Sector developments and company hires

ESG engagement underway
All EU-based open-ended funds managed by Leadenhall Capital Partners have been categorised as being investment products that promote environmental and social characteristics in accordance with the criteria recently set out in Article 8 of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The firm says it has committed to embed ESG considerations in its investment process for a number of years, having signed up to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2018, and has an ESG committee team chaired by its chief underwriting officer Jillian Williams.

Leadenhall’s management of ESG policies will be a balance between principle-based criteria developed by the firm and navigating various rules and regulations applicable to the firm and its investors. The new SFDR regime provides a framework in the EU for investment managers to be able to classify their funds as promoting environmental and social characteristics, rather than having a passive approach or disregarding them.

While the data required by the SFDR is currently made available by a number of the largest counterparties in the ILS market, it is not always the case. Leadenhall states that one of its roles as promoters of environmental and social characteristics under Article 8 of the SFDR will be to actively ask its counterparties and their intermediaries to start making this data available with the submission or the offering circular, and it is actively engaging with the broker community to explain these requirements.

Sterling share class added
SCIO Capital has launched a new sterling share class within its SCIO European Secured Credit Fund III offering. Qualified investors now have two currency options – sterling and euro – when accessing SCIO’s European secured private credit strategy. The firm has secured an anchor investor in the sterling share class that is a prominent London-based fund of funds.