Our Story
Our Story.
The Ash Park Global Consumer strategy was created as a way of combining wealth protection* and good long-term capital growth for investors through exposure to a high-quality, global portfolio of branded Consumer companies. Our research has shown that this strategy would never have lost money for investors over rolling 5-year periods, and yet would still have been able to deliver superior returns. The Ash Park Global Consumer Franchise strategy launched in October 2014 and is managed by a London-based team with over 50 years of combined experience as industry analysts and investors. The team run a concentrated fund of around 20 stocks, with an underlying economic exposure that broadly matches global GDP.
* An investment in Global Staples has never lost money in any 5yr rolling period in US$ based on the Ash Park Global Consumer Staples index, since 1977.
Ash Park Team
50+ years of collective experience covering Consumer companies
Mark Purdy
Mark has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University and leads Ash Park coverage of Soft Drinks, as well as Food (ex-Europe). Mark began his career in fund management at Legal & General in 1985 and then worked at Gartmore (1988-1998), responsible for managing pension scheme equity portfolios. He then moved in to investment banking with Dresdner Kleinwort (1998-2001). Mark joined Deutsche Bank in 2001, where he played a pivotal role in the creation and organisation of its annual Global Consumer Conference in Paris, the largest of its kind. Mark’s analysis of consumer franchises started in 1987, and his favourite portfolio product at the moment is Lindt’s 70% cocoa Dark Chocolate Bar.
Harold Thompson
Harold has a degree in Economics from University College London and leads Ash Park coverage on the Household and Personal Care sector, globally. Harold began his career as a retail and luxury goods research analyst at Deutsche Bank in 2001, before focusing on the Household and Personal Care industry from 2004. As Harold’s expertise developed in his field of research, he picked up numerous awards for providing valuable insights and was regularly called upon to present to the board and executive teams of his coverage companies. Harold’s analysis of consumer franchises started in 2001, and his favourite portfolio product at the moment (a functional one) is Reckitt Benckiser’s Finish dishwasher tablets.