Partners Capital Investment Group hired Christoph Günther and Dr. Michael Viehs as head of public equities and global head of sustainable investing, respectively.
The $48 billion outsourced investment office said that Günther will be based in New York and takes on a role previously held by Alex Band, who now serves as co-CIO of Partners Capital alongside Suzanne Streeter. Reporting to Band, Günther will focus on identifying and building deep asset manager partnerships. Previously, he was an executive director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in the Alternative Investments and Manager Selection group. He most recently led the group’s research efforts in fundamental hedge fund strategies and acted as Co-Chair of the manager selection investment committee.
“Christoph is a veteran investor who is an invaluable addition to the firm’s leadership team,” said Band. “In today’s market environment, we are ever more focused on ensuring that our public equities portfolios are appropriately oriented around the best risk-adjusted investment opportunities. Christoph brings many years of experience to help us navigate the environment.”
“I am excited to have joined Partners Capital,” said Günther. “The firm has an excellent reputation for the quality of its investment process and strength of relationships with established and emerging asset managers. I look forward to helping our clients take advantage of the ever-evolving opportunities in equities.”
Viehs joins as global head of Sustainable Investing and will be based in London. He brings extensive experience in integrating ESG and sustainability factors into investment processes across asset classes. Viehs’ responsibilities include engaging with asset managers on ESG integration, working with Partners Capital’s clients on developing their sustainable investing policies, as well as further developing the firm’s ESG reporting capabilities. He will report directly to Arjun Raghavan, CEO of Partners Capital.
“Partners Capital was founded on the principles of integrity, independence and responsible investing. Working with our clients and asset managers to implement best practice sustainable investment approaches can create real impact on our society and environment,” said Raghavan. “Michael brings a unique perspective to this area given the combination of his academic background and ESG integration experience with asset managers.”
Viehs joins Partners Capital from Federated Hermes Limited, where he was head of ESG Integration. Prior to this, he was a researcher at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford, and is currently a part-time lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences, Upper Austria. His research on responsible investment, corporate governance, and stewardship has been published in widely acknowledged journals, such as Corporate Governance: An International Review, Economic Letters and Economic Policy.
“I am very excited to be joining Partners Capital,” said Viehs. “Over the last few years, it became apparent that sustainable investing is more than just a trend – it is here to stay. I am looking forward to working with our clients and asset managers to establish more authentic and meaningful sustainable investing approaches.”
