WTW hires head of sustainable investment

Willis Towers Watson has named Tim Unger as Australia's head of sustainable investment.

Unger joined the advisory firm in 2001 and has long been an integral part of the Australian leadership team, as well as an advocate for incorporating ESG principles into investment strategies and frameworks.

During his 20 years at WTW, he has worked as an investment consultant, a pensions actuary, and a quantitative analyst.

"Tim's experience and insights have driven exceptional portfolio strategies for our clients. Given the greater emphasis across institutional investing for more sustainable practices and the wider commitment to net zero, this new role is a logical progression for him," said Aongus O'Gorman, head of investments at the firm's Australian operation.

"Too often we have seen sustainable investment marginalised, sitting to the side of many investment processes. Tim's appointment is a signal that sustainable investment sits at the centre of our advice because portfolio strategy is the point at which policy meets implementation, and this is the experience Tim brings to the table."

WTW is a founding member of the Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative and has committed to integrating advice on net zero alignment into all our investment consulting services.

Unger said this means that a key focus of WTW activities is to help our clients identify the investment risks from climate change and to support them in developing policies that manage these risks and align their portfolios with the transition to a net-zero world.

"We want our actions and advice to result in significant reductions in carbon emissions in the real economy," he said.

"This means that we need to be able to measure the impact of the advice that we provide and the changes that our clients make to their portfolios; so making significant progress in this area is also a priority.

"My ambition as head of sustainable investment in Australia is to help marshal WTW's considerable resources and intellectual property in the area of sustainable investment. This will enable our clients to integrate ESG considerations into their portfolios that result in attractive risk-adjusted returns but which also have a positive impact when assessed against their sustainability goals."