Simon Howard, a former head of investments at Friends Provident and a managing-director at private-equity group 3i, was named yesterday as the new chief executive of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, or UKSIF. Howard will be taking over from one of the biggest names in socially-responsible investment circles in the UK - Penny Shepherd, who announced she was stepping down at the end of last year. He will arrive on May 7 and complete a handover period with Shepherd until June.