Columbia
Threadneedle Investments

Paul Niven is Head of Asset Allocation, EMEA at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. He joined the company in 2021 following the acquisition of BMO's EMEA asset management business. Paul is responsible for strategic and tactical input to the company's asset allocation process, as well as managing a range of institutional mandates and the F&C Investment Trust.

Previously, Paul was Managing Director, Multi-Asset Solutions, of BMO Global Asset Management with responsibility for strategic and tactical portfolio construction across a range of multi-asset portfolios, as well as manager selection for several institutional mandates. During his 25 years with BMO GAM and predecessor firms, he held a range of senior asset allocation and strategy roles including Chair of the Global Asset Allocation Committee. He has worked in the financial services industry since 1996.

Paul has a BA (Hons) in Accounting and Economics and MPhil in Finance from the University of Strathclyde and is a member of the UK CFA Institute.

Nick Henderson is a Portfolio Manager in the Global Equities team. He joined Columbia Threadneedle through the acquisition of BMO GAM (EMEA) in 2021, having previously been with BMO since 2008. He is Lead Portfolio Manager of the CT Sustainable Opportunities Global Equity Fund and the CT Sustainable Global Equity Income Fund.

Prior to joining the firm, Nick graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Bristol and is a CFA Charterholder.

Jeremy Smith joined the company in 2015 as a portfolio manager and Head of UK Equity Research. He manages the Threadneedle UK Opportunities Fund, the Threadneedle UK Institutional Fund and a number of core institutional portfolios. He also has research responsibility for the oil services and support services sectors, as well as responsibility for leading the UK research team.

He has over 20 years of experience and has held various roles in the asset management industry including Head of UK Equities at Neptune Investment Management and Director in the UK large cap team at Schroders. During his tenure at Neptune and Schroders, Jeremy worked as a portfolio manager with responsibility for a range of UK Equity portfolios, as well as an analyst specialising in the oil & gas and chemicals sectors.

Jeremy holds a BA (Hons) in History and is also a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA).

Steve Armitage joined the company in March 2011 as Director, Third Party Distribution and Head of the Southern Sales Team. In this role he is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with key third party distributers