European equities investment specialist SAM Capital Partners has appointed Andrew Kennedy as its chief operating officer.

Kennedy (pictured) assumes responsibility for the firm’s day-to-day business management and expansion of the firm’s investor base.

He joins from Dresdner Kleinwort in London, where he was a senior member of the alternative investments group. Prior to this, he was a principal at Onda Capital and a senior member of the equity capital markets group at JPMorgan in London.

SAM Capital was established by former Cheyne Capital senior portfolio manager Dietmar Schmitt in September 2007, when the firm launched its flagship European equities long/short fund.

Schmitt says: “We are very excited about Andrew joining us. His skills and experience are a fantastic complement to the rest of the team and he will be critical in helping us to the next stage of our development. Up to this point, our main priority has been to build a great investment track record. Now we are in a strong position to grow the business. Having Andrew on board will help us to achieve this and allow the investment team to continue to maintain its focus on delivering the best possible returns for our investors.”