UK fund manager and life insurance business St. James’s Place (SJP) has appointed Andy Ford as Head of Responsible Investment – most recently head of ESG investment directors at Aviva Investors. Ford brings 20 years’ experience in investment, having previously held positions at the likes of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, JP Morgan Cazenove and Standard Life Investments. “I look forward to working to further embed ESG into SJP’s approach to manager selection and monitoring and developing the already high standard of stewardship activity,” said Ford. He replaces Sam Turner, who had been leading the responsible investment team since 2020 and has moved into a broader role in the investment product team. Turner will continue to oversee the firm’s implementation of the UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements, its sustainable product strategy and wider policy engagement with the industry. “We have made great progress over the past few years, and now is the right time to bring together our ESG policies and frameworks to be much closer to our asset-class teams under Andy’s leadership,” said Turner. SJP said Ford’s appointment would help ensure responsible investing continues to be an integral part of its fund manager research and overall investment decision-making process – including maintaining and developing the ESG oversight approach of external fund managers and stewardship activity. Ford will report to Joe Wiggins, Director of Investment Research at SJP.
