Wealth manager St James’s Place has appointed former Aviva Investors’ Andy Ford as head of responsible investment. 

At Aviva Investors Mr Ford was head of ESG investments.

He has 20 years of experience in investment management, having previously held positions at firms including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, JP Morgan Cazenove and Standard Life Investments. 

SJP said his appointment will ensure that responsible investing continues to be an integral part of its fund manager research and overall investment decision making process.

That includes maintaining and developing the ESG oversight approach of SJP’s external fund managers and stewardship activity.

Mr Ford will report to Joe Wiggins within the investment management team. 

Mr Wiggins, director of investment research at SJP, said: “Andy’s experience and knowledge of the sector will help to strengthen our investment research and decision making.”

He said SJP is committed to using its size and scale to influence positive change with its fund managers and the wider industry. “Our processes continue to evolve, raising standards and identifying where we can do better to meet client needs and improve outcomes.”  

Mr Ford, said: “I look forward to working to further embed ESG into SJP’s approach to manager selection and monitoring and developing stewardship activity.”  

Sam Turner, who has led the responsible investment team since 2020, has moved into a broader role in the investment product team. He will continue to lead on the firm's implementation of the FCA's SDR rules, sustainable product strategy and wider policy engagement with the industry.   

Mr Turner said: “Andy’s experience will help progress the ESG agenda within our fund manager research and monitoring. 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.”