Principal Investment Management

Anne Gilbert FCIS
Group Managing Director

Anne is Managing Director of Principal and has over 30 years’ investment experience. The first eleven years of her career were spent with the Sun Alliance Insurance Group, which she joined as a trainee fund manager and rose to become Joint Head of UK Equities. In 1983, she was appointed Investment Manager at PPP Healthcare with responsibility for developing its investment capabilities. Anne established Principal in 1987 and has led the successful development of the business’s specialist investment services. She remains actively involved in developing the business’s investment strategy and fostering client relationships. Anne is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries.

Alan Beaney BSc (Hons) MSc
Head of Investment

An investment professional with over 20 years' experience, Alan Beaney joined Principal in 2000 from Investec Guinness Flight where, as Head of Pension Funds, he was widely credited with reversing five years of underperformance. Prior to that he was Head of UK Equities at Lloyds Investment Managers. Alan leads the Principal investment management function, as well as managing SIPP, charity and institutional funds.

Richard Atkinson FSI
Director

Richard started his investment career in 1986 with Vivian Gray and has many years' experience managing portfolios for both private clients and charities. In 2000 Richard left Cazenove & Co to found a new business. This subsequently merged with Nevile Merriam which, in turn, became a part of the Principal group. Richard is based in our Bath office.

Christopher Nevile LLB (Hons)
Director

A graduate in Law from Exeter University, Chris was formerly the Managing Director of Granville Investment Management. In 2000, with Andrew Merriam, he led the management buy-out of the private client side of Granville, which subsequently became part of the Principal group in October 2003. During an investment career spanning 27 years, Chris has managed investment portfolios for a variety of unit trust companies and private investors.

Matt Groom MSI IMC
Director

Matt has been an investment manager since 1994, having joined Principal in 1989 as a management trainee. A member of the Securities Institute, he is now one of the Senior Investment Managers and is also Director of Investment Operations. Based at the Sevenoaks office, Matthew manages Directly Invested portfolios with a growth objective as well as handling HR, operational and compliance issues arising in the Directly Invested division.

Hugh Weston CPS IMC
Senior Investment Manager

Hugh qualified as a solicitor and worked in private practice in various locations including the City before transferring his skills to the investment area. At Principal, Hugh manages private client and trust portfolios, specialising in those with an income objective.

Kathie Langfield BSc (Hons) IMC
Senior Investment Manager

After joining Principal as a graduate trainee in 1995, Kathie trained in all aspects of our business, including client administration, before moving into a fund management role. Kathie holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Peter Finnigan BA (Hons) CA CFA
Senior Investment Manager

After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1993, Peter gained a breadth of fund management experience at such well known names as Murray Johnstone, General Accident and Scottish Amicable. He joined Principal’s Bath office in 2000 and manages Directly Invested portfolios for Principal’s West Country clients.

Richard Champion BA (Hons) ASIP
Senior Investment Manager

Richard has worked in the investment industry since 1985, initially in stockbroking and then in institutional asset management. He has wide experience of managing both UK and continental European equities for, amongst others, the British Petroleum Pension Fund, NM Funds Management (Europe), MGM Assurance and Pavilion Asset Management. He joined Principal in 2004 and is based in the London office.

Finlay Maclennan BEng (Hons) MSc IMC CFA
Senior Investment Manager

After completing his MSc in Investment Analysis, Finlay gained a breadth of analytical and fund management experience at Scottish Amicable, Edinburgh Fund Managers and Baring Asset Management before joining Principal in May 2005. Finlay is a CFA charterholder and is based at Principal's London office, where he manages Directly Invested porfolios with a balanced objective.

Vonitha Himsworth MA IMC
Investment Manager

Having graduated in International Business Studies in 1996, and achieved an MA in Marketing, Vonitha gained varied experience as an analyst within the financial services companies Provident Financial and GE Capital, before transferring her skills to the investment industry. Vonitha has 6 years’ experience in investment management including managing UK equities for South Yorkshire Pensions Authority for 5 years.

Neil Whelan BSc (Hons) IMC
Investment Manager

A maths graduate from Warwick University, Neil worked in the financial services industry with NatWest Stockbrokers and Fidelity before joining Principal in January 2002. He passed his IMC in 2003, and now works with the directly invested team in Sevenoaks, managing portfolios with a balanced mandate.

Robert Doresamy BA (Hons) FSI
Investment Manager

Robert started his investment career with NatWest Investments and subsequently moved to Coutts & Co as an investment manager. Latterly he worked as a Senior Account Manager with Close Wealth Management, a division of the Close Brothers Group, before joining Principal in January 2006. Working from the London office, he is an Investment Manager in the balanced team.

Julia Jukes BSc (Hons) IMC
Investment Manager

Julia graduated with a First Class honours degree from the University of Bath in 2000, having previously worked in the finance industry in her gap year. She joined Principal straight from university, progressing to become an Investment Manager for our corporate and charity clients. She currently has a project-based role within our Investment Management department, following her return from maternity leave in May 2008.

Scott Robertson MA (Hons) MSc IMC
Investment Manager

Scott gained an upper second class degree in Economics from Aberdeen University followed by an MSc in Finance at the University of Strathclyde. Prior to joining Principal in early 2006, Scott worked on the Japanese equities desk at Baillie Gifford & Co for almost four years, as well as with names such as Scottish Mutual, Aegon and HSBC. He passed the IMC in 2001 and is presently working towards further investment qualifications. Working from the London office, he is an Investment Manager in the growth team.

Rebecca Davies BSc (Hons) IMC
Assistant Investment Manager

Rebecca graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a degree in Economics and, after spending a gap year travelling, joined Principal in March 2006. Rebecca has recently passed her IMC and is based in our Bath office, where she predominantly works within the balanced team assisting in the management of our West Country clients.

Dominic Carver
Trainee Investment Manager

Dominic graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2006, attaining a degree in Natural Sciences. Following a gap year travelling, Dominic joined Principal as a trainee Investment Manager in late 2007. He works with the Directly Invested team in Sevenoaks, assisting in model performance analysis and supporting the Investment Managers. Dominic is currently studying towards his IMC qualification.