LGT’s Sneyers elected to UN PRI board

LGT Capital Partners managing partner Tycho Sneyers has been elected to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment board.

In his role as investment representative, Sneyers will be one of only two non-asset owners on the board, according to a statement. He was elected with 25 percent of the investment manager vote, edging out Therese Niklasson, global head of ESG at Investec Asset Management and Carol Geremia, president (designate) at MFS Investment Management.

Sneyers helped integrate responsible investment considerations into the LGT private equity programme in 2002, his candidate statement noted. He also served as chairman of the firm’s ESG programme.

“I believe there is a need on the board for someone who has been ‘in the trenches’ on ESG integration, slogging through the challenging issues of turning ESG aspirations into operational reality,” he said in the statement.

“Having ESG action plans for each portfolio company linked to standardised ESG key performance indicators would enable stakeholders to understand the real impact of their investment decisions. It would also be a big step towards further institutionalisation of ESG across all asset classes.”

The vote – which closed on 28 November – resulted in Marcus Madureira, planning director at Brazilian pension fund PREVI, being confirmed as an asset owner representative for a first term. Madureira was joined by Renosi Mokate, chairperson of the South African Government Employees Pension Fund, and California Public Employees’ Retirement System board member Priya Mathur, who were elected to serve second and third terms respectively.

The newly elected directors will start their three-year terms on 1 January 2018. The board’s responsibilities include setting the PRI’s strategy, risk appetite and structure, as well as its monitoring performance.

Launched in 2006, the UN’s PRI now has more than 1,750 signatories representing approximately $70 trillion.