Robeco-Sage, a fund of hedge fund manager based in New York, has hired Michael Welch as director of business development.

He will be based on the West Coast in the firm’s Greenbrae, California office and will focus on institutional and consultant relationships as well as wealth management firms and private banks.

Welch brings 17 years of financial services experience to Robeco-Sage. He joins from Coast Asset Management, where he was a managing director and director of marketing, responsible for managing the firm’s relationships with financial intermediaries and institutional clients.

His previous positions in the industry were at Lazard Asset Management and Merrill Lynch.

Michael J. Abbott, chief executive officer at Robeco-Sage, says: “Mike brings with him an outstanding reputation for an intensely client focused approach as well as an incredible breadth of industry knowledge – both of which fit extremely well with our model at Robeco-Sage. Additionally, his decision to join our team over a number of other top tier firms is affirmation that, in our 16th year, we continue to execute our core mission successfully.”

Welch will report to William Stout, director of investor relations and business development.