London hedge fund hires Trillium CIO Seitchik in ESG push

London-based alternatives manager, Auriel Capital Management, is joining a growing number of hedge funds building strategies in the responsible investment space by hiring Adam Seitchik, former chief investment officer of Boston-based SRI house, Trillium Asset Management, as a managing director. At Auriel, Seitchik will develop tailored environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment strategies for institutional investors in Europe and North America. Auriel runs over $500m in global macro, currency and equity market neutral portfolios for clients in the UK, Europe, and North America. It was founded in 2004 by Larry Abele, Anoosh Lachin and Asif Noor, who previously worked together at Deutsche Asset Management with Seitchik during his time as chief global strategist in London from 2000-2003. At Trillium, one of the oldest and largest independent US firms dedicated to responsible investing, Seitchik oversaw $1bn in investmentportfolios integrating ESG with traditional investment strategies. It is not known yet who will replace Seitchik at the US firm. Larry Abele, co-founder of Auriel Capital, said: “Adam’s knowledge of ESG risks and opportunities will integrate extremely well into Auriel’s systematic approach to equity investment and will allow us to provide genuinely innovative ESG solutions for our clients.” Among Auriel’s clients is the UK Pension Protection Fund for which its runs a currency portfolio.
Seitchik said: “Some of the largest institutions in the world have signed up to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, committing to the consideration of ESG issues in investment analysis and decision-making processes. Auriel’s platform is ideally suited to sophisticated institutional investors seeking crafted ESG solutions that meet their evolving fiduciary responsibilities.”