Aegon Asset Management has made two new hires to strengthen its 14-strong global responsible investment team.

Brunno Maradei has joined Aegon Asset Management as global head of ESG based in The Hague, Netherlands and Julius Huttunen has been hired as responsible investment manager, based in Chicago, US

Both will report into Roelie van Wijk-Russchen, global head of responsible business and public affairs.

Mr Maradei joins AAM on the 1 May from the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg where he was a senior investment officer leading execution teams for project finance deals outside the European Union, focusing on climate-friendly impact investments in Africa. 

Prior to that Mr Maradei was a blended finance operations officer in the International Finance Corporation’s Climate Business Department in Washington DC,  arranging concessional financing for renewable energy projects in Africa and developing ESG investment products for emerging market investors.

He has also previously worked as a senior manager at ESG research provider EIRIS (now part of Moody’s) and in the derivatives and risk management functions at JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley respectively.
 
In his new role as global head of ESG Mr Maradei will manage AAM’s team responsible for all engagement activities, voting and active ownership, ESG integration and reporting support and advice as well as development and maintenance of AAM’s responsible investment policies globally.

Mr Huttunen joined the business on the 15 April as a responsible investment manager from Calvert Research & Management, based in Washington DC, where he was an ESG research analyst covering corporate issuers.

Prior to this, he was a sustainable investment analyst at Kames Capital and an investment analyst at Alliance Trust, working both in Japan and in the UK.
 
Commenting on the appointments Ms van Wijk-Russchen, said: “Brunno and Julius bring invaluable knowledge and international experience to the team as we continue to strengthen our responsible investment credentials.

“With a team of 14 people across Aegon Asset Management’s global businesses, including Kames Capital and TKP Investments, we believe AAM has the expertise to continue to lead the way on ESG issues, ensuring our clients’ responsible investing criteria are met and their sustainable goals can be supported.”