Carbon markets: Pricing, policy and portfolio strategy

Tuesday 27 January 2026 | 17:30 - 20:30 | Evening Event

This event is hosted by the CFA UK Sustainability Community

An In-Person Networking Evening with Michael Azlen: Carbon as an Emerging Asset Class

Join CFA UK for a two-hour networking event featuring keynote speaker Michael Azlen, CEO of Carbon Cap Management and co-author of The Carbon Risk Premium.

Michael will unpack how carbon markets are evolving into a liquid, investable asset class - and what rising carbon prices mean for portfolios, risk, and returns. His talk draws on research published with the Journal of Alternative Investments and the CFA Institute.

You will learn:

• Why Carbon pricing and ETS are central to net zero policy
• Voluntary vs. compliance carbon markets
• Growth and liquidity of global carbon markets (EU ETS etc)
• Carbon as an emerging asset class: returns, diversification and correlations
• The carbon risk premium: historical performance and forward – looking estimates
• How investors can integrate carbon into portfolio strategy and hedge transition risks

Spaces are limited — RSVP now to secure your spot.

Timings 

Registration: 17:30

Event: 18:00 - 19:00

Networking: 19:00 - 20:30

Speaker

Michael Azlen, CEO of Carbon Cap Management and co-author of The Carbon Risk Premium

Michael Azlen is a senior investment professional with over 25 years of experience, including founding, growing, and selling a regulated investment management business to a public company. After a 15-year career with Canadian banks and alternative asset managers, he launched his first firm in 2005, scaling it to $700 million in assets before achieving a successful exit.

He then shifted his focus to climate change and impact investing, publishing academic research on carbon as a liquid, investable asset class. This led to the founding of Carbon Cap Management LLP and the launch of the World Carbon Fund in 2020 — now the largest multi-market carbon fund globally, with $550 million in assets and a five-year net return exceeding 122%. Michael holds a Sloan Master’s in Leadership and Strategy from London Business School, is a CAIA charterholder, and has completed LSE’s Economics and Governance of Climate Change course. He is also a frequent conference speaker and guest lecturer at London Business School for over two decades.

Host

Marianna Nowaczyk, Net zero project manager at UBS