Hymans Robertson, has boosted its established Responsible Investment (RI) team with several new members. The new appointments have been made to meet increasing client demand for support in developing and implementing RI strategies.

Rachel Barrack, RI Analyst, is the most recent specialist to join the team in direct response to growing client demand. Having previously worked at Copylab, in her new role, Rachel now works with one of the RI team’s largest clients, supporting them to advance their RI agenda.

Mhairi Gooch, joined as Senior RI Consultant, to lead on net-zero. Her appointment follows Hymans Robertson joining the Net-Zero Investment Consultants Initiative in 2021. Mhairi most recently worked at River and Mercantile having previously spent the majority of her career at Mercer.

Olivia Mooney, RI Consultant joined from PRI and is the stewardship lead in the team. She will be supporting clients to proactively develop their own approach to stewardship and increase Hymans Robertson’s RI engagement with third parties.

Commenting on the appointments, Simon Jones, Head of Responsible Investment, at Hymans Robertson, said:

“Responsible investment has long been a central part of the work we do for our clients, but in the last few years regulatory updates, such as the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) have massively increased their awareness of the impact they can have in this area. Our clients increasingly want to be effective in their actions and be clear on the outcomes they are helping achieve. Our growing team, bolstered with additional expert support from the wider business, allows us to support our clients in achieving these ambitions.

“Two particular areas of focus over 2022 are the drive for net-zero and stewardship. When it comes to net-zero, we are seeing clients wanting to set long-term goals and evolve their strategy. And with stewardship, more and more are aspiring to become signatories of the UK Stewardship Code. There is a clear overlap between these topics, as the pursuit of net-zero requires organisations to be challenged about their own pace of change. As such, we are placing considerable focus on both areas over the course of the year. We want to help our clients be better stewards.

"We also recognise the emphasis policy makers and influential stakeholders have placed on creating change and holding others accountable, and we want to ensure we play our part.”