Evercore Partners has expanded its Private Funds Group with the appointment of senior distribution professionals in the US and Asia.

Recently named managing director is Christopher Brand, who will be based in the firm's San Francisco office and responsible for the group's relationships with institutional investors on the West Coast. Brand was previously the managing director at Ecotrust Forest Management and prior to that served as MD at Dahlam Rose & Co for the West Coast branch.

Also newly appointed is William Lee, who will be heading Evercore's Asia distribution team. Lee joins the firm from Asia Explorer Capital Limited, which he founded to raise assets for Asia-based hedge funds. Before that, he was senior vice president at Fairfield Greenwhich group.

"In the current fundraising environment, funds need access to institutional investors around the world. We believe it is critical to have genuine fundraising capabilities across Europe, Asia, and North America," Richard Anthony, head of Evercore Private Trust, said in a statement.

The hires follow the recent addition of Lincoln Singleton and Jim Swindell as managing directors for Southeast and Midwest relations, respectively, and the hiring of Alexander Russ for the Northeast.