Franklin Templeton today announced the appointment of Anne Simpson as Global Head of Sustainability, a newly-created role charged with driving Franklin Templeton’s overall strategic direction on stewardship, sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment strategy globally. Simpson joins the firm from the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), where she served as Managing Investment Director for Board Governance & Sustainability, leading the development and execution of CalPERS’ award-winning Sustainable Investment Strategy across a global portfolio of US$500 billion1 with 80% assets internally managed. She will report to President and CEO Jenny Johnson and join the firm on February 22, 2022, based in California.

“A hire of this prominence demonstrates our commitment to being a global leader in stewardship and sustainability, which acknowledges that our choices as responsible investors have a profound effect on the world and its future. We are confident that Anne’s expertise and leadership will take our firm-wide efforts on sustainable investing to the next level. While the strength of our organization lies with the breadth and autonomy of our specialist investment managers, we also recognize that an organization of our scale can have a major impact by working collectively on sustainability issues. We are thrilled to have Anne leading our efforts in this critically important area,” said Jenny Johnson, President and CEO, Franklin Templeton.

Anne Simpson commented: “I am delighted to join Franklin Templeton, a world-renowned investment firm with a 75-year track record shaped by strong values, innovation and long-term conviction. I look forward to being part of its next phase of growth and evolution in sustainable investing. 2021 was a year in which the asset management industry reckoned with sustainability challenges and the opportunities these bring across global markets. There is new momentum in finance, driven by policymakers in leading European markets, net zero commitments from COP 26 and broad recognition of investors’ role in driving progress on sustainable investing, including important areas like diversity, equity and inclusion, to foster shared prosperity.”