Specialist asset manager Gresham House has appointed Richard Davidson (pictured) as Chair of the Investment Committee of its forestry management subsidiary, Aitchesse Ltd. He will also become Lead Fund Manager of the Gresham House Forestry Fund.
With a strong knowledge of and interest in forestry through his involvement in The Forestry Partnership, advised by Aitchesse, as both an investor and Investment Committee member, Ric Davidson hard will work alongside founder Digby Guy and the experienced forestry management team to establish and manage the Gresham House Forestry Fund.
Davidson has over twenty five years of experience in fund management in many high profile roles including Partner at Lansdowne Partners and Manager of Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s USD7 billion Global Asset Allocation fund, where he was also Chief Investment Officer and Chief European Equity Strategist in London. Richard has held investment strategy consultant roles at Aubrey Capital Management and Rivercrest Capital and is currently Chairman of the University of Edinburgh Endowment Investment Committee.
Rupert Robinson, Managing Director of Gresham House Asset Management, says: “Richard has a combination of deep fund management expertise and a strong background in forestry, and I’m thrilled to welcome him to the team. Alternatives are continuing to surge in popularity and it’s not just institutional investors who are capitalising on the opportunities. Increasingly family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals are allocating more capital to differentiated and illiquid assets, including commercial forestry, and we believe that Gresham House is well placed to meet this need.”
Digby Guy, Director and Founder, Aitchesse, says: “I have known Richard for many years and he brings invaluable expertise to Aitchesse and Gresham House. I look forward to working with him on the first Gresham House Forestry Fund and increasing investor access to the impressive performance of this asset class through new funds and co-investment opportunities.”
Davidson says: “I am excited about working with the strong and growing team at Aitchesse and Gresham House. In these volatile markets, investors are more preoccupied than ever on enhancing returns and reducing risk and there is a real opportunity for superior long term investment returns in forestry.”
