Bridges Fund Management (“Bridges”) has hired Bonny Landers, a seasoned family office professional, to join its advisory team. Her role will focus on helping more families and high-net-worth clients develop a strategy for incorporating impact into their investments.

Interest in impact investing has been growing rapidly in recent years, thanks partly to the ongoing transfer of wealth to a younger generation. A survey by US Trust found that 75 per cent of wealthy millennials “consider the social and environmental impact of the companies they invest in to be an important part of investment decision-making”. More than one-third of family offices already invest in impact investing, according to a recent UBS/ Campden Research report, and 39% believe the next generation will increase their allocations to impact and/or ESG investing.

Bonny will be building on the work done by Bridges’ advisory team, which has been supporting family offices, corporates and financial institutions in this area for several years. Recent clients have included Barclays Wealth and Skopos Impact Fund, a private vehicle owned by the Brenninkmeijer family. Bridges’ work with Skopos – which involved helping to articulate the fund’s impact goals and translate this into a clear investment strategy – was subsequently published as a report and became the basis for The Impact Management Project (“IMP”), an industry-wide effort (led by Bridges) to develop a global standard for impact measurement and management.

Bonny has extensive experience of advising private clients on how to invest in line with their values, most recently as head of sustainable, responsible and impact investment at the London-based multi-family office Sandaire Investment Office. Prior to that she ran her own independent consultancy firm, Bay Street Consultants, and was also CEO of two private family offices in Hong Kong.

She began her career in banking with Chase Manhattan Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co and ABN Amro, where her responsibilities included client management with corporate and institutional clients as well as risk management, corporate finance, investment banking and asset management, working with a range of organisations, from central banks to SMEs, in more than 80 countries across the globe.

Bonny’s appointment will strengthen Bridges’ ability to work with families and high-net-worth clients, drawing on the lessons learned from IMP to help them think about their values, articulate their impact goals and develop a strategic impact investment approach.

Michele Giddens, Partner and Co-Founder of Bridges, said: “In recent years, we’ve met with lots of private investors who are eager to invest for impact but need some help to define a clear strategy. Bonny’s appointment hugely strengthens our ability to meet this growing demand for specialist, independent advice. Her outstanding track record as a trusted advisor to families, individuals and financial institutions shows that she is a highly effective advocate for sustainable and impact investing. By offering Bonny’s expert services to help these clients develop clear strategies, we hope to find out whether we can move more private capital into impactful investing – in line with Bridges’ ongoing mission to grow this market.”

Bonny Landers, Senior Client Advisor, Wealth Impact Strategy at Bridges, said: “In the last decade, I’ve seen first-hand a huge growth in demand from family offices and private clients for quality advice on how to develop a coherent approach to sustainable and impact investing. As the next generation inherit wealth, this trend will only accelerate. I’m delighted to join Bridges to see how we can support these clients. We look forward to helping more private investors explore how their investments can better align with their values and achieve a more positive impact on people and the planet.”