Given investors' growing demand for ESG and sustainable investment strategies, money managers have been aggressively recruiting senior executives for these assignments, said Scott T. Gockowski, senior director based in the New York office of Casey Quirk, a practice of Deloitte Consulting LLP.
"Managers are looking to develop new capabilities because they are investing in anything right now that will make money, including ESG. Managers are working to incorporate ESG throughout all of their investment strategies," Mr. Gockowski said in an interview.
The willingness of senior executives to move into ESG strategies may be part of a sea change in the investment industry.
"We've been talking to money managers about their culture as part of our due diligence process for years. We've found that people in the investment industry are re-evaluating what they want to do," Willis Towers Watson's Ms. Srivastava said.
"There used to be such a black mark about doing something different, but that may be changing now," she added.
Three large money managers recently recruited women to help build out their ESG and impact investing units.
In September, TCW Group Inc., Los Angeles, named Olivia Albrecht global head of ESG, a new position. She is tasked with integrating ESG principles across the firm's investment strategies.
Previously, Ms. Albrecht headed ESG business strategies at Pacific Investment Management Co., Newport Beach, Calif.
TCW managed $265.8 billion as of Sept. 30. PIMCO managed $2.2 trillion as of June 30.
In October, Fidelity Investments Inc., Boston, hired Kathleen Bochman as managing director and head of ESG research. She works closely with Fidelity's chief sustainability officer, Rina Kupferschmid-Rojas, to ensure consistency and alignment with Fidelity's corporate sustainability strategy.
Ms. Bochman previously was vice president and director of ESG at Loomis Sayles & Co. LP, Boston.
Fidelity managed $4.2 trillion as of June 30 and Loomis Sayles managed $358 billion as of the same date.
BlackRock Inc., New York, hired Kristen Weldon in October as a London-based managing director and global head of sustainable investing in its alternative investment unit. She replaced Teresa O'Flynn, who moved to the new role of founding member of Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek Holdings, Singapore's S$381 billion ($282.3 billion) state investment arm.
BlackRock managed $9.46 trillion as of Sept. 30.