Board of Directors
The Trust’s Board of Directors are independent, with extensive and varied expertise. They meet regularly to ensure the objectives of the Trust continue to be met.
All of the Directors are members of the Audit, Engagement and Remuneration, Nomination, and Sales, Marketing and Communications Committees.
Andrew was appointed to the Board in August 2022. He became Chair of the Board and the Nomination Committee in July 2023. He was previously a consultant at Rathbones Investment Management, a partner of Albion Capital Group LLP and joint managing director at OLIM Limited.
He has over 30 years’ fund management experience including managing a number of Investment trusts. Prior to joining OLIM in 2009, he was Chief Investment Officer at Singer & Friedlander Investment Management.
He is a charity trustee and chairs a number of investment committees including the HMS Victory Preservation Company. He is a non-executive director of Blackrock Greater Europe Investment Trust plc.
Sian was appointed to the Board in August 2015. Sian has a background in investment banking and policy development. She currently holds a diverse portfolio of non-executive board positions including as a Non-Executive director of Worldwide Healthcare Trust PLC and holds advisory and trustee positions at Cerno Capital, Aurra Studios, the Almeida Theatre and The Sanctuary Counsel, an advisory firm based in Westminster.
She finished her term on the JP Morgan Multi Asset Growth and Income plc board in March 2024. Until October 2023, Sian held the position of Chief Operating Officer at the CT Group, a global strategic consultancy group. Prior to this, she served as Executive Director of the Legatum Institute and earlier in her career, she was Managing Director of Policy Exchange, one of the UK’s most successful policy think tanks.
Her earlier professional experiences also include senior roles in investment banking, where she served as a company analyst at Enskilda Securities and was Director of Sales at Société Generale.
Robert was appointed as a Director in September 2016. He is the Senior Independent Director. He is a non-executive Director of JP Morgan American Investment Trust plc and an independent member of M&G plc’s With Profits Committee. Robert was formerly a director and Chief Investment Officer at Royal London Asset Management Limited.
Edward was appointed as a director in December 2019. He was previously a partner at Oldfield Partners LLP and was the Principle Representative Officer of Bank of London and the Middle East in Dubai. Before that he was Managing Director of Alliance Trust Investments for seven years and Managing Director at BlackRock with various responsibilities including Head of Institutional Business Development and Head of Asia, based in Hong Kong. He started his career at Barings Asset Management as an Asian Equity portfolio manager. Edward is the Chairman of Salvesen Mindroom Centre and a trustee of the Leng Charitable Trust.
Nandita was appointed to the Board in January 2024. She is the Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at the UK India Business Council and a Non-executive Director at Murray Income Trust Plc. Previously, she was a Managing Director, Infrastructure Asset Management at ThomasLloyd Group Ltd.
She has over 25 years’ emerging markets experience working in asset management, equity capital markets and M&A at ThomasLloyd Group, Insinger de Beaufort and Seymour Pierce. Prior to joining ThomasLloyd, Nandita was Chief Executive Officer at IL&FS Global Financial Services (UK) Ltd., the UK subsidiary of the investment banking arm of IL&FS. She holds a Bachelors in Economics and Business from The University of Edinburgh, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.
June was appointed to the Board in September 2024. June was the Managing Director, and later a non-executive director, of PEAL Capital Partners. Previously she was Head of Investor Relations at Crake Asset Management LLP. June has over 30 years of experience in financial markets and has a deep knowledge of emerging markets, particularly Asia.
She spent two decades in Asian Equities and headed up the Asian Equity sales desk at HSBC for 12 years. As a Managing Director, she was directly accountable for financial performance, and responsible for strong risk management, regulatory and governance oversight and an in-depth understanding of asset management.
She has held senior roles at Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and UBS, serving UK, European and Middle East clients. June has also worked in hedge funds and private equity and so has insight and expertise that spans public and private markets.
Portfolio managers
Stewart Investors have been the Trust’s portfolio managers since July 2010 and adopt a sustainable investment strategy when selecting the Trust’s investments. Stewart Investors have been investing in the Asia Pacific region for more than three decades and believe that incorporating sustainability into its investment process is the best way to protect and grow investors’ money over the long term.
While sustainable investing can mean many things to different people, Stewart Investors’ approach focuses on finding high-quality companies run by excellent management teams, that are well-positioned to contribute to, and benefit from, sustainable development.
With the support of the wider investment team, Douglas Ledingham and David Gait are the portfolio managers for the Trust.
Douglas is a portfolio manager at Stewart Investors, and sits on the Stewart Investors board. He joined the team in October 2013, having been an intern with the company during 2013.
Douglas is the lead manager of Stewart Investors Asia Pacific and Japan All-Cap strategy, as well as the Pacific Assets Trust.
He holds an MA in Business Studies and Accountancy from the University of Edinburgh.
David is head of the Stewart Investors investment team and a portfolio manager. He sits on the Stewart Investors board. David joined the team as a graduate in 1997.
He is the lead manager of Asia Pacific Leaders and Asia Pacific All Cap strategies.
David holds an MA with honours in Economics from Cambridge University, and holds a Master of Science in Investment Analysis from Stirling University.
