Edinburgh boutique finance house Cameron Hume awarded Australian pension mandate

Edinburgh-based boutique finance house Cameron Hume has been awarded a A$125m (£67m) mandate by an Australian pension fund.

Cameron Hume is an independently owned fixed-income specialist founded in 2011 by Guy Cameron and Chris Torkington, pictured. Picture: Susan Torkington Photography

There is scope for the ESG-focused (environmental, social and governance) fixed-income mandate to increase to A$500m as the pension fund, First Super, ramps up its responsible investing policy.

First Super is a multi-sector fund with its origins in the pulp and paper, timber and furnishing trades. The A$3.4 billion fund has some 45,000 members.

Cameron Hume is a fixed-income specialist founded in 2011 by Guy Cameron and Chris Torkington. Following the initial investment by First Super the firm now has some £740m under management.

Torkington, managing director, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by First Super for its first ESG mandate.

“Institutional investors are becoming increasingly aware of the need to integrate ESG ratings into their investment strategies and Cameron Hume is extremely well placed to help them to do that.”

Bill Watson, chief executive of First Super, added: “ESG has clearly been at the forefront of institutional investors’ minds, and managers in equities, infrastructure and property have been talking about it for some time.

“Although managers of fixed-income and floating rate debt asset classes have been a bit slower to come to the party I believe you will see more institutional investors looking for managers in this asset class and other asset classes with a good ESG methodology.

“We were keen to work with Cameron Hume because of their commitment to the UN Principles of Responsible Investing (UNPRI) and the reputation the company has gained for introducing ESG into mainstream bond investing.”

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