Summit Trail Advisors, a New York City-based registered investment advisor (RIA) and member of the Dynasty Financial Partners network in St. Petersburg, Fla., has appointed Jonathan Lewis to the firm’s investment team as head of Sustainable Investing and chief portfolio strategist, the company said.
In the newly-created role, Lewis will be tasked with building out a client advisory framework related to sustainable investing and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues; integrate an ESG risk management framework into the manager due diligence process; and help create product solutions that include a review process for client- and Summit-Trail-sourced sustainable investment products. Lewis will also join Summit Trail’s Investment Committee and advise on macroeconomic and market-related issues, including portfolio themes and positioning.
Lewis will be based in the firm’s New York City headquarters, and will report to David Romhilt, Summit Trail’s chief investment officer.
“Jonathan’s efforts in building our framework and his experience in markets will be invaluable to our clients,” Romhilt said in a news release announcing the appointment.
Lewis is an industry veteran with more than three decades of experience in the investment management sector, where he developed his expertise in multi-asset class investing for endowments, foundations, high-net-worth investors, and insurance companies. Lewis most recently served as founder and president of Signatory Capital Advisors LLC, a consulting firm offering bespoke services to family offices and asset managers seeking guidance on investment process governance; developing authentic ESG integration; and strategic advice about becoming a United Nations Principle of Responsible Investing (PRI) signatory.
Prior to founding Signatory Capital Advisors, Lewis served as chief investment officer for Fiera Capital in the U.S., where he oversaw the company’s investment process; managed client portfolios and mutual funds; and led the firm’s ESG integration and engagement strategy. Subsequent to joining Fiera, Lewis worked for Samson Capital Advisors, where he served as co-founder and chief investment officer until Fiera acquired his company. At Samson, Lewis played a key role in launching the firm’s first mutual fund, a currency that evaluated currencies based on ESG investment principles.
Lewis received his B.A. degree in history and international studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Lewis also earned a M.A. degree in history from New York University and a M.B.A. degree in finance and management from Columbia Business School.
Lewis currently serves as treasurer of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and Foundation, and also chairs the endowment’s investment committee. He led Phi Beta Kappa to become a U.N. PRI Signatory and serves as a member of the U.N. PRI Global Policy Reference Group.
In a prepared statement, Lewis said he’s known many of the partners at Summit Trail for years and has always admired the firm’s process-driven approach to developing customized solutions to client investment needs.
“It is a great opportunity for me to work with this talented and forward-thinking team to further develop an approach to sustainable and responsible investing that is unique to Summit Trail, a natural extension of its deep manager research approach, and best suited to the firm’s extraordinary clients and their goals,” he said.
Founded in 2015, Summit Trail Advisors oversees approximately $16 billion in client assets for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices and small institutions nationwide.
