Prior to this role, she ran LGT Wealth Management’s sustainable investing client proposition, dedicated sustainable investment team, ESG integration and stewardship proposition for six years, having launched the division in 2018. She joined the firm in 2014 as a portfolio manager and was made a partner in 2020.

As Chief Sustainability Officer (UK), she will continue her work evolving LGT Wealth Management’s leading sustainable client proposition, which encompasses both private and public market investments, while also driving sustainable change throughout the firm’s operations and divisions.

LGT Wealth Management’s private ownership – and resultant long-term outlook – has allowed it to set ambitious targets, including becoming net zero across its own investments and operations by 2030.

The Chief Sustainability Officer (UK) role is a natural evolution to bring sustainability efforts to date together into one cohesive strategy, particularly following LGT Wealth Management’s 2023 acquisition of the abrdn discretionary fund management business.

Stone said: “The overarching goal is to drive forward our interconnected approach to sustainability, including heightened accountability for our own business practices and those of the companies in which we invest. Continuing to highlight the crucial role the financial sector can play in restoring and protecting our world is fundamental.

“While there is so much complexity and nuance inherent in sustainability, we are in the fortunate position of being able to dedicate what we feel are the necessary resources and expertise – evidenced by our Group’s long-term investment in, and focus on, this space.”

Ben Snee, chief executive officer of LGT Wealth Management, said: “Chief sustainability officers are a rarity in wealth management, with sustainability roles too often seen as a niche area of the investment function. Our creation of a Chief Sustainability Officer is part of our commitment to ensuring we are a firm that looks at our impact on the world in a much broader way, building on our reputation as early-adopters when it comes to sustainability.”

Meanwhile, Jordan Kelly, who has worked within portfolio management in the LGT Wealth Management sustainable team for the past five years, has been promoted to oversee sustainable fund, equity and bond research. Jordan has been embedded in the research process since joining the firm and has been integral to developing the sustainable asset selection approach, as well as generating sustainable investment ideas alongside Phoebe and the wider LGT Wealth Management research team.

The decline marked the UK as having the lowest percentage of female appointments across major European markets, with France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy coming in at 64%, 43%, 54%, and 45%, respectively.

All of the monitored companies in the UK did have a woman at the boardroom level, with the total split across firms remaining at the same level as last year, 57% men and 43% women. However, over a fifth of companies still have a representation of less than 40% women on its board.

Currently, the FCA requires all listed UK companies to hit a 40% threshold, a regulation which came into place for financial periods onwards from 1 April 2022.

Anna Anthony, EY UK Financial Services managing partner, said: “While annual fluctuations in the make-up of boardrooms are to be expected, a decline in the number of UK female director appointments of this magnitude is concerning. Tougher reporting requirements on gender diversity, requiring firms to comply or explain their current diversity metrics, are clearly not yet driving the necessary change at pace.”

See also: Beyond the Data: Real stories of diversity and inclusion

The report also noted a differentiation in c-suite roles held between men and women, with 81% of incumbent directors appointed to boards in 2023. However, only 36% of those were women, compared to 50% in 2022. The emphasis on c-suite was slightly lower in Europe, with 59% of appointments bringing this experience.

Andrew Hobbs, EMEIA Center for Board Matters leader, said: “C-suite experience is understandably a highly influencing factor in the appointment of financial services board directors given the skills and leadership qualities it brings.

“While there are de facto a smaller number of female candidates with c-suite experience, the ideal board is not necessarily made up entirely of individuals who have all held the most senior roles. Diversity of experience should not be underestimated, especially as financial services firms increasingly navigate complex new focus areas which require specialist, less traditional skills and experience, for example, in sustainability, technology, risk and geopolitics.”

Appointments with ESG experience also took a hit in 2023, down to 15% from 31% in 2023. Tech experience increased, from 22% in 2022 to 30% in 2023, and political experience slightly decreased from 39% to 37%. Across current boards, women outpace men in both tech and ESG experience, with 11% of men having ESG experience compared to 22% of women and 22% of men with tech experience as opposed to 44% of women.

See also: Women not concerned about gender of their financial adviser

Omar Ali, EY EMEIA Financial Services managing partner, said: “As global geopolitical dynamics continue to evolve, and technology and sustainability demands on firms grow ever more complex, bringing new skills and breadth of experience to the boardroom is a priority for financial services chairs across Europe.

“Structuring a board that is sufficiently broad in scope yet attuned to the multitude of changes across the sector is a balancing act, which chairs and boards across Europe are proactively addressing.”

This article was written for our sister title Portfolio Adviser

Verma was appointed to the role in April 2023 and shares her experiences of diversity and inclusion during the span of her career.

Khan and Verma touched on positive discrimination, importance of having diversity of skill and thought in your workforce and the benefits of mentoring.

Verma has previously worked for Brooks Macdonald, Pictet Asset Management and Smith & Williamson.

LGT Wealth Management picked up a trio of gongs at the ceremony, while HSBC, Legal & General Investment Management and Lloyds were also recognised for shining a light on “excellent, often untold stories that exist across organisations and among individuals in the wealth management and advice industry,” said Pimfa (Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association).

Liz Field, chief executive of Pimfa, commented: “I am delighted, as ever, to congratulate both the winners and highly commended from this year’s D&I Awards, but also all those who entered the awards this year.

“The business, moral and social case for diversity and inclusion has not dimmed, nor shall it for some time to come, and the firms and individuals that entered this year’s awards are all excellent examples of how our members recognise the talents of individuals from all backgrounds and ensure that all people feel involved, valued, respected, treated fairly, and embedded within the cultures of the organisations they work for.”

The winners of the awards, for which MA Financial Media titles ESG Clarity, International Adviser and Portfolio Adviser are the exclusive media partners, in each category are as follows:

Inclusive Talent Management Award

• Winner: LGT Wealth Management

• Best D&I Initiative Award (1-50 Employees)
• Winner: The Verve Foundation

• Best D&I Initiative Award (51-350 Employees) – sponsored by Royal London
• Winner: 7IM

• Best D&I Initiative Award (351+ Employees)  – sponsored by SEI
• Highly Commended: Legal and General Investment Management
• Winner: Lloyds Banking Group

• Best Industry Partner Award
• Highly Commended: Women Returners
• Winner: EY Foundation

• Rising Talent Award – Sponsored by Raymond James
• Winner: Nalini Solanki, Legal and General Investment Management

• Best Approach to Wellbeing Award – sponsored by Charles Schwab
• Winner: FIS

• The Overall DE&I Champion Award – sponsored by Morningstar
• Highly Commended: David Coombs, Rathbones
• Winner: Fiona Wallace, HSBC

• The DE&I Executive Sponsor Award – sponsored by Clearstream
• Winner: Phoebe Stone, LGT Wealth Management

• Best Organisational Outreach Initiative Award – sponsored by FIS
• Highly Commended: Future Frontiers
• Winner: LGT Wealth Management

Pimfa chief executive Field added while there is still work to be done “it is heartening to see just how much effort is going into making our industry as diverse and inclusive as it can be”.

“As the voice of our industry, Pimfa will continue to make D&I a priority and look to collaborate across the sector to provide resources, support and co-ordination of efforts in the years to come,” she added.

The winners were chosen by an independent group of industry peers alongside experts in diversity and inclusion from charities that Pimfa partner with. These included Roopalee Dave, partner at EY; Peter Moores, chief executive of Raymond James; Matt Cameron, global managing director at LGBT Great; Bev Shah, co-chief executive & founder, City Hive; Jennifer Mathias, group chief finance officer at Rathbones;  Sean Taylor, director at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management; Richard Wilson, chief executive officer at abrdn Personal Wealth and interactive investor among others.

Huge congratulations to all the winners!

Signatory firms would commit to six metrics-based principles under the DEI Code intended to enable the greater inclusion of wider viewpoints from the best talent, with the aim to lead to better investment outcomes, better working environments and a cycle of positive change for future generations.

Among the six principles, investment organisations will be expected to expand the diverse talent pipeline, design and implement inclusive and equitable hiring and onboarding practices, and promote practices that reduce barriers to progress. Organisations should also use their position and voice to promote DEI, improve DEI outcomes and increase measurable DEI results, the organisation said.

“CFA Institute is seeking to build a more representative and resilient industry, and we recognise that far more needs to be done across all aspects of DEI,” said Margaret Franklin, president and CEO of the CFA Institute.

See also: FCA bids to boost diversity and inclusion in financial services

“We started with out DEI Code in the US and Canada, and our UK initiative is in recognition that DEI means different things to different people in different markets. I am proud to note that CFA Institute hereby becomes the first signatory to the UK edition of the DEI Code.”

Alongside CFA Institute, asset manager PGIM was announced as one of the initial signatories to the code, with more to be announced in due course.

According to Sarah Maynard, global senior head of external diversity, equity and inclusion at CFA Institute, the CFA chose not to simply replicate the North American DEI code – launched last year and adopted by over 160 investment organisations – because of the many differences in culture, in employment law and definitions of what constitutes diversity and inclusion, particularly in relation to gender and other forms of identity.

Therefore, the UK DEI Code “incorporates UK variations in demographics, culture and societal norms”, and offers a structure that supports employers, DEI leaders and HR professionals in building “impactful and measurable DEI strategies”.

To devise the UK DEI Code, the CFA Institute worked with CFA Society UK and a DEI Code (UK) Working Group drawn from UK-based investment and DEI leaders in the UK. Using the DEI Code in North America as a foundation, it was adapted for the specific challenges and opportunities associated with the UK market.

“In the working group, we have given a lot of thought to encouraging signatories to raise their ambitions on DEI, but without introducing a long list of prescriptive requirements,” said Lindsey Stewart, CFA, director of investment stewardship research at Morningstar and lead of the working group.

“The code is designed to be scalable across a range of organisation sizes and structures, and most importantly, emphasises how important it is for signatories to demonstrate progress over time. The aim is cultural change, not tick-box compliance.”

Reporting requirements

DEI Code signatories will be asked to provide a confidential, annual progress report to CFA Institute using an accompanying reporting framework.

This should include details on the company’s DEI strategy, policy, commitments and high-level objectives, as well as an oversight of its governance process and an implementation plan to integrate DEI within the signatory organisation’s people, processes and policies. In turn, CFA Institute will report on industry-level statistics once a critical mass of signatories is reached.

Signatory organisations must meet three main foundational reporting requirements within two years of becoming a DEI Code signatory. This includes establishing a senior leader ownership and oversight governance process; formal, publicly available communications outlining the organisation’s DEI strategy and high-level objectives; and forming an implementation plan to integrate DEI within the signatory organisation’s people, processes and policies.

For more insight on ESG issues, please click on www.esgclarity.com