The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment, with a focus on promoting and defining standards on ESG issues. With more than 3,000 signatories from around the world, who manage total assets of over USD 100 trillion, it is a significant voice in shaping the global ESG agenda.

The PRI Board is responsible for the long-term success of the organization and in particular for establishing the PRI’s mission, vision, values, strategy and structure.

Tycho Sneyers has been on the PRI Board for three years, during which time he has chaired the Signatory Status Committee and the SDG Advisory Committee and served on the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. In these roles, he has worked to clarify minimum requirements for membership, develop a framework for SDG integration and ensure a conservative budgeting approach.

What inspired you to get involved with ESG?

Tycho Sneyers: Soon after I joined the investment management industry in 2001, I recognized that there was an important role for our industry to play in helping to address the environmental and social issues that people and planet face, and little was being done. Initially, my activities focused on private equity, but as our firm and its investment activities grew, my ESG work has expanded to include a large number of other asset classes. As chairman of our ESG committee, I am particularly proud of the fact that we have been able to meaningfully incorporate ESG even in asset classes like hedge funds and insurance-linked strategies where ESG integration has traditionally played no role or a very minor one.

How relevant is your professional experience for your work on the PRI Board?

Tycho Sneyers: An element of my experience that I consider very relevant for the PRI Board is linked to the nature of LGT Capital Partners’ activities. We have developed a large global network of relationships with investment managers across all asset classes and sizes. This puts me in an ideal situation to understand the diverse issues that investment managers face when it comes to responsible investing, and address such issues at the PRI board. This global network and strong contact base across the investment manager community is reflected in the long list of seconders who support my board candidacy.

During your time serving on the PRI Board, what specifically did you help achieve?

Tycho Sneyers: As the chairman of the Signatory Status Committee, I have worked on simplifying the rules governing who can apply for PRI membership and for which category, on how the PRI implements the minimum requirements and on the complex issue of how to deal with members accused of serious violations of the principles. As chair of the SDG Advisory Committee, I have overseen the work on the new 5-step framework laid out in the recent report “Investing with SDG outcomes.” The work is far from over, but developing the framework was a very important step for the PRI. And as a member of the Finance, Audit and Risk committee, I have advocated a conservative budgeting approach that allows the financing of the PRI growth mainly through contributions of new members rather than by increasing the fees of existing members.

If you were to be re-elected, what would you advocate for?

Tycho Sneyers: Looking to the future, the revisions of the Reporting & Assessment framework and of the minimum requirements will be very important topics. Should I be re-elected, I would advocate that the revisions incorporate the latest best practice in ESG, while they do not become an unreasonable burden for signatories nor so onerous that they jeopardize the “big tent” nature of the PRI. An additional topic I would like to address pertains to the governance of the PRI. The PRI is an asset owner (AO) driven organisation, and as an investment manager (IM), I fully support this. However, as IM signatories account for 72% of the overall membership of the PRI, I do believe IMs should hold more than just 2 board seats out of the current 11 seats. I don’t believe the balance of power between AOs and IMs should change, but I do think it is important that we allow for better representation and more diversity of IMs on the board. Therefore, I would propose expanding the board with an additional member elected by IMs.