Rathbone Greenbank Investments has made a double hire to expand its ethical investing team.
Laura Hobbs (pictured, right) joins Greenbank as an investment director, responsible for managing charity portfolios and helping charities align their investments with their ethical values and sustainability ambitions.
She has more than 10 years’ experience working with not-for-profit clients. She previously worked as responsible investment manager for Brunel Pension Partnership, where she also led on the sustainability and climate integration strategy.
Hobbs is a chartered financial analyst charterholder, and alongside her professional employment, she sits on the investment committee of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as an independent investment adviser, providing guidance on the charity’s endowment and pension fund investments.
Emma Williams (pictured, left) has also joined the team, as a senior ethical, sustainable and impact (ESI) researcher.
In addition to conducting research into companies’ ESG and ethical performance and practices, she will play a key role in supporting the roll-out of Greenbank’s 2023 company engagement projects.
This includes projects on companies’ net zero objectives and human rights due diligence.
Before joining Greenbank, Williams was an associate director at Grant Thornton UK LLP and has previously held positions within social investment at Bristol & Bath Regional Capital CIC and corporate sustainability at PwC.
Greenbank has also created a new head of investments role as it strengthens research and investment teams.
David Cox has joined the senior team as head of investments, where he will be responsible for evolving the Greenbank investment proposition.
With nearly 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, Cox joins from his latest role at Brunel Pension Partnership, where he was deputy chief investment officer.
While there, he spearheaded the setup and management of public market investments and strategies worth around £30bn.
Cox has also led award-winning initiatives in sustainable and environmental investing across asset classes.
He holds the chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA) designation, specialising in alternative asset classes and portfolio and index construction.
All three hires will be based in Greenbank’s Bristol office, helping to strengthen its scope and influence across the UK.
David Cox, head of investments at Greenbank, said: “ESI is at the heart of everything Greenbank does, from its people and its research to its investment and stewardship propositions. Investors can be a force for changing the world, and Greenbank has made real strides in supporting clients to this end.
“The team has also had a considerable impact with its engagement projects to instil fundamental change from deep within businesses and investment companies. I look forward to working with the team to help Greenbank drive its investment proposition forward.”
