Lombard Odier Investment Managers is to launch a global equity long-short fund with a sustainability focus and backed by committed capital.
The firm has recruited Arnaud Langlois and Cyrus Azamgin, who have run the strategy together for seven years and have previously worked together at Millennium Capital Partners.
They join Lombard Odier IM as portfolio manager and senior analyst, respectively, to launch the strategy in the second quarter.
Jean-Pascal Porcherot, CEO of Lombard Odier IM’s 1798 Alternative Platform, said there was high demand for long-short funds and strategies that incorporate responsible investment.
“This is an important milestone in strengthening our alternatives platform and reinforces Lombard Odier IM’s commitment to responsible investing,” he added.
However, the ‘2018 Institutional Investor Survey’ of hedge fund investing published recently by JP Morgan found that less than one-fifth of the respondents had or expected to have exposure to investments with environmental and other responsible themes.
While many hedge fund managers offered share classes for these strategies or had dedicated products, JP Morgan said investors seemed to prefer other fund structures, such as mutual funds, private capital funds, or direct investments.
Nevertheless, the Lombard Odier IM fund has $100 million (€81.2 million) of committed capital.
Prior to Millennium, Langlois launched the O’Connor Sustainability L/S Equity Fund at UBS.
Lombard IM has assets under management of 46 billion Swiss francs (€39.9 billion) at June 30.
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