Baillie Gifford’s former multi-asset head Patrick Edwardson has been appointed as an independent non-executive director on the Edinburgh Investment Trust previously run by Mark Barnett.
Edwardson recently retired from Baillie Gifford after 27 years at the company where he was a partner and head of the multi-asset team. He is also a non-executive director of the JP Morgan Multi-Asset Trust.
“Along with his knowledge of the UK equity market and deep knowledge of investment companies, Patrick brings extensive experience of income investing from his role as the fund manager of the Scottish American Investment Company from 2004 to 2014. I have no doubt that he will become an extremely valuable member of the board,” said Glen Suarez, chairman of the company.
The trust has undergone a series of manager changes over recent years. Majedie Asset Management’s CIO James de Uphaugh took the reins after the trust’s board ousted Barnett in December 2019.
Barnett was sacked by the trust’s board after losing investors money over one and three years.
Edinburgh IT has returned -4.6% over a one year period, compared to the IT UK equity income benchmark returns of -5.1%. Its total assets stand at £1bn.
Since the shake-up back in 2019, the NAV per share over the six months to the end of September 2020 rose by 7.8%, compared to -23.5% over the three-year period, according to the company’s interim statement.
Suarez said in the statement of de Uphaugh’s appointment: “We felt the company would benefit from their pragmatic style and deep understanding of the UK equity market. Working closely with an established team of fund managers and analysts, James brings to our company a flexible, total return approach to managing the portfolio.”
