Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown joins $78 billion Swiss private equity firm
- Gordon Brown, formerly Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is following the path of major politicians moving into private equity advisory.
- He will take up a role with Switzerland's Partners Group to advise on impact investments.
- Brown was prime minister between 2007 and 2010 and stewarded the UK through the financial crisis, leading government bailout efforts for British banks after 2008.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has become the latest former world leader to step into the world of finance.
Brown, who was prime minister during the global financial crisis, will become an advisor at Swiss private equity firm Partners Group as part of its so-called impact investing fund.
Zug-based Partners Group has $78 billion of assets under management and started its $1 billion impact fund PG Life last year. The fund's investments focus on the United Nations' sustainable development goals, which include eliminating poverty and improving access to healthcare and education.
Brown will join the fund's advisory council which also includes former UN General Assembly president Vuk Jeremić.
Many former politicians have made the move into finance previously with Carlyle Group previously employing both former US President George H.W. Bush and ex-British Prime Minister John Major among its advisors. Alistair Darling, Brown's chancellor during the crisis, is an advisor for US banking giant Morgan Stanley.
"If even a relatively small proportion of global private equity funding is dedicated to contributing towards the U.N. SDGs, it could significantly contribute to closing the funding gap," Mr. Brown said