Payne (pictured) joins Gravis after 14 years at Fidelity, having left there in 2015 to become an independent investment consultant.
At Fidelity, Payne held various senior roles including product director with responsibility for European equities, director of research and executive director of the firm’s equity investment operations, where he looked after 120 staff and the implementation and development of its multi-manager division.
Prior to this, he was the director of performance measurement and risk at Henderson Global Investors and chief operating officer of the investment division at Gartmore Investment Management.
He also held roles at UBS Asset Management, Kleinwort Benson and Chase Manhattan.
Payne regularly lectures at London Business School and the Imperial College Business School on equity research, stock analysis, financial marketing and business ethics.
Stephen Ellis, executive chairman of Gravis, said: “The addition of Charles strengthens what is already an excellent team at Gravis and will ensure that we continue to deliver the best products and opportunities to our investors.”
In addition, the VT UK Infrastructure Income Fund – for which Gravis Advisory is the fund adviser – has been renamed the VT Gravis UK Infrastructure Income Fund as part of the firm’s brand redesign.
Ellis added: “We felt it important, following the redesign of the Gravis brand, that we made a clear distinction between the investment advisory group and all of our products.
“Our closed-ended funds each retain the prefix GCP, being GCP Infrastructure Investments, GCP Student Living and GCP Asset Backed Income Fund, while our Oeic range will bear the Gravis name and be more closely linked to the company.”
The name change came into effect on 4 September.
