Meet the team

Robert Talbut was formerly Chief Investment Officer of Royal London Asset Management and has over 30 years of financial services experience. He has represented the asset management industry through the chairmanship of both the ABI Investment Committee and the Asset Management Committee of the Investment Association. He has also been a member of the Audit & Assurance Council of the FRC and the FCAs Listing Authority Advisory Panel. He is Chairman of Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund plc and a non-executive director of Pacific Assets Trust plc and JPMorgan American Investment Trust PLC.

Jane Pearce had an executive career as an Equity Analyst at leading investment banks and latterly was an Equity Strategist at Lehman Brothers and Nomura International. She is a Chartered Accountant and was a member of the Governing Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland from 1999-2000. She is a non-executive director of four UK subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley and is also a non-executive director of Polar Capital Technology Trust plc.

Simon White has a background in UK equity fund management and significant experience in the investment trust sector. He joined BlackRock as Head of Investment Trusts in 2011 where he was responsible for overseeing the company secretarial, sales and marketing and third-party administration services. He was also involved in successful fundraisings and significant secondary issuance within the investment trust business. He retired from BlackRock in June 2022. Prior to joining BlackRock, Simon White worked at Kleinwort Benson and was responsible for the development of Kleinwort Benson’s (and its successor companies including Allianz Global Investors) closed end fund businesses. He is currently a Senior Adviser to Cadarn Capital, an independent distribution and investor relations company servicing London-listed investment companies.