Chief executive of Abrdn Capital, the firm’s discretionary management arm, Richard Charnock will step down in April, he said in an email to clients and financial advisers.

He helped setting arm the division, formerly known as Standard Life Wealth, 15 years ago and, prior to that, he was chief executive of Williams de Broe and Lloyds’ private banking division.

Generali Asia

Davide Glavina has been promoted to chief executive of Generali Life Hong Kong as well as general manager of the Hong Kong branch.

Previously, he served as head of finance of Generali International since 2018.

Glavina’s appointment is subject to regulatory approval.

LGT Vestra

The UK wealth firm has hired John Godfrey to lead its expansion into Scotland.

He becomes a senior wealth manager and will be based in Edinburgh.

Godfrey joins from Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, where he was regional centre head and investment director. He was at the firm for 24 years.

AJ Bell

Jamie Ward has taken on the role of head of investment solutions at the platform to oversee the growth of its investment business.

He was previously at Crux Asset Management, where he was a fund manager on the Crux UK Core fund.

Value Partners

The Hong Kong wealth manager has recruited Hyung Do Kim as senior director and head of ETF business and Korea sales.

He joins from CSOP Asset Management, where he worked as deputy head of quantitative investment.

Hawksmoor

The investment management business has named Leighton Dunkley as chief finance officer.

He was previously at Simplyhealth, where he served as director of strategy and corporate finance.

Advanta Invest

The wealth firm has appointed Matt Webber as investment director.

He joins from Abrdn, where he worked as a senior investment manager.

Tilney Smith & Williamson

The UK wealth management group has expanded its financial planning team.

Francesca Allard takes on the role of financial planning associate director. She was previously at James Hambro & Partners, where she worked for five years as an associate financial planner.

Stephenson Harwood

The law firm has expanded its private wealth practice with the hire of Jonathan Conder.

He joins as a partner in the London office and was previously at Macfarlanes where he held a similar position.

Conder advises UK and international private clients, families, and private banks on tax, trust, estate and succession planning.

From its relatively niche, institutional beginnings it is starting to reach a wider audience.

The United Nations’ COP26 conference and figures like Greta Thunberg have played a big part in helping to push ESG up the global agenda.

But recent data shows that progress has been slow in making ESG a mainstream investment strategy.

In October, a Foresight Group survey found only 12% of UK advisers said that over half of their clients now express a preference for ESG investing.

During our International Adviser Future Advisory Forum in Dubai, we asked UAE financial advisers to respond to the following statement: ‘ESG is important to my clients’.

• Absolutely – 26%
• Somewhat – 43%
• Not really – 29%
• Definitely not – 3%

You can argue over 60% of advisers said they clients were positive about ESG – or you can argue that only 26% of advisers had clients that want a full ESG strategy.

Warranted

IA spoke to RL360, Brooks Macdonald International, LGT Vestra, Continental Group and Praemium to discuss whether there is enough ESG demand in the UAE to warrant a mass supply of funds in the region.

Chris Corkish, RL360 investment marketing manager, said: “Whilst product providers are responsive to market demand, in the case of ESG we have decided to proactively provide credible options as part of an overall ESG strategy that seeks to develop understanding and sophistication in this area for clients and advisers alike.

“We believe that ESG will inevitably become a fundamental part of investment selection globally and have sought to lay the groundwork for these changes amongst those who purchase our products. This also enables us to contribute in the ‘greening’ of finance by facilitating sustainable investment.”

But Matt Wintour, head of adviser solutions at Brooks Macdonald International, sees the ESG demand/supply discrepancy ending soon, as change is on the horizon.

“We believe that retail investor demand in the UAE will increase over time as we are seeing happen in Europe. Individuals are becoming better informed on the global sustainability agenda as its profile in the global media increases. The tone of the global conversation has also shifted over recent times as the impending risks to our planet, society and economy are recognised rather than them being framed as problems for future generations.

“This is coupled with a growing understanding of the role that finance and the investment industry have in helping address these global challenges. Finally, as discussed above given the pace of change in global policy and societal attitudes the old perception that you would have to give up investment performance is being flipped on its head.”

Education, knowledge or lack of interest?

Whatever you may think of ESG, the investment sector is adamant that it will be a big part of the future.

Firms, such as Royal London and Square Mile, have even started to team up to educate advisers on how to talk about ESG to clients.

Which begs the question, is the demand issue in the UAE due to advisers being apprehensive speaking to clients about ESG rather than a lack of client interest?

Neelam Verma, vice president of investments at Continental Group, said: “It would be myopic to dismiss the currently moderate uptake as being due to a lack of knowledge among advisers, or their clients. The UAE is leading the region in adopting an ESG investment focus.

“While there is no governance body or law to enforce the ESG norms, the uptake we have seen in the UAE is purely discretionary by the early adopters with many more following the suite.

“UAE investors and their financial advisers tend to be very savvy about their options and have been very proactive in adapting, however the initial uptake in ESG investing has been straddled by early presumptions that an ESG strategy resulted in somewhat lower returns compared to other available options.”

Phoebe Stone, head of sustainable investing at LGT Vestra. said: “Everyone is on a journey. We have had demand for education sessions from IFAs in the UAE, and have had a very good response rate to sustainable education sessions we have run. We have also seen clients asking their IFAs about it in the UAE.”

RL360’s Corkish added: “ESG is a difficult topic in some ways at present, as asset managers are increasingly keen to push their sustainable prowess and it can be tricky to understand the various overlapping voluntary and regulatory disclosure regimes.

“A key part of consolidating ESG in the mainstream is standardisation, which enables investors and advisers to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of asset managers’ approach to ESG. This also needs to work hand-in-hand with education.”

