Brunel searching for CIO as investment chief Mansley steps down

Mark Mansley, the Chief Investment Officer of local authority pension pool Brunel Pension Partnership, arguably the most ESG-focused of the UK’s pension pools, has stepped down after three years in the role.

“It came the time to move on,” he told Responsible Investor, adding that, having been closely involved in setting up Brunel, he is now looking at a number of other options, and wants to focus on long-term strategic thinking.

“I am keen to get back to something more investment focused and using my creative talents for building and developing new investment businesses. I am particularly interested in understanding strategically what the new world we will inhabit post Covid-19 means for investment,” he said. 

Mansley was originally CIO of Brunel member the Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF), where he developed its investment strategy to include allocations to real assets, smart beta and private debt, and helped shape its responsible investment strategy. He joined the EAPF from Rathbone Greenbank in 2011.

His resignation comes less than a year after Brunel's founding CEO Dawn Turner left, saying it needed a different style of leadership.

In a statement, new CEO Laura Chappell said the Bristol-based company is starting the process of recruiting Mansley’s successor.

“As Brunel moves on to the next stage of its development, Mark has decided to leave Brunel to pursue other opportunities,” the statement said.

In January Brunel threatened to sack investment managers that do not take action on the climate crisis, criticising the sector as “not fit for purpose”, with Mansley saying at the time: “We found that the finance sector is part of the problem, when it could and should be part of the solution for addressing climate change.”

Brunel operates on behalf of 10 client funds: Cornwall, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Avon, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Oxfordshire as well as the Environment Agency Pension Fund.