Findlay Park | vertical: asset management

Findlay Park is an independent investment partnership based in London with a sole focus on the US equity market. Its clients - primarily private banks and wealth managers - are based all over the globe.  

We spoke to Simon Pryke, CEO, about the growing appeal of boutique investment managers and why London remains a pre-eminent asset management centre for global investors. 

What makes Findlay Park unique among investment partnerships?

"We are a somewhat unusual business in that we just do one thing: invest in America. We have just one investment fund, the Findlay Park American Fund, which is a very large fund at $11.3bn of assets under management. We have a mix of UK, European, and Asian investors. Nearly all our investors are private banks and wealth management firms.

We're an independent partnership and we've operated with the same investment philosophy since when we were founded in 1998. Our underlying business philosophy is to keep it simple as, quite often, it's complexity that kills you. By reducing complexity, we have our team focused on doing just one thing well: delivering good investment performance for our investors." -

How, as a London-based firm, do you maintain your global reach? 

"I think we've demonstrated over the past 26 years that one can be very successful investing in America while based in London. London is an extraordinary place if you're running money. It really is a global centre for asset management. It's somewhere that investors feel very comfortable having their investment manager based. And it's somewhere with tremendous access. We run the largest active US equity fund in the UK - or indeed in Europe - so we get great access to American companies when they come through London and see us here.

Another advantage of London is it's the ideal location for looking both ways. As a time zone, it works interacting with North America. Looking the other way, it works if you've got an investor base in Europe and Asia. You're in a good position to connect across to them and find a time when it's suitable for both parties to meet.

Our office is in London. The whole investment team is based here in London. We've got 11 people on the investment team and then a support team brings us up to just below 40 overall."

“When it comes to talent, I think London is unrivalled. The diversity of the talent base here is extraordinary, and there is no other global city that can compare to it. There are other strong centres of asset management but none of them have this diversity of profile”

What do you feel are the attractive qualities of the UK market for a boutique investment manager such as Findlay Park with an international strategy? 

“When it comes to talent, I think London is unrivalled. The diversity of the talent base here is extraordinary, and there is no other global city that can compare to it. There are other strong centres of asset management but none of them have this diversity of profile. It's also a very appealing place. If you're looking to hire someone from abroad and, say, there's a role in London, London is a place that people want to come to. London appeals, I think, at all stages of a career.

I spent some time last year on a trade mission to Australia with the then Lord Mayor of London. We met a number of the superannuation funds, which are enormous and are all expanding overseas. Without exception, they're choosing to make London the centre for their non-Australia operations. That just really reflects that connectivity of London as a global asset management centre.”

“I spent some time last year on a trade mission to Australia with the then Lord Mayor of London. We met a number of the superannuation funds, which are enormous and are all expanding overseas. Without exception, they're choosing to make London the centre for their non-Australia operations”

How have UK institutions supported your firm and the broader industry you operate in? 

“We’ve had a very positive interaction with the Independent Investment Management Initiative (IIMI) [which represents investment boutiques]. That's also been the case for the City of London as they've sought to draw smaller firms more into their Global Investment Futures initiative [a campaign to promote the UK as a leading investment management centre globally].

The Investment Association [the trade body for investment managers] does an outstanding job representing our sector and liaising with the City of London, the Department for Business and Trade, and government more broadly on our behalf. It has a very broad membership of both large and small asset managers.” 

What are your company’s growth ambitions and how does the UK feature in these? 

“We want to find investors who we think can build a long-term relationship with us. We're always thinking about the next 25 years of our business but it's definitely not growth at any price. We are being quite thoughtful about that and the UK will certainly remain an important element of that growth.

It amazes me how often clients say to me: ‘You don't appreciate how unique London is … that we know things will be dealt with fairly by the legal system there’. 

Regulation relates to that. You've got to have a robust regulatory system. At the same time, I think it's particularly interesting with the Financial Conduct Authority having a new secondary objective now to promote international competitiveness. We think that's really crucial. It's important that regulation allows innovation and enterprise to thrive.

London is an extraordinary centre for entrepreneurial asset managers. There’s a new one starting all the time, and many have something very appealing to offer to a global client base.”