Future

Whether ESG becomes the central investment strategy of the UAE is mainly down to client uptake.

Demand is rising – there is no denying that – but it isn’t hitting the heights that some firms are suggesting.

Verma said: “The launch of ESG products can be seen in the context of firms ensuring that they get in early, on an emerging trend. The vast majority of retail investors tend to be conservative in their investment decisions.”

Stone said: “ESG is becoming more mainstream. This is not unique to the UK and Europe and we would expect similar trends in UAE. There is a general shift in sentiment amongst regional leaders and businesses to sustainability, and this is being reflected accordingly in the investment world.”

Mark Sanderson, managing director of UK and international at Praemium, added: “The UK and EU regulators have ESG and advice firmly in their sights already – Europe’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation came into force at the start of 2021 and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will introduce its own sustainability disclosure requirements for firms in due course.

“The dual forces of increasing investor awareness and regulatory scrutiny will ensure the market for ESG products and advice has a long way to go yet before it peaks.”

The cooperation will see the two companies create and unveil a “low-fee” investment alternative available to advisers whose clients’ capital does not “warrant its standard advice fees”.

Customers will be redirected to Wealthify’s digital platform to access a non-advised, discretionary investment solution consisting of a model portfolio powered by LGT Vestra.

They will be able to choose between five risk profiles which invest in a range of either passive mutual funds or active ethical funds, the two firms said.

The asset allocation and fund selection processes will be carried out by LGT Vestra, with the platform and customer care provided by Wealthify.

Adviser challenges

Simon Holland, chief product officer at Wealthify, said: “As a purpose-led business, we are committed to inspiring anyone to build their future wealth. Our latest partnership with the well-respected LGT Vestra helps us do just that, by making investing accessible and affordable to those who might not have been serviced by the brand previously.

“From the outset, LGT Vestra recognised the challenges faced by advisers in terms of how to service smaller clients, and how to engage with the next generation. Together, we’ve built the perfect solution, mapping exclusively to their models, with our proven technology and customer-centric focus at its heart.”

Tony Allan, partner and head of business development at LGT Vestra, added: “We are excited to partner with Wealthify to provide advisers with an investment solution for next generation clients.

“Sharing our investment expertise via the Wealthify app will allow advisers to retain future clients who they may otherwise not have been able to service. We’re committed to servicing the IFA community and are excited to leverage the technological developments provided by Wealthify.”

The private banking and wealth management arm of Societe Generale has made some changes to its executive team.

Christophe Huchet has been promoted to group chief risk officer, after spending four years as chief executive of its Channel Islands operation, effective from 1 October 2021, based in London.

Phil McIlwraith will replace Huchet at the helm of the CI operation, subject to regulatory approval. He has been chief executive and group head of trust and fiduciary services in the Channel islands for the past three years.

Current group chief risk officer David Bromley will succeed McIlwraith.

HSBC

The private banking of the UK-headquartered giant has hired Stefan Lecher as regional head of investments and wealth solutions for Asia Pacific, effective from 3 October 2021.

He will be based in Hong Kong.

Lecher was previously at UBS, where worked for the last 17 years and most recently was head chief investment officer for global investment management in Apac.

Multrees

Glenn Murphy has joined the investor services provider as chief operating officer.

He previously held a similar position at Stonehage Fleming.

Murphy will focus on strategic operating and technology solutions for the firm’s clients as well as manage interface between customers and the operations and technology departments.

Lazard Asset Management

The global asset manager has named Joanne Choi as a managing director and chief marketing officer.

She will be based in New York.

Choi joins from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where she served as head of global marketing.

First Sentier

The investment firm has recruited Mellanie Halsey as chief people and culture officer, effective from 6 September 2021.

She will be based in London and be responsible for designing and implementing strategies to attract, engage and develop employees.

Halsey was most recently executive vice president, HR at Colt Technology Services.

Carrick Wealth

The South African advice firm has hired Gareth Bew as group director of technology.

He has held several senior positions in technology across different sectors including financial services, analytics and retail.

Blick Rothenberg

The tax advisory business has promoted Caroline Le Jeune to head of tax.

She will retain her duties as head of private client as well.

Jennison

The equities and fixed income manager has named Guillaume Mascotto as managing director and head of ESG strategy.

He will be based in New York.

Mascotto is an affiliate manager of PGIM and was most recently head of ESG and investment stewardship at American Century Investments.

LEBC

The financial advisory firm’s head of public policy, Kay Ingram, has left the business.

She will pursue a different venture as a personal finance writer, commentator and broadcaster.

LGT Vestra

Matthew Wiles has taken on the role of sustainability funds analyst at the investment firm.

He joins from Aberdeen Standard Investments, where he served as senior investment analyst and manager of the MyFolio Sustainable range.

The rules introduce disclosure requirements at both a company and product level and came into effect from 10 March 2021.

SFDR requires financial service firms; including asset managers, fund managers and financial advisers, to disclose a range of sustainability risks within their business that could have a negative impact on the financial return of an investment and/or advice.

LGT Vestra said that it measures such risks via the implementation of exclusion policies, a sustainable rating system, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative Principles, and a commitment to net zero emissions by 2030.

Phoebe Stone, head of sustainable investing at LGT Vestra, said: “We have a longstanding commitment to sustainable business practices and have always been conscious that a sustainable philosophy starts from within. We are taking action to measure and reduce our business’ impact on the environment and have specific sustainability targets to achieve this.

“Adhering to this regulation encourages greater clarity on investments across the industry, allowing investors and IFAs to make more informed ESG and sustainability-related decisions.”