AJ Bell is pleased to announce the appointment of Rob Burdett as the new independent chair of AJ Bell’s Investment Committee, following the retirement of current chair Jim Sutcliffe.
Jim Sutcliffe served as the independent chair of AJ Bell’s Investment Committee for over a decade, presiding over the Committee since the inception of the AJ Bell Investments business in 2016.
Rob becomes chair with over 30 years of multi-manager and fund selection experience in the investment industry. In addition to his current role as head of multi-manager at Nedgroup Investments, he has held senior positions at Rothschild Asset Management, Thames River, BMO Global Asset Management and Columbia Threadneedle (formerly F&C), as well as Credit Suisse.
As independent chair, Rob will provide governance and oversight of the AJ Bell fund range and MPS service, including the investment strategy, asset allocation process, manager oversight and risk management on behalf of AJ Bell’s customers. He will also work closely with AJ Bell Investments’ award-winning and experienced investment team as they maintain the high standard of performance and service that has seen AJ Bell Investments grow to manage assets over £11 billion by June 2026.
Michael Summersgill, AJ Bell CEO, says:
"The Investment Committee chair plays a vital role in the governance and independent oversight of decisions made by the wider investment team in the best interests of our customers. Rob’s depth of experience, knowledge and independent perspective will be invaluable as we continue to grow our highly successful investments business, which now oversees over £11bn of customer investments.
“Since launch in 2016 AJ Bell Investments has gone from strength to strength, delivering simple, low-cost products to advised and D2C customers and developing innovative solutions catering to customers’ changing investment needs. On behalf of everyone at AJ Bell I would like to thank Jim for his huge contribution to the success of the business.”
Rob Burdett, incoming AJ Bell Investment Committee chair, adds:
“I am delighted to have been appointed to the role of independent chair of the AJ Bell Investment Committee. Jim leaves some big shoes to fill, so I will need to bring to bear as much of my experience in the multi-asset world as possible to this governance role to provide counsel, challenge and perspective to the quarterly meetings. I have long admired AJ Bell from afar and look forward to working more closely with them via the committee.”