LGT Wealth Management has promoted Phoebe Stone to the company’s first-ever UK chief sustainability officer amid increasing firm commitment to sustainability. Ms Stone joined LGT back in 2014 as a portfolio manager and was heavily involved in setting up the company’s sustainable investing division in 2018. She has continuously added to the firm’s sustainable investing offer and heads the group of dedicated individuals responsible for ESG integration and stewardship practices.
Stone has been instrumental in shaping the sustainability strategies of LGT as she is a member of various influential committees. She has been a member of the Global Sustainable Committee, Investments and Clients, and is also a member of the Think Tank reporting directly to the Sustainability Board. Besides this, she chairs several important groups including the Sustainable Investment Committee, Sustainable Business Committee, and Sustainable Governance Committee. She also works for socio-economic diversity as she is a member of LGT’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Ben Snee, of LGT Wealth Management’s top ranks as chief executive officer, points to one significant creation – Chief Sustainability Officer – an unheard-of appointment for wealth management, until now. As Snee puts it, these very sustainability roles tend to be myopically investment focused. Therefore, in assuming the post, LGT re-establishes its broad commitment toward sustainability while deepening on the leadership’s credentials – and indeed that of one of its first entrants in the sustainability sphere.
“A comprehensive assessment of its implications on the world is core to the firm’s philosophy of work,” says Snee.
In this new role, Stone’s tasks will include responsibilities on overseeing LGT’s sustainable investment strategies and propositions in addition to managing its sustainability data and stewardship teams. Her duties include the duty to drive sustainable practices in all divisions of the firm. Stone emphasized how her interest lies in LGT’s holistic integrated approach to sustainability: that it holds the organization responsible for its operations and its investment decisions. In conclusion, she emphasized that this financial sector plays an integral role in environmental protection and restoration. Stone recognized sustainability as being inherently complicated yet indicated that LGT possesses the means to channel relevant assets and competencies to affect some positive change, alluding to how the company has maintained this focus for the long-term period.
In addition, LGT announced the promotion of Jordan Kelly from being a Portfolio Manager to a Senior Sustainable Research Analyst. He will lead the sustainable funds, equities, and bonds research. Stone’s appointment and Kelly’s promotion signal important steps in LGT’s journey to securing its leadership and impact in sustainable finance.