Wealth Management Firm LGT Names Phoebe Stone as Chief Sustainability Officer: 4 Things to Know

LGT Wealth Management UK has named Phoebe Stone as chief sustainability officer (UK), the financial services firm said. Here are four things to know about LGT's business and sustainability strategy, and Stone's professional experience.

1. Business Focus, Scope and Scale: LGT Wealth Management UK provides investment management, wealth planning and private investment office services. The company, spanning 650 employees, and has offices in London, Jersey, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester. 

LGT Wealth Management is part of LGT Group, an international private banking and asset management group with more than 5,000 employees. The Liechtenstein Princely Family has owned and run LGT Group for over 90 years. As at June 2024, LGT Group managed assets of CHF 356 billion (US$412 billion) for private individuals and institutional clients.

2. Sustainability Goals and Strategy: LGT Wealth Management UK is striving to be net zero across its own investments and operations by 2030. Among the milestones to note: Roughly 67% of LGT Wealth Management UK's energy consumption involved renewable sources in 2022. Also, the company cut its CO2 emissions per employee by 5% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the firm's website. See the LGT Wealth Management Impact Report 2024 for more details.

3. Executive Experience: New CSO Phoebe Stone previously ran LGT Wealth Management’s sustainable investing client proposition, dedicated sustainable investment team, ESG integration and stewardship proposition for six years, having launched the division in 2018, the company said. She joined the firm in 2014 as a portfolio manager and was made a partner in 2020, the compny added.

As CSO (UK), Phoebe continues her work evolving LGT Wealth Management’s sustainable client proposition, across both private and public market investments, while also driving sustainable change throughout the firm’s operations and divisions.

On a related note, LGT veteran Jordan Kelly has been promoted to oversee sustainable fund, equity and bond research.

4. Executive Perspectives: In a prepared statement, LGT Wealth Management CEO Ben Snee said: “Chief sustainability officers are a rarity in wealth management, with sustainability roles too often seen as a niche area of the investment function. Our creation of a Chief Sustainability Officer is part of our commitment to ensuring we are a firm that looks at our impact on the world in a much broader way, building on our reputation as early-adopters when it comes to sustainability.”

Added Stone: “The overarching goal is to drive forward our interconnected approach to sustainability, including heightened accountability for our own business practices and those of the companies in which we invest. Continuing to highlight the crucial role the financial sector can play in restoring and protecting our world is fundamental. While there is so much complexity and nuance inherent in sustainability, we are in the fortunate position of being able to dedicate what we feel are the necessary resources and expertise – evidenced by our Group’s long-term investment in, and focus on, this space.”

Chief Sustainability Officers: Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

The bottom line: Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO customer needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.