The Liontrust Sustainable Investment team manages a broad range of funds across equities, bonds, and managed funds.
Our investment process
The investment process seeks to generate strong returns from investing in companies aiming to deliver profits through positive social and environmental impacts. The fund managers look at the world through the prism of three mega trends – Better resource efficiency (cleaner), Improved health (healthier) and Greater safety and resilience (safer) – and then 20 themes within these.
If a company has significant exposure to one of the themes, the fund managers verify how sustainable the rest of its activities are. For each company, the fund managers determine the ESG factors that are important indicators of future success and assess how well these are managed, via he proprietary Liontrust Sustainability Matrix.
Companies in which the fund managers invest will have robust business fundamentals with a proven ability to deliver high returns of equity (RoE) through sustaining margins and asset turnover. Typically, these companies have a maintainable competitive advantage through scale, technology or business model.
Funds managed by the team
Funds managed by the team
Sustainable Investment: Annual Review 2022
This year’s Annual Review from the Liontrust Sustainable Investment team assesses the challenging landscape 2022 presented for investors with volatility across almost every asset class and major macro-economic and political uncertainties – many of which are still ongoing. This environment has been especially challenging for those investing sustainably. And yet, looking to 2023 they are more excited about the prospects than they have been for years.
Click below to read the Annual Review that covers the Sustainable Future process, fund performance, and work across impact measurement and engagement during 2022.
Meet the team
The 16-strong team has been managing the Sustainable Future (SF) funds for more than 21 years. A key differentiator is the fact all the sustainable elements are fully integrated within a single team. The team, which has over 200 years of combined experience, is headed by Peter Michaelis, who was previously Head of SRI at Aviva Investors and has been managing the SF funds since launch. The fund managers all joined from Alliance Trust Investments (ATI) as part of its acquisition and were previously running the Sustainable Future fund range at Aviva Investors. The other lead equity managers are Simon Clements (who was formerly Head of Global Equities at Aviva Investors) along with Martyn Jones and Chris Foster who joined the management training programme at ATI as graduates. Fixed Income investments are managed by Kenny Watson (formerly at Ignis Asset Management), Aitken Ross and Jack Willis who also started their careers in the graduate scheme at ATI. Harriet Parker leads on engagement activities across the team.
Simon Clements
Simon Clements is a fund manager who joined Liontrust in April 2017 as part of the acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments (ATI), where he had managed funds for five years. Prior to this, Simon spent 12 years at Aviva Investors (previously Morley Fund Management) where, most recently, he was Head of Global Equities. In his early career, Simon worked as a Portfolio Accountant and Risk and Performance Analyst before joining Aviva Investors in 2000 to help develop its global equity and SRI propositions. Simon holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Newcastle, Australia, and a graduate diploma in Applied Finance & Investment from Securities Institute of Australia. Simon is a CFA Charterholder.
Martyn Jones
Martyn Jones is a fund manager who joined Liontrust in April 2017 as part of the acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments (ATI) and became a fund manager in November 2019. Prior to Liontrust, Martyn spent five years at ATI, initially as a graduate trainee and then as an analyst with the Sustainable Investment team. Martyn has an MA (Hons) in Management from the University of Glasgow and a Masters in Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge. Martyn has completed the IMC and is a CFA Charterholder.
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Chris Foster
Chris Foster is a fund manager who joined Liontrust in April 2017 as part of the acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments (ATI). Previously, Chris joined ATI through the management training programme after graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh. Chris is a CFA Charterholder.
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"Over our first 20 years of managing the SF funds, our investments have been successful because they have provided something society needs.”
Awards and ratings
Professional Paraplanner Awards 2023
Best ESG Investment Solution Provider
Professional Advisor Awards 2022: Best ESG Solution for Advisers
Liontrust SF Managed Funds
Professional Paraplanner Awards 2022
Best ESG Investment Solution Provider
Citywire Manager Rating: A
Aitken Ross
Citywire Manager Rating: A
Kenny Watson
IW FM of the Year Awards 2021: Managed 40-85% Shares
Liontrust SF Managed Fund
FT Adviser 100 Club Awards 2019: Mixed Asset Fund of the Year
Liontrust SF Managed Growth Fund
AJ Bell Fund and IT Awards 2019: Best Active Ethical/Sustainable Fund
Liontrust SF Global Growth Fund
IW FM of the Year Awards 2021: Global Growth
Liontrust SF Global Growth Fund
IW FM of the Year Awards 2021: Managed - Flexible Investment
Liontrust SF Managed Growth Fund
Professional Advisor Awards 2021: Best ESG Solution for Advisers
Liontrust SF Managed Funds
Women in Finance Awards 2020: ESG Fund Manager of the Year
Harriet Parker
IW FM of the Year Awards 2020: Managed Balanced
Liontrust SF Cautious Managed Fund
IW FM of the Year Awards 2020: Managed Growth
Liontrust SF Managed Fund
Portfolio Adviser Fund Awards 2020: Best ESG Fund
Liontrust SF Global Growth Fund
FT Adviser 100 Club Awards 2020: Mixed Asset Fund of the Year
Liontrust SF Managed Growth Fund
