Adam Roberts has joined the ethical investment manager as its private markets head, reporting to chief investment officer Ludovic Theau.
He joins from Cerberus Capital Management where he spent over two years as a senior investment professional. Roberts also worked at Macquarie Group for 12 years as a senior vice president and investment director.
In his new position, Roberts will manage Australian Ethical’s Infrastructure Debt Fund that finances key Australian projects in renewable energy, social infrastructure and property projects offering a social or environmental benefit.
Moreover, the new head of private markets will oversee the fund manager’s existing private markets portfolio which spans across private equity, infrastructure, real estate, private credit and venture capital. This will include exploring additional private market product opportunities for wholesale and institutional clients.
Theau said that Roberts’ appointment reflects its focus on enhancing and diversifying its investment team’s capabilities.
“Adam’s expertise in private markets aligns perfectly with our mission to invest for a better world for people, animals and planet, and deliver strong long-term returns. Adam has hit the ground running and over the coming months will further bolster our private markets offer targeting infrastructure and renewable energy projects that align with focus on long-term sustainable growth,” the CIO said.
Speaking on an investor webinar for its FY24 results, Australian Ethical CEO John McMurdo flagged the firm’s interest in private markets, which it intends to expand into further. He said: “We also see new revenue opportunities through asset class and product expansion, in areas like private markets and international equities.”
Australian Ethical Investment also announced that it has selected the Charles River Investment Management Solution, owned by State Street, to automate its front and middle office processes for its entire investment portfolio.
This will see the investment firm use Charles River Investment Management for portfolio and risk management, trading, compliance, performance measurement and attribution, investment book of record and transaction management.
Mark Simons, Australian Ethical chief financial officer, commented: “We are pleased to be implementing Charles River in our front and middle office which will complement our move to State Street back office investment administration.
“We see Charles River and State Street Alpha as a critical step in maturing our investment management platform end-to-end. Having seamless data management and connectivity across our portfolios will provide significant operational efficiencies and reduce risk as we continue to grow.”
Earlier this year, Charles River was appointed by Perpetual to manage the front office of its Australian asset management business.
