Press releases
LGIM appoints Kurt Morriesen as Head of Investment Stewardship
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of the world’s leading asset managers with $1.8 trillion in assets under management (AuM) has today announced the appointment of Kurt Morriesen as Head of Investment Stewardship.
23 Nov 2021
Kurt will join the business in January 2022 and will lead LGIM’s award-winning* global Investment Stewardship team, working on behalf of our clients through raising market standards and best practice and to hold companies to account on issues from climate change, to board independence and diversity.
Kurt joins LGIM from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where he is a Senior Adviser for Impact Investments and SDGs, a role he has held since 2018. He has over 15 years of impact investment and ESG strategy experience in international organisations, such as the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), UN-PRI, United Nations, GIZ, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB); and private firms specialised in sustainable investments in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Kurt is the author of the Impact Investing Market Map (UN-PRI), the first resource available to help investors identify impact investing opportunities in the listed equity market.
As one of the world’s largest asset managers, LGIM strives to effect positive change to deliver long-term sustainable value for clients, driving good governance on some of the biggest issues shaping the behaviour and action of corporates. In 2020, LGIM met with more than 600 companies to discuss topics ranging from income inequality and climate change, to gender and ethnic diversity, and over the course of H1 2021, LGIM cast over 50,000 stewardship votes as it continues to encourage investee companies to behave responsibly.
LGIM’s Investment Stewardship team is well known for its leadership with a strong global reputation, within the past month winning best in class at the 2021 ICGN Global Stewardship Awards for the team’s stewardship policies, practices, and reporting.
In addition, in this year of COP26, the team continues to apply pressure on companies to provide climate accountability; and achieve net-zero emissions; focus on biodiversity and deforestation; as well as to expand its programme of deeper engagement. Through the Climate Impact Pledge report, first launched in 2018, LGIM has expanded its engagement to 1,000 global companies in 15 climate-critical sectors that are responsible for more than half of greenhouse-gas emissions from listed companies. During the 2021 proxy season, LGIM has subjected 130 companies to voting sanctions, with the banking, insurance, real estate and technology and telecoms sectors the most highly sanctioned through a vote. Kurt will report to Michelle Scrimgeour, CEO, and takes over the position from Sacha Sadan, who recently left LGIM in 2021 to become the Head of ESG at the Financial Conduct Authority.
Michelle Scrimgeour, CEO of LGIM: “As a business, we remain focused on continuing to build our credentials as a responsible investor and to leading the asset management industry in addressing the environmental, governance and social challenges arising from a rapidly changing world. Our engagement activity and stewardship of our clients’ assets is a core pillar of our approach to sustainable investment. We’re delighted to welcome Kurt to LGIM. His experience with international organisations at the frontier of sustainable development will be invaluable as we continue to reinforce our market-leading investment stewardship approach and extend our already award-winning global team.”
Further information
LGIM PR Team
T: 0203 124 4355/ 4363
Notes to editors
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with over £1.2 trillion in total assets under management* of which a third is international. We also provide powerful asset origination capabilities. Together, these underpin our leading retirement and protection solutions: we are a leading international player in pension risk transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Through inclusive capitalism, we aim to build a better society by investing in long-term assets that benefit everyone.
*at 31 Dec 2022
Legal & General Investment Management
Legal & General Investment Management is one of Europe’s largest asset managers and a major global investor, with total assets under management of £1.29 trillion1. We work with a wide range of global clients, including pension schemes, sovereign wealth funds, fund distributors and retail investors.
For more than 50 years, we have built our business through understanding what matters most to our clients and transforming this insight into valuable, accessible investment products and solutions. We provide investment expertise across the full spectrum of asset classes including fixed income, equities, commercial property, and cash. Our capabilities range from index-tracking and active strategies to liquidity management and liability-based risk management solutions.
1Globally, we manage assets of £1.42 trillion or CHF 1.75 trillion as at 31 December 2021 (source: LGIM internal data as at 31 December 2021). The data combines assets under management by LGIM in the UK, LGIMA in the US and LGIM Asia in Hong Kong. Assets under management include securities and derivatives positions.
*at 11 Jan 2023
KEY RISKS
Past performance is not a guide to the future. The value of an investment and any income taken from it is not guaranteed and can go down as well as up, you may not get back the amount you originally invested. For illustrative purposes only. Reference to a particular security is on a historical basis and does not mean that the security is currently held or will be held within an LGIM portfolio. The above information does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Views expressed are of LGIM as at 3 January 2023.
IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE
In the European Economic Area, it is issued by LGIM Managers (Europe) Limited, authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a UCITS management company (pursuant to European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations, 2011 (S.I. No. 352 of 2011), as amended) and as an alternative investment fund manager with "top up" permissions which enable the firm to carry out certain additional MiFID investment services (pursuant to the European Union (Alternative Investment Fund Managers) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 257 of 2013), as amended). Registered in Ireland with the Companies Registration Office (No. 609677). Registered Office: 70 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin, 2, Ireland. Regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (No. C173733).
LGIM Managers (Europe) Limited operates a branch network in the European Economic Area, which is subject to supervision by the Central Bank of Ireland. In Italy, the branch office of LGIM Managers (Europe) Limited is subject to limited supervision by the Commissione Nazionale per le società e la Borsa ("CONSOB") and is registered with Banca d'Italia (no. 23978.0) with registered office at Piazza della Repubblica 3, 20121 Milan, (Companies' Register no. MI - 2557936). In Germany, the branch office of LGIM Managers (Europe) Limited is subject to limited supervision by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ("BaFin"). In the Netherlands, the branch office of LGIM Managers (Europe) Limited is subject to limited supervision by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets ("AFM") and it is included in the register held by the AFM and registered with the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce under number 74481231.Details about the full extent of our relevant authorisations and permissions are available from us upon request. For further information on our products (including the product prospectuses), please visit our website.