Federated Hermes strengthens Real Estate team with new appointment

Federated Hermes a global leader in active, responsible investment management, has announced the expansion of its Real Estate team, with the appointment of Mark Russell to the newly created role of Head of Fund Management (Real Estate).

Federated Hermes Real Estate is an institutional investment manager with $8.3bn (as at September 30, 2023) of commercial real estate assets under management, offering client-focused property investment solutions. In this role, effective February 19, 2024, Mark Russell will be based in London, reporting to Chris Taylor, Head of Real Estate and will be responsible for driving the strategy and performance delivery of the real estate business and its investments within the Federated Hermes Private Markets platform.

Mark Russell has over 25 years of experience across private practice advisory, property company and institutional real estate fund management. He joins Federated Hermes from Orchard Street IM where he was a Partner, managing large core/core plus funds and playing a leading role in the development and launch of an innovative value-add strategy for impact investing in real estate.

Prior to that, he was a Senior Fund Manager at Legal & General Investment Management and oversaw performance delivery and a fivefold growth in AUM for one of their flagship institutional products. At L&G, Russell led the Managed Property Fund through a sustained period of fund expansion and oversaw more than £2.5bn of transactions in the UK market. Prior to his time at L&G, he was a Portfolio Manager at Prestbury Investment Holdings and he started his career in the real estate industry at Jones Lang Wootton.

Federated Hermes’ Real Estate team made its first investment in 1983 and is comprised of integrated investment, asset management and specialist development operational teams delivering outperformance throughout multiple market cycles and successful ESG and social impact integration.

Mark Russell, Head of Fund Management (Real Estate), Federated Hermes comments: “I am excited to be joining the industry-leading Real Estate team at Federated Hermes as it seeks to build upon an enviable track record gained over four decades and through multiple market cycles. The business was a pioneer in what has come to be known as responsible investment, and an ongoing commitment to responsibility runs deep. This chimes loudly with my own priorities and will be critical in supporting the delivery of long-term sustainable outcomes for investors whilst simultaneously facilitating direct and positive influence on societal and environmental challenges. ”

Chris Taylor, Head of Real Estate, Federated Hermes, adds: “I am delighted Mark will be joining the team at Federated Hermes; his extensive experience complements the capabilities of our existing established team, and will enhance the ongoing delivery of our client focussed strategy. Mark is closely aligned with our team’s commitment to delivering future-focused real estate solutions to meet the need of clients, in current and future market conditions. We look forward to working with Mark as we continue to deliver resilient, relevant and high-quality real estate investments for our institutional clients.”