Our coordinated strategy for sustainable investing globally is driven by Jennifer Wu, Global Head of Sustainable Investing. She leads the efforts across sustainability-focused investment research, solutions-development and investment stewardship with a dedicated team of Sustainable Investing specialists. As of Dec 2019, we have 10 dedicated specialists on the Sustainable Investing team, and we are looking to expand this team, adding on ESG Data and Research capabilities as well as product innovation expertise. The team drives ESG-related research across investment teams, seeks to develop and publish sustainable investment thought leadership and works with clients to build and implement sustainable investment solutions. In addition the investment stewardship pillar of the team oversee our corporate engagement and proxy voting strategy.
Investment analysts and portfolio managers’ involvement and leadership on sustainable investing is at the core of how we have built our Sustainable Investment Leadership Team (SILT). SILT is a cross-regional, cross-functional group of senior leaders across J.P. Morgan Asset Management and comprised of two distinct 19-member working groups tasked with building our sustainable investing platform globally. The ESG Data & Research Group, comprised of portfolio managers and analysts, seeks to continually enhance our ESG integration framework, while our Sustainable Investing Client Strategy Group, comprised of investment specialists, distribution and other business professionals, seeks to build innovative capabilities to meet client needs. Jennifer provides regular updates on the growth and strategic direction of the sustainable investing platform to the Asset Management Operating Committee.
SILT members focus on advancing specific initiatives:
Investment Capabilities: partners with investment teams to support systematic ESG integration and drive innovation.
Research, Sponsorships and Memberships: engages with market and industry to share best practices and understand trends.
Marketing & Communications: creates thought leadership to empower more informed client investment decisions.
In addition to this our analysts and portfolio managers integrate a wide range of investment risks, including environmental impacts, into the investment process. We focus on risks that are material to cash flows for equity portfolios, credit risk for fixed income portfolios, and/or prospective returns in various client portfolios. There are more than 1,000 research analysts and portfolio managers around the globe who incorporate ESG factors into their analysis.