Investment management firm Federated Hermes announced the completion of an expansion of its EOS, the firm’s stewardship team, adding 13 new hires this year, including 10 in the US and three in the UK. Additionally, the firm has added two specialists in responsible property investment and three people to its Responsibility Office in recent months, bringing the stewardship and responsibility teams to over 60 people.

Led by Dr. Hans-Christoph Hirt, the EOS stewardship team aims to help long-term institutional investors to achieve their fiduciary responsibilities and be more active owners of companies. As demand among investors for ESG integration and stewardship have been increasing the team has embarked on a significant growth initiative. Federated Hermes announced that EOS assets under advisement has more than doubled since July 2018, passing $1 trillion during the first quarter of 2020.

Hirt said:

“The expansion of our team is part of our ambitious plans to grow our global business and we are pleased to welcome our new colleagues who bring a wide range of experience and skills to EOS. North America is a particularly important market for our stewardship clients, where we engage with some of the world’s largest companies and expanding our footprint in this region will be a significant boost to our engagement efforts.

“We recently reached the milestone of representing $1 trillion of assets under advice, giving us significant leverage to generate positive change at companies on behalf of our long-term institutional investor clients. Our new appointments will help us meet the expectations and requirements of our clients to engage with their portfolio companies at the highest levels affecting change.”

The new team members in the US, where EOS actively engages with over 300 companies, will report to Tim Youmans, Engagement Lead for North America and the London additions will report to Dr. Christine Chow, Lead for Asia and Emerging Markets. Their roles will include the execution of the engagement strategy for corporate and public policy and best practice engagement work.

Saker Nusseibeh, CBE, CEO, International at Federated Hermes said:

“Active stewardship; high active share; and the integration of ESG, alongside traditional performance factors, have long been at the heart of our investment philosophy. We pioneered this approach as it is integral to achieving sustainable wealth creation on behalf of our clients and central to actively stewarding the money our clients and their investors give us. This major investment reflects our conviction that active ownership is vital in serving our clients and their investors.”