A key benefit from the acquisition of Legg Mason and its specialist investment managers is that Franklin Templeton now has one of the industry’s most extensive networks of ESG leaders embedded in our investment teams. This breadth of talent has been a catalyst to further evolve our firm-level approach to stewardship and sustainable investing. As the ESG landscape transforms rapidly, we continue with our strong firm-wide commitment to be responsible stewards of clients’ assets, and we aspire to become a global leader in stewardship and sustainability.
In support of the firm’s ESG growth strategy, we are bringing together the strength and expertise of our collective ESG capabilities to form our new Stewardship and Sustainability Council.
The Council will connect our dedicated ESG leaders from across our 19 specialist investment managers (SIMs) to guide the continued evolution of our ESG infrastructure and best practices. In addition to setting and supporting a common research agenda for stewardship and sustainability, the Council will tackle topics such as data requirements, transparency, and reporting. The Council will also provide insights and guidance on key sustainability topics and serve as forum to monitor and provide feedback on related policy and regulation.
The Council will be co-chaired by David Sheasby, Head of Stewardship and ESG for Martin Currie, and David Zahn, Head of European Fixed Income, and Head of Sustainable Fixed Income for Franklin Templeton Fixed Income. Sheasby, based in Edinburgh, and Zahn, based in London, bring a wealth of ESG experience and diversity of investment perspective to their roles, coming from an equity and fixed income perspective, respectively. Both will retain their current responsibilities within their respective investment teams as they take on this co-chair role.
After eight years with the firm, Julie Moret, Global Head of ESG, has decided to leave on March 17 to pursue another opportunity.
As we actively recruit for the Global Head of ESG position, which will play an integral role in the Council, the global ESG team and the dedicated ESG talent embedded within each of our autonomous specialist investment managers will continue their work supporting our clients.
“We aspire to become a global leader in stewardship and sustainability and we are excited to announce the formation of the Stewardship and Sustainability Council that will leverage the considerable ESG expertise embedded within our investment teams,” said Jenny Johnson, President and CEO of Franklin Templeton. “While the strength of our organization lies with the breadth and autonomy of our specialist investment managers, we also recognize that an organization of our scale can have tremendous positive impact by working collectively on stewardship and sustainability matters for the benefit of our clients.”
“I would like to thank Julie Moret for her dedicated leadership and contribution to the firm over the last eight years, and we wish her well in her future endeavours,” she added.
| This article is based on information provided by Franklin Templeton.
| All opinions expressed are those of the author. investESG.eu is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around ESG investing topics.
