Congratulations to three of our Collectives Team, Shauna Bevan, Ross Brookes and Stephen Peters who were recently named in the Citywire Wealth Manager Top 100 survey

Charles Stanley's Collectives Team has been recognised in the recently published Wealth Manager Top 100, with Stephen Peters, Shauna Bevan and Ross Brookes all featuring in the list. Citywire trawled the depths of the sector to identify 100 individuals with significant influence over the fund selection processes at their companies.

As the publication states:

It is no coincidence that Citywire Wealth Manager have opted to publish this list at a time when a large portion of the industry is centralising investment processes, meaning the work of those on core research teams to become more crucial.

The publication highlights the important work that these professionals are doing at a time when the wealth and fund management industry is undergoing significant change in the wake of the retail distribution review (RDR).

Centralisation has no doubt been driven by the regulator shining the spotlight on suitability and the rise of model portfolios.

Below are Shauna, Ross and Stephen's write-ups in this prestigious industry list. Congratulations from everyone at Charles Stanley:

Shauna Bevan:


Shauna Bevan graduated from Oxford University with a degree in classics and has a deep love of the written word, so much so that she envisages she would have become a literary agent had she not ended up in fund selection. Bevan joined Charles Stanley in 2003, having previously worked at Merrill Lynch, and says the best advice she has been given during her career is "never be afraid to ask the question if you don't know the answer". her roles within the business include being joint Head of Collectives Research and a member of Charles Stanley's Investment Strategy Committee. Bevan, who now has 14 years of invetsment experience and holds a post graduate Certificate of Finance from the University of London, believes funds are reaching capacity quicker these days. This, she says, makes identification of good funds earlier a key priority. She suggests Chris Higham of the AVIVA Investors Strategic Bond fund as a future star and says the Findlay Park American fund has been her best investment to date.

Ross Brookes:


Ross Brookes could well have been lining up alongside the likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge rather than analysing open-ended funds for Charles Stanley. "Having signed as a schoolboy at Chelsea, my first thought was to be a footballer but unfortunately that never materialised," he reflects. "Fund selection is far more glamorous anyway!" Two of the names on Brookes' preferred fund team sheet are JO Hambro Capital Management's Citywire AA-rated duo Clive Beagles and James Lowen. He cites their UK Equity Income fund as his best investment to date. Meanwhile, he names former Charles Stanley colleague Henry Dixon as a rising star. Brookes started his career at Advisory & Brokerages Services, now Origen, and holds the CISI masters in wealth management alongside the Investment Management Certificate.

Stephen Peters


Pity the fund managers who cross paths with Stephen Peters. Charles Stanley's investment trust expert is unlikely to have the wool pulled over his eyes, saying if he had not succeeded in his current role, he would have fancied going into criminal psychology. This follows the degree he gained in psychology from the University of Essex. "You have two ears and one mouth, and they should be used in that proportion" is the best advice Peters has been given. He joined Charles Stanley in 2007 after a four-year spell at Hewitt Associates. His role includes the co-management of the Matterley International Growth Fund and the firm's Collectives Portfolio research. Peters names AA-rated Mark Barnett's Invesco Perpetual Income and Growth Fund as the best he has ever invested in, and picks out Tom Naughton at Prusik as a rising star.
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