Ashby has taken charge of the UK Growth and N&P UK Growth vehicles, effective immediately, and will report to global chief investment officer Dolores Ybarra.
He replaces Richard Moore, who has ended his seven-and-a-half year stint at the company to “pursue other opportunities”.
Santander said Ashby – who comes from a background of senior UK equity roles – is yet to decide upon his strategic outlook for the running of the funds.
Drawing on 24 years’ experience, Ashby was the head of UK equities role at Ignis Asset Management until August 2014. Prior to that he held similar roles with LV=Asset Management and Credit Suisse Asset Management.
“Graham is a strong addition, and we are delighted that he has joined us,” said Ybarra. “Over the last few years we have been focused on building our capabilities, and Graham is a fantastic hire alongside the previous investment in our fixed income and multi-manager teams.”
