Liontrust plans to tie its ESG and sustainability activities to executive remuneration as it further embeds processes throughout the company.
In its annual results statement, published on 22 June, Liontrust’s non-executive chair Alastair Barbour said the company planned to make “considerable strides” in the 2022-23 financial year, reported ESG Clarity‘s sister title Portfolio Adviser.
“Investors expect Liontrust to explain and evidence its processes with regard to ESG and sustainability,” Barbour said in his chair’s statement for the annual results.
“Liontrust plans to make considerable strides in this space over the next fiscal year. The group is committed to support the Net Zero Asset Managers’ Initiative, to further the integration of ESG considerations into Liontrust’s mainstream investment processes, and to link actions to the group’s strategy, internal governance structures and the executive directors’ remuneration.
“This provides a solid platform on which the group can expand its expertise to ensure that Liontrust’s offering in ESG, and sustainable investment is fit for purpose for the next decade.”
See also: – More companies must link executive pay with ESG commitments
The remuneration policy change comes after shareholders narrowly passed the company’s latest pay plan at Liontrust’s annual general meeting in February, which included a resolution to hike chief executive John Ions’ (pictured) salary to £550k.
Ions said asset managers with a “genuine focus on ESG and sustainable investment will have a stronger tailwind” through short-term market volatility.
He added: “The increased focus on ESG and sustainable investment… will surface the invisible in terms of the various approaches of investors. It will also enable a move from take, make, break to a sustainable future.”
