Darren is a Senior Investment Director at Investec, working closely with clients to meet their investment requirements. Previously, Darren led the Fixed Income investment team and contributed to a number of the key investment committees including Global Investment Strategy Group, Asset Allocation and Investment Committee. He was chairman of the Fixed Income Investment Selection Committee. He also advised the company on its bank lending as part of the Cash & Credit Management Committee. For many years, Darren has worked with the largest institutional clients of the business including insurance companies, pension funds, corporates, charities and high net worth individuals. Clients in these areas benefited from his expertise in asset-liability matching solutions and the provision of low volatility portfolios.

Darren started his career as a Fixed Income and cash fund manager at an ethical fund management group, with an emphasis on active engagement with investee companies on both investment and ethical considerations. This included work with organisations such as the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change. Part of his career was spent trading UK mortgage portfolios with financial institutions on behalf of GMAC. He completed the Associate Society of Investment Professionals’ exams in 2000 and he is a member of the CFA.

Better investment results, better profitability

Why is corporate culture becoming more important to you when deciding who you allocate assets to?

Better investment results, better profitability. I have seen up close the negative impact a toxic culture has on the performance of companies and the well-being of their staff. A positive, inclusive corporate culture has many benefits. Staff are happier, they enjoy going to work and want to be part of a success story. And they don’t want to leave, because they know that the grass is not greener on the other side. Other talented professionals want to join the company based on its good reputation. More collaboration occurs as the company outcome is not about the contribution of the individual but the contribution of the team.

In the asset management industry, a positive corporate culture typically leads to superior investment results and better profitability. As a result, long-term relationships are fostered, both within the companies and their client bases. It provides a positive virtuous circle.

In your view, why is it important to set a higher standard of stewardship and behaviour within the investment industry?

Similar to the benefits of a positive corporate culture, good stewardship allows investment professionals to share their experiences, knowledge and perspectives for the benefit of the company and their investors. It allows the creation and preservation of long-term value. In many ways, it is easier to show the benefits of good stewardship and behaviour by pointing out the numerous cases over the past few years in the UK investment industry where a lack of robust stewardship combined with poor behaviour, sometimes intentionally and other times not, have led to the failure of entire firms.

Why did you decide to sit on the ACT Stewardship Council and what does it mean to you personally?

It was an honour to be asked to join the ACT Stewardship Council given my admiration and respect for both Bev and Mandy at City Hive and the other members of the Council. Given the importance of a positive corporate culture, the ability of a group of fund selectors to come together and strongly “persuade” the asset managers they partner with to improve their practices, or at least review them, was an opportunity too good to miss, and is a win-win for both the firms and their clients. Time after time, we have seen the impact on clients of corporate failures which can often be traced back to culture. In addition, DEI has, in my view, been too narrowly defined and it will be great to see the complex nature of this framework broaden out over the coming years.