6 October 2020.

We’re pleased to announce the arrival of three high calibre finance professionals to join the U Ethical team: Angela Gamble joins as director – risk and compliance; Désirée Lucchese has taken on the role of ethics and impact manager; and Rachel O’Connor is the new portfolio manager for fixed income and cash products.

Chief executive officer Mathew Browning welcomes the new hires, highlighting the depth of experience they bring to the team: “We’re delighted Angela, Desiree and Rachel have chosen to join us on our mission to invest with purpose.”

“All possess an enviable track record as outstanding performers in their fields and will consolidate the team, while significantly contributing to the ongoing development and evolution of U Ethical,” he said.

Angela Gamble, director – risk and compliance

Angela is a globally experienced compliance leader dedicated to creating and delivering corporate compliance strategies, engaging stakeholders and driving programs of work from concept to implementation.

Angela joins U Ethical from Vicinity Centres Limited where she was Group Compliance Officer.

She has spent time in the UK in various risk and compliance roles such as senior compliance manager at BNP Paribas Investment Partners and vice president – compliance monitoring manager at State Street Global Advisors in London, where she managed the European, Middle East and Asian (EMEA) Portfolio Compliance Team.

As part of her appointment, Angela also joins U Ethical’s leadership team - bringing a wealth of knowledge of not only the delivery of compliance strategies and governance but strong professional guidance to the broader organisation.

”I look forward to working with Angela as she applies her global and local experience in helping us ensure U Ethical’s risk and compliance frameworks continue to be as rigorous as our ethical investment frameworks,” said chief executive officer Mathew Browning.

Désirée Lucchese, ethics and impact manager

Désirée is a responsible investment specialist with expertise in environmental systems, innovation projects and the integration of ESG data into investment strategies and decision-making.

In her recent role at MSCI ESG Research, Désirée assisted clients with gaining insights into the drivers of performance and risk in investment portfolios, offering broad asset class coverage and innovative research.

She has a significant understanding of climate science and sustainability best practice, and has been involved in numerous trans-disciplinary and cross-sectoral initiatives. Some of these initiatives include the EU Commission’s life cycle harmonisation pilot phase, the UK’s Capital Markets Union and the UN Global Compact - Cities Programme.

At U Ethical, Désirée will take stewardship of our ethical investment process and its underpinning to our investment approach. This will also include evolving the further integration of ESG data and the UN Sustainable Development Goals into our investment process.

Commenting on her appointment, Desiree said “I believe that sustainable finance and sustainable infrastructure are key to scaling sustainable impact and that the time is ripe for business, investors and the public sector to collaboratively shift to a more sustainable, inclusive and regenerative economy.”

“We welcome Desiree’s input as we strive to not only deliver competitive returns but to align our investments with meaningful impact on people and planet,” Browning said.

Rachel O’Connor, portfolio manager – fixed income and cash

A seasoned fixed income specialist with over 20 years’ experience in financial markets, Rachel brings a tangible and sound experience to the team, gained from top tier investment management firms such as Vanguard, ING, ANZ and UBS.

Coming to U Ethical from Vanguard where she was a senior Portfolio Manager, Rachel has arrived at an exciting time as U Ethical has just launched three new income-focussed Trusts.

On joining U Ethical’s investment team, Rachel commented: “I look forward to building on the great work that has already been done at U Ethical to deliver sustainable investing to the broader market.”

Chief Investment Officer James Cook welcomes Rachel to the investment team: “With historically low rates, the last six months have been remarkable to say the least for fixed income.

“Rachel’s considered expertise will prove invaluable as we strive to deliver optimal outcomes for our portfolios and clients as we navigate our way through this period of uncertainty in search of sustainable yield,” he said.

As strong supporters of women in finance, we wanted to take the opportunity to welcome Angela, Désirée and Rachel to the team as they join us in in our mission to invest with purpose.