Ludovic Theau will join the firm as Chief Investment Officer effective 3 April 2023. Ludo is the former Chief Investment Officer of the $30bn Clean Energy Finance Corporation. He has more than 30 years of investment management and investment banking experience across Europe and Australia with global organisations including Hastings, Westpac, ABN Amro, Macquarie, UBS and BNP Paribas.  He has deep experience in multiple asset classes including infrastructure, structured debt, public equities, private markets and private equity/venture capital. Ludo’s extensive international experience, and depth of knowledge in responsible investing makes him a perfect fit for the next phase of growth at Australian Ethical.

Australian Ethical’s Head of Asset Allocation, John Woods, has been promoted to the role of Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of Multi Assets. A registered CFA, John has 17 years of investment experience across asset allocation and prior to joining Australian Ethical in 2021, held senior investment roles at as well as strategy and portfolio management roles at CLSA, Macquarie Group, and IBM.

Alison George will commence in the new role of Head of Impact & Ethics effective 1 May 2023. Alison will lead Australian Ethical’s widely recognised and industry leading ethics research team and also be accountable for the ongoing development of the company’s impact framework and delivery. This will further ensure the company achieves maximum positive impact from every dollar of invested capital and from its significant advocacy and thought leadership agenda. Alison has more than 25 years’ experience across impact investing, ESG, sustainability and accounting services.  She has held previous senior investment and leadership roles at Regnan, Monash Sustainability Enterprises, Essential Services Commission and EY.

Head of Ethics Research, Dr Stuart Palmer, will step into the role of Ethical Futures Lead. In this new role, Stuart will focus on bespoke dedicated areas of research and analysis relating to the ethical investing landscape.

Managing Director John McMurdo said “Australian Ethical’s significant leadership and global reputation, enables it to attract and retain domestic and international candidates of the highest calibre.  The appointments of Ludo, John and Alison reinforce this position, and further enhance our leadership in ethical investing not only in Australia, but globally.”

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Stuart Palmer

Leading ethical fund manager, Australian Ethical, has announced it has joined the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare, a global initiative designed to improve the welfare of farm animals in food production.

The move aligns with Australian Ethical’s investment charter, which focuses on animal welfare in two of 23 positive and negative screening elements.

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (the Benchmark) conducts an annual report that ranks global food companies according to their policies, governance, management processes and reporting on farm animal welfare. The next report will be released in 2016.

Australian Ethical, and the 17 other global investor partners of the Benchmark, will encourage companies who rank poorly on this list to improve their policies, practices and reporting while commending high-ranking companies for their performance.

Commenting on the partnership, Australian Ethical’s Head of Ethics, Dr Stuart Palmer, said, “Leading institutional investors from across the globe are partnering with the Benchmark to encourage global food companies to meet a certain standard of animal welfare. This is a powerful tool for change, and we are proud to be part of this initiative.

“As an ethical fund manager, we have always viewed animal welfare as a key concern when screening our investments. This has paid off both ethically and financially, as our returns continue to outperform the market.”

Australian Ethical says the broader investment industry is also beginning to see this as a risk management issue as well.

“Recent divestment campaigns around coal prove that the Australian public takes an interest in where their money goes, and if they consider it to be funding an unethical practice they will take action.

“Similarly, the move away from cage eggs and protests about the live export trade are two recent examples of food production practices generating public concern. They demonstrate that animal welfare is an important issue for food producers, food retailers and the investors who fund them,” Dr Palmer said.

The Australian Ethical Charter screens investments, and decides whether they are ethical based on 23 positive and negative elements. The food production industry is considered positive, as it is essential to the well-being and dignity of people, however this is weighed against the impacts of production. In circumstances where animals or the environment are unnecessarily harmed as a result of food production, Australian Ethical will avoid investment.

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