Member
Profile

Jonathan is a partner and the Head of the Derivatives & Structured Products Group at Travers Smith. Specialising in derivatives and structured products from both a transactional and advisory standpoint, he is widely regarded by peers and clients as one of the leading specialists in his field, and as a champion of ‘buy-side’ interests in the UK derivatives market. He counts among his clients some of the UK’s largest and most sophisticated financial institutions, investment managers, alternative asset managers, challenger banks, fintechs and occupational pension schemes. Jonathan is an active member of the panel advising the Impact Investing Institute on work analysing the interaction between ESG investment and the fiduciary duties of pension scheme trustees and on pension scheme investment in green gilts. He recently contributed to a paper from the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI): A legal framework for impact (UK): integrating sustainability investment goals across the investment industry. Jonathan is a member of the Governance Committee of the UK Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) Forum, the Contract & Legal Principles Working Group of the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA) ESG Steering Committee, and the International Securities and Derivatives Association (ISDA) ESG Working Group. He is also the chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers’ Investment & DC Sub-committee which has, within its remit, ESG and impact investment. He notably advised the London Stock Exchange Group plc recently on the development of its derivatives exchange for funds invested in voluntary carbon credits, designed to offset carbon emissions. He has advised a number of asset managers on the EU’s SFDR and Taxonomy regimes as well as follow-on ESG policies and guidelines. He has also advised on the Green Finance Institute’s flagship innovation project to develop a green finance guarantee facility which will mobilise billions of investment into climate-smart infrastructure projects in developing countries. Jonathan is rated as a ‘Leading Individual’ by both Chambers and Legal 500, and is ‘Highly Regarded’ by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR). Jonathan is a regular and sought-after speaker, and has also co-authored the ESG and UK Pensions Schemes chapter in the recent International Comparative Legal Guide (ICLG) to ESG.