Bill Roden joined Albert E Sharp as chief investment officer in 2008, shortly before Giles Sharp, a member of the family which founded the business almost a century earlier, staged a management buyout from then-owner Barclays.

‘Re-establishing Albert E Sharp,’ as a regional broker and manager in Stratford-Upon-Avon has been a career highlight he says.

Roden previously served as CIO of Montague Capital and as a fund manager at AXA, having begun his career in 1992 at City Asset Management. Roden has a particular bias towards closed-ended funds with 50% of the firm’s buy list dedicated to trusts.

The fund selector lists Merchant Trust as his ‘hidden gem’ over the past year.