Ben Cotton

Biography

Ben is currently an independent consultant working on mandates within the sustainability industry, whilst building a new business for transaction management.
He was, until recently, the founding partner and partner responsible for global external relations at Earth Capital Partners LLP and the SET3 global group of investment managers. The group invests in growth capital for sustainable technology companies, renewable energy infrastructure development and construction, energy efficiency and sustainable agriculture/forestry.
ECP was a pioneer, incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts into all investment evaluation, portfolio management and reporting processes with for-profit asset management.
Ben started work in the 1980s on equity derivatives at several banks including Société Générale and Merrill Lynch, but has spent most of his career working to build relationships with those banks’ key clients. Amongst others he helped to create Société Générale’s Lyxor Asset Management (Lyxor Asset Management, a subsidiary of Société Générale Group, was founded in 1998 and now numbers 600 professionals worldwide managing US$ 120bn+ of assets), SGAM’s Fund of Hedge Fund business and significant components of SG Hambros’ Private Banking approach to asset management. He raised several billion dollars of investments into projects, products and funds, but his key role was in creating specialised, bespoke solutions for specific client needs. Man Group plc was one such client and they hired him in 2005. Ben continued to work to build client relationships, but was also a founder member of the steering group that took Man Group plc into environmental finance.
He has advised governments, supranationals, NGOs, funds, corporates and others on the creation and use of instruments for environmental finance.