Private company | |
Industry | Investment management |
Founded | 1983 |
Headquarters | 1 Portsoken Street, London, E1 8HZ, United Kingdom |
Key people
|
David Stewart (Chairman) Saker Nusseibeh (CEO) Harriet Steel (Head of Business Development) Ian Kennedy (Chief Operating Officer) Gill Clarke (Strategic Compliance Director) Chris Taylor (CEO of Hermes Real Estate and Head of Private Markets) Leon Kamhi (Head of Responsibility) |
Website | www |
Hermes Investment Management is an investment management firm providing public and private markets investment strategies and engagement services to institutional and wholesale investors, operating worldwide.
Established in 1983 as the principal manager of its owner, the BT Pension Scheme, Hermes now employs 116 investment professionals, but 425 total staff, in its London head office, Singapore and New York. At 31 December 2016, it managed £28.5 billion of assets and engaged on £261.3bn in assets.
Hermes’ public markets investment capabilities include: equities, credit and multi asset. Its private markets capabilities include: real estate, infrastructure, private debt and private equity. The company’s engagement services aim to the mitigate strategic, environmental, social and governance risks of companies invested in. The company manages fifteen offshore funds.
The Hermes Investment Office monitors the activities of each investment team to verify that they are adhering to mandates set by clients, and validates the performance of each strategy. Based in London, Hermes Investment Management also has an office in Singapore.
Hermes began operating in 1983 as PosTel Investment Management Limited (PosTel) in 1983, the investment management team of the Post Office Staff Superannuation Fund. The fund subsequently split into two pension schemes, the Post Office and British Telecommunications Staff Superannuation schemes. In 1995, the trustees of the BT Pension Scheme purchased the Post Office scheme’s holding in PosTel. Following this purchase, the business changed its name to Hermes.
Hermes continues to be the principal investment manager for the BT Pension Scheme (BTPS) and since 2012 has sought to create a third-party client base. In 2014, Hermes rebranded as Hermes Investment Management, to reflect its fast growling global investment management firm.
In January 2016, Hermes Investment Management announced that David Stewart would replace Paul Spencer as chairman. Stewart, who was previously on the board as a non-executive director took up the chairmanship position on 1 April. In June 2016 Hermes spoke out against short-termism in the industry, pushing fund managers to focus on long term performance.
At 31 December 2016, Hermes Investments third-party clients included institutional and wholesale investors in the UK, Europe, United States, north Asia and Australia. At 30 September 2016, third-party clients accounted for 48% of the company’s revenues.