Holly Black: Welcome to the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year Awards 2021. I'm Holly Black. With me is Patrick Thomson, he's CEO of EMEA at JPMorgan. Hello.
Patrick Thomson: Good morning, Holly.
Black: And you have won Best Fund Firm of the Year. Congratulations.
Thomson: Thank you. We're absolutely delighted and honoured to get the award. And it really means a lot to us. It's a huge collective team effort. So we're really thrilled.
Black: What does it mean to get Best Fund Firm? It's quite the accolade.
Thomson: It is. Well, it's a reflection, I think of, you know, a couple of things our incredible investment teams, we've got world class investors here. And the work that they've done through this crisis has been extraordinary. We've also got some of the best client teams in the industry, who really understand client's needs, understand what they want, and have managed to serve them, particularly through such a difficult time. So it's a huge collective effort. And we really are thrilled to win the award. So we're absolutely delighted.
Black: So what do you think makes a successful fund firm?
Thomson: So I think there are a couple of things. I mean, you've got to have world class investment teams. So investment performance is the true north of what we do for our clients. But I think also you've got to have really a fiduciary culture I think it's really important to have a culture that puts your clients interests first. And really, people understand how to behave with clients' money, because managing money on behalf clients is such a huge honour and privilege.
Black: So we know investment returns and investing are important. But there are some other themes coming through particularly over the last 18 months, I think. What does JPMorgan think about diversity and inclusion?
Thomson: So it's a personal priority of mine as CEO here. And, you know, it seems to us that, diverse and inclusive teams generated better outcomes. So it's better for our clients, better for our stakeholders, better for the communities that we work and live in. So it's something of a real mission for us here. And our aim is to be the most diverse and inclusive asset manager in the world. We made some great progress, but there's a lot more to do. So we track it very closely. But it's huge priority, not only for me, but for the firm overall.
Black: And what about ESG interests, obviously picking up in that area, how are you thinking about that?
Thomson: Yeah, so it's again, a huge priority for us. We've managed to integrate almost all of our strategies have ESG factors now integrated into them where they are material. We think that clients -- it's not only clients who want us to really evaluate strategies with ESG factors. But also, it's the right thing to do now, because more and more of the industry is, you know, wanting to lend its hand in dealing with climate change. So it's a priority for us as a company. We're delighted to be positioned so strongly with all of the resources that we have to be able to deliver a really meaningful set of products and services to clients.
Black: Well, Patrick, congratulations again.
Thomson: Thank you very much.
Black: And thanks for joining us.
