TORONTO, Nov. 22, 2012 /CNW/ - Kensington is pleased to announce that Eamonn McConnell and John H. Walker have joined Kensington Capital Partners Limited as Managing Directors. Mr. McConnell has lead responsibility for the Kensington Hedge Fund, while Mr. Walker leads Kensington's infrastructure business. Together with current Kensington Managing Directors Tom Kennedy and Rick Nathan, Messrs. McConnell and Walker serve on the Kensington Investment Committee responsible for all investment decisions of the Kensington Funds.

"We are excited to welcome two strong new partners to our Kensington leadership team," said Tom Kennedy, "Eamonn and John each provide complementary perspectives to our investment decision making process."

"As we continue to extend our business into new Alternative Asset classes, it's important to identify the right combinations of industry expertise, entrepreneurial leadership and direct investment experience," added Rick Nathan, "we are confident that Eamonn and John will add significant value to our firm for the benefit of all of our investors."

Eamonn McConnell
Managing Director
Kensington Capital Partners Limited

Eamonn McConnell has built a 25-year career in the investment banking and global fund management business, working in Canada, the UK and Asia. He has worked for many large international institutions including Barclays Global Investors, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch, as well as smaller entrepreneurial firms, with experience ranging from capital markets (debt and equity), the formation and launch of a mutual fund company managing several specialized funds, to the establishment of a private equity firm. Eamonn has been an active investor in all types of assets and the management of risk products. He is currently a director of Gryphus Capital, a Singapore based private equity firm which he co-founded in 2002. Eamonn recently completed a 4-year term as Deputy Chairman of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) Canada. His deep knowledge of the hedge fund market - including his focus on Canadian emerging managers - has been instrumental to the success of Kensington Hedge Fund 1.

Kensington Hedge Fund 1 (KHF1) is a unique multi-strategy portfolio of Canada's leading emerging hedge fund managers. The KHF1 portfolio provides investors with access to a diversified collection of talented hedge fund managers in a single fund, positioned to create steady uncorrelated returns for investors. With a 12-month track record, and returns of 11.38% year-to-date net to investors, the Kensington Hedge Fund 1 performance is in line with expectations, including low volatility and very low correlation to public markets. Kensington Hedge Fund 1 is listed on FundSERV and is available to accredited investors and investment advisors, across Canada and internationally.

John H. Walker
Managing Director
Kensington Capital Partners Limited

John H. Walker has a 38-year track record in power plant development, energy security and urban planning. John was a founding director of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority in 1992, and Chaired the first Planning and Development committee of the Board which provided oversight for the construction of the $4.4 billion terminal complex at Toronto Pearson Airport completed in 2004. John was also instrumental in the development of the 117 MW cogeneration facility built at Toronto Pearson in 2005.  He was co-founder and a founding Director of the Borealis Infrastructure Fund in 1997 (now owned by OMERS), was a senior advisor to Falconbridge (now Xtrata) on the $3 billion Koniambo project in New Caledonia, and spent 10 years at Ontario Hydro where his responsibilities included route and site selection, alternative energy and international market development.  He has also worked in infrastructure fund development as a consultant for Aurion Capital and Integrated Asset Management. John has served on the Board of Directors of Sheridan College and he currently serves as Chairman of U.S. Geothermal Inc. [NYSE: HTM, TSX: GTH], an operating geothermal power company based in Boise, Idaho. John's comprehensive experience across the infrastructure and power sectors makes him an ideal fit with the Kensington Power Income Fund.

The Kensington Power Income Fund is a new investment program for institutional and individual investors which will acquire interests in mid-market power generation, transmission and distribution assets in Canada and the United States. These assets are typically secured by long-term contracts with regional power authorities (or very large corporations) providing investors with unique access to steady, long-term, inflation protected cash flows as well as potential tax benefits. The Kensington Power Income Fund is listed on FundSERV for accredited investors and investment advisors.

About Kensington:
Kensington, founded in 1996 is a leading Canadian investor in alternative investments. Kensington is best known for its private equity investment programs, having committed over $550 million since 2002, and is also an active investor in infrastructure assets and hedge funds.  Institutional investors such as pension and endowment funds and professional asset managers, as well as high net-worth individuals and retail investors, hold Kensington funds.  For more information on Kensington and current offerings, please visit www.kcpl.ca.

SOURCE Kensington Capital Partners Limited