NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fiduciary Trust International, a global wealth manager and wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, announces that Lisette Cooper, PhD, vice chairman, has been named to the firm’s board of directors. The other directors voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Cooper at the most recent board meeting on March 11, 2020.
Dr. Cooper became vice chairman of Fiduciary Trust International following the company’s acquisition of Athena Capital Advisors, LLC in a merger transaction in March 2020. She founded Lincoln, MA-based Athena Capital in 1993 and served as its managing partner and chief investment officer. Dr. Cooper also led the firm’s investment committee. Dr. Cooper and her Athena Capital team developed an endowment investing approach to building diversified portfolios for a variety of clients, including high-net-worth clients and their families. They also specialize in risk management, quantitative investment management, outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) services, and family office support.
Dr. Cooper and her Athena Capital colleagues have been pioneers in the fields of impact investing and socially responsible investing (SRI), having helped clients align their investment portfolios with their social values since 2005. In addition, Athena Capital’s longstanding headquarters in suburban Boston has given Fiduciary Trust International a strong regional foothold in New England, expanding its national footprint. In 2019, Athena Capital was named one of the “Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts” by The Boston Globe.
“Having an experienced leader like Lisette join our board of directors and help chart the future of our organization is quite a coup for us,” said John M. Dowd, chief executive officer of Fiduciary Trust International. “We look forward to working with her as a senior investment thought leader in our combined company, and in her role as a driver of our impact investment offering.”
Prior to establishing Athena Capital, Dr. Cooper served as manager of consulting services for Barra Inc., now MSCI Barra, where she and her team specialized in modeling risk and developing investment solutions for institutional investors. She also worked as a senior strategist at Merrill Lynch, where she analyzed, designed and marketed innovative securities to institutional investors. Dr. Cooper was honored by InvestmentNews in 2017 as one of the publication’s “Women to Watch,” and she served as an expert in residence at the Harvard Innovation Lab from 2015 to 2017.
“I am grateful for the confidence that the Fiduciary Trust International board of directors has placed in me, and I will do my best to continually strengthen the capabilities of our organization,” said Dr. Cooper. “I knew Fiduciary Trust International was an ideal partner for Athena Capital Advisors based on our shared commitment to putting clients first and delivering investment excellence, grounded in integrity and transparency. We have partnered with an organization that takes the long-term perspective and our shared purpose will carry us forward to create value and better serve multiple generations of clients. As the world evolves and clients’ needs change, we now have additional resources to bring to bear on their unique circumstances.
Dr. Cooper, who holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, earned her PhD from Harvard University and received her bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University. She is a member of the board of directors of the Boston Youth Sanctuary and a board member and fellow of the Mind & Life Institute. Dr. Cooper is also a member of the Alumni Council of the Harvard Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and she serves on the advisory board for numerous other charitable organizations.
About Fiduciary Trust International
Fiduciary Trust International, a global wealth management firm, headquartered in New York, has served individuals, families, endowments and foundations since 1931. With over $77 billion in assets under management and administration as of December 31, 2019, the firm specializes in strategic wealth planning, investment management and trust and estate services, as well as tax and custody services. The firm and its subsidiaries maintain offices in New York, NY, Coral Gables, FL, Boca Raton, FL, St. Petersburg, FL, Los Angeles, CA, San Mateo, CA, San Francisco, CA, Lincoln, MA, Washington, DC, Wilmington, DE, and Arlington, VA. For more information, please visit fiduciarytrust.com, and for the latest updates, follow Fiduciary Trust International on LinkedIn and Twitter: @FiduciaryTrust.
About Franklin Templeton
Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton. Franklin Templeton’s goal is to deliver better outcomes by providing global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the Company has expertise across all asset classes, including equity, fixed income, alternatives and custom multi-asset solutions. The Company’s more than 600 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With employees in over 30 countries, the California-based company has more than 70 years of investment experience and over US$656 billion in assets under management as of February 29, 2020. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.
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