Andrew Evans, CFA

I joined on the graduate programme as a research analyst. I didn’t have the background many investors claim — no family in the industry, no stocks picked at twelve. But I had a keen interest in markets and was hungry to learn.

I joined the transport team and, apart from a brief stint on banks, stayed throughout. We went from a lowly ranked team to one of the top two in the sector, competing with larger, better-resourced teams at bulge bracket banks. It was a fantastic grounding in analytical skills — exposing your work to the buy-side meant it had to be high quality.

I experienced the aftermath of the dotcom bust in my first years, which shaped my view of market cycles. I also watched aviation companies like British Airways and the airports really struggle after 9/11 — and then present excellent recovery opportunities for those who went against the grain. This was my first encounter with the idea that contrarian investing could be a systematic path to making money.

I had a fantastic mentor in Mark McVicar, who showed me how to manage the softer side — people, teams, different personalities. The Dresdner research culture was distinctive: they hired talented people who might think differently and might not fit the mould of larger banks.

One exceptional member of the department was James Montier, who wrote about behavioural decision-making. Reading his material put me on the path to thinking about the follies investors follow. I remember being amazed that he wrote a piece effectively saying analyst forecasts were largely useless — that he could write it about others in his own department really intrigued me. I started reading investment books voraciously, though that really took off after I moved to Nomura.

I joined after Nomura had acquired the European business of Lehman Brothers following its collapse. Getting to see the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis first-hand — with people who had lived through one of the harshest environments in financial history — was formative.

I spent most of my time covering airlines, where I was recognised for stock-picking in external surveys. The sector was volatile, cyclical, and full of behavioural overreaction — perfect training ground for a nascent value investor.

My reading accelerated. It became increasingly clear that I wanted to invest directly on the buy-side, and that I was a value investor. It was becoming difficult to cater for non-value clients when every instinct pointed towards contrarian, fundamental analysis.

I found an opportunity to cross to the buy-side, joining Threadneedle to head up the UK research product. The team was made up of many different styles — growth, momentum, small cap, quality — and it was fascinating to see how different investors approached the same market.

I was drawn to the most value-focused person on the team — Richard Colwell, who had an encyclopaedic knowledge of UK companies and particularly the management teams and boards and their histories.

After a short time, I knew I wanted to be on a dedicated value team. Fortunately, I knew Nick Kirrage and Kevin Murphy at Schroders well, and they were looking to expand their value team.

I joined the Global Value team as an analyst. It was everything I wanted — investing in a value style with dedicated value investors, led by Nick Kirrage and Kevin Murphy.

After the departure of a team member, I took on European fund management responsibilities with Andrew Lyddon, eventually running mandates across European and UK equities with c.£6bn in assets under management.

I built a strong track record and deep value analytical skills. But the journey wasn’t smooth — value underperformed for more than half my time on the team, and the COVID drawdown was severe. Both were tough but excellent learning lessons, and the performance eventually came through. Top-quintile across the mandates I managed.

Those difficult periods — enduring them, learning from them, and staying disciplined through them — are what I now consider the most valuable part of the experience. They are also why I believe so strongly that the behavioural advantage is the real moat in value investing.

I made the decision to take some time out to help with family matters. That time also opened unexpected doors — I built a network in the start-up world, co-founded a property venture with a friend, and made an investment in a software business.

The biggest learning was discovering how far AI coding tools had come. I had been learning Python at Schroders for data analysis, but the improvements in AI meant I could now build in hours what previously took months. The portfolio section shows some of what I’ve built — from Monte Carlo simulators to valuation heatmaps to this website itself.

I also had the opportunity to travel — Australia, Istanbul — and to participate in some unusual activities, including teaching chess in prisons.

After things have settled with family, I feel ready to rejoin the value investing journey — combining twenty-five years of investment experience with the technical skills I’ve developed and a renewed conviction in the process.