J. P. Morgan Asset Management appoints head of investment stewardship for EMEA

J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has appointed Yo Takatsuki as head of investment stewardship for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Takatsuki will be responsible for leading JPMAM's investment stewardship efforts in EMEA, including proxy voting, corporate engagement and stewardship reporting, working closely with JPMAM's portfolio managers and research analysts across asset classes. Based in London, Takatsuki will report to Jennifer Wu, Global Head of Sustainable Investing.

Takatsuki joins from AXA Investment Managers, where he headed up the firm's Investment Stewardship and Active Ownership programme globally. Prior to this role, he spent 7 years at BMO Global Asset Management, where he also focused on governance and sustainable investing. Before that, Takatsuki worked both as a news producer and broadcast journalist for nearly a decade, holding roles at the BBC, Bloomberg and CNBC.

Commenting on the appointment, Wu said: "Yo's extensive expertise as a sustainable investing specialist and track record in leading investor stewardship programmes positions him incredibly well for his new role, particularly as we continue to intensify our focus across our five global stewardship priorities."

"This will include engaging with companies to actively encourage enhanced disclosure of ESG and climate data, including transparency in their choice of metrics and targets, as well as alignment of their strategy to different climate transition pathways in line with TCFD recommendations and SASB standards, to help ensure asset managers and asset owners have useful and comparable information when making important investment decisions."

In February 2020, JPMAM published its global investment stewardship priorities including climate risk, human capital management, governance, strategy alignment with the long term and stakeholder engagement. JPMAM's latest Annual Investment Stewardship Report 2020 provides an update of how the firm has been progressing on these priorities.