Adam Sweidan recognised in the 2016 Financial News Extra Mile list

Adam and his wife, Jessica, set up Synchronicity Earth in 2009, which is a charity that helps to fund high priority conservation projects globally. Funding for the charity comes from direct donations and from the management fees donated by the Aurum Synchronicity Fund – a fund of hedge funds managed by Aurum Fund Management. “In my day job I have to find the best quantitative managers, the best equity market-neutral managers and so on. At Synchronicity Earth I have to find the best person in frog conservation or orangutan habitats. In my business world there is a lot of money and not that many exceptional fund managers; in the environmental world it is the opposite – not much money and a lot of talented people that should have it.” said Adam.

To date, the charity has given away approximately £2 million to 70 organisations working to protect species and ecosystems across five continents and the oceans. It is a fantastic achievement and we should all be thankful because, to quote Adam, “The environment affects everything”.

“The environment affects everything. We can build a school in Africa, which is a good thing to do, but if there is a drought or the fish stocks run out, or the water supply is polluted then you don’t have students, you have refugees. Someone has to be looking at how to stop that; how to create sustainable environments.” Adam Sweidan, CIO Aurum Funds Limited