriculture, forestry, and clean energy infrastructure, with a clear emerging-markets tilt toward sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Emergent structures its investments through direct equity, joint ventures, and fund vehicles, targeting operating businesses and projects that produce measurable environmental outcomes. The firm's investment activity links commodity demand trends in food and energy with the capital needs of developing-economy producers. Team details and total committed capital remain private. The co-founders bring complementary experience: Payne's background includes roles in emerging-markets finance and natural resources, while Vallejo has focused on sustainable investment structuring. Their geographic footprint reflects a thesis that natural-capital markets in Africa and Latin America offer uncorrelated return streams relative to developed-market ESG strategies. Emergent's structural distinction lies in its mandate purity. While many managers now layer ESG screens onto conventional portfolios, Emergent was purpose-built for natural capital. The firm commits solely to asset classes where ecological health and financial performance are interdependent — a narrow focus that positions it as a dedicated liquidity provider in markets where blended-finance and development-finance institutions have historically dominated.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
Haslemere
Corporate office
Haslemere, United Kingdom
Principals
Susan Payne
CEO and Co-Founder
Jimena Vallejo
Managing Partner and Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Emergent Asset Management?
Susan Payne, as CEO and co-founder, leads investment decisions alongside co-founder and Managing Partner Jimena Vallejo. Payne's career includes senior roles in emerging-markets finance and natural resources, while Vallejo brings structuring expertise in sustainable investments. Their combined experience shapes the firm's focus on natural capital opportunities across developing economies.
How does Emergent Asset Management source proprietary deal flow?
The firm sources deals through an established network of local operators, development-finance institutions, and project developers in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Emergent's specialization in natural capital and its presence in markets where institutional capital is scarce give it access to opportunities that are often bypassed by larger, generalist fund managers. Origination typically involves on-the-ground partnerships and direct relationships with agribusiness and energy-project sponsors.
Is Emergent structured as a family office or does it operate as a fund manager?
Emergent Asset Management operates as an institutional fund manager, not a family office. It raises and deploys third-party institutional capital through pooled fund vehicles and direct co-investment structures. The firm's UK-based team manages investments on behalf of external limited partners who seek exposure to natural-capital themes in emerging markets.
Which sectors does Emergent Asset Management explicitly avoid?
Emergent's mandate excludes sectors that do not align with natural-capital outcomes. It does not invest in extractive industries, conventional fossil-fuel infrastructure, or industrial activities that degrade land and water resources. The firm applies negative screening to avoid projects with net-negative environmental externalities that cannot be mitigated through sustainable practice adoption.
What is Emergent Asset Management's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
Emergent participates in co-investment arrangements where deal size or risk-sharing warrants collaboration with development-finance institutions, impact investors, or regional fund managers. The firm acts as both lead investor and co-investor depending on transaction scale, and its emerging-markets focus means it frequently co-invests alongside partners with complementary local operating capabilities or concessional capital mandates.
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