About us

Our team

Our International Partners

Andy Brunner

Andy Brunner’s 40-year career in finance commenced with a 6-year research background in stockjobbing (market making) and stockbroking in UK equities. Andy then moved into investment management, responsible for a wide range of funds including unit trusts, life and pension funds. Following a long period investing in markets worldwide, his role naturally evolved into asset allocation, global investment strategy and the running of multi-asset funds. During this period, he was Head of Asset Allocation and Global Strategist at Prolific Asset Management and Aberdeen Asset Management, also Chairing their Emerging Markets asset allocation committee. He later performed similar roles for Forsyth Partners, OBSR and Morningstar EMEA. He has advised numerous investment companies and charities for many years, including Principal Asset Management, Mazars and the Freemasons.

Noel Hayes

Noel Hayes is an investor and entrepreneur who first trained as a securities analyst with London stockbrokers, Buckmaster & Moore in 1976 and then worked for a number of leading brokers in equities research and sales, including Messel & Co. and Citicorp Scrimgeour Vickers, where he was Head of Equity Sales. Noel then joined listed industrial conglomerate Ross Group PLC as MD and he has since been responsible for a number of business start ups including a supermarket business and two airlines. He is a Director of Sunbird Hotels (Malawi) and Turnall Holdings (Zimbabwe) and through his investment company, LHG Malta Holding, is an active investor in Central African markets. He is a Member of the London Stock Exchange (retired) and the Investment Analysts Society

Simon Hayes

Simon Hayes was a head-hunter from 2003-17, most recently leading the Financial Services Board Practice at Odgers Berndtson. Before that, he spent 17 years with a number of the world’s premier financial institutions, including stockbrokers James Capel, London merchant bank, Morgan Grenfell and latterly as Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific Equities at UBS and Salomon Bros. He was previously Head of Equity Research for SG Warburg in Japan and a #1 ranked analyst in the UK in the Institutional Investor and Extel research polls. He has lived abroad on five occasions: managing businesses on both sides of the US, in Hong Kong and in Tokyo (twice). Simon graduated in Law from Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Allan Higgins

Allan Higgins joined Prudential Portfolio Managers in 1979 as an Economist and subsequently trained as an equity research and investment analyst. From 1984 to 1998 he worked for a number of leading stock brokers in equity sales and sales trading, including Citicorp Scrimgeour Vickers, Barclays de Zoete Wedd, Kleinwort Benson and Nomura Secrities. In 1998 he relocated to France with his wife where they own and run Simply Perigord sarl – a successful Property Management company specializing in real estate management and sales . Allan graduated from Sheffield University with a Masters Degree in Economics of Money & Finance.

John Keane

John Keane is Chief Executive Officer at Ardmore Advertising, one of the UK and Ireland’s leading advertising agencies, and Chairman at sister public relations company LK Communications. Under his strategic direction the award-winning agency has become renowned for its innovative work in the agri-food, tourism and travel sectors. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and is incoming Chair of the Board of Worldwide Partners Inc (WPI), of which Ardmore is a shareholder. WPI is one of the world’s largest networks of independent advertising agencies, comprising over 60 partner agencies in 40 countries across five continents.

Karen O'Malley

Karen O’Malley started her career in 1979 as an equity analyst with Drayton Montagu and subsequently with its JV with American insurer Aetna, managing 401K ERISA pension funds. In 1986 she moved to the European arm of American insurer CIGNA to manage a wide range of pension funds and unit trusts, also trading equities for the company’s own book. In 1989 she was a founding member of Quaestor Investment Management, a Quant investment boutique owned by Yasuda Life and Paine Webber. In 1992 she joined UBS to create the City’s first Client Account Management Unit specialising in maximising revenues from global investment managers, particularly in fixed income, equities, futures, options and derivatives. In 1999 she joined her husband Allan in France where they have a successful property management and sales company, Simply Perigord sarl.

Edward (Ted) Williams

Edward (Ted) Williams started his long career in finance as an analyst with Prudential Portfolio Managers in 1978 and 18 years later he had become the senior Fund Manager running institutional and retail funds in excess of £3 billion. His fund management career continued with Schroders until 2007 as a Director of Schroders Investment Management and member of the specialists high performance unit, where he was responsible for portfolios in excess of £4 billion . In 2007 he founded Four Capital and as Managing Partner was responsible for both managing the business and a rapidly growing fund base. The firm was successfully sold to S.A. Financial services group Sanlam, in 2015. Since then Ted has served on the investment committee of the British Red Cross and BRC Pension Fund and last year he became a Senior Advisor to Zeus Capital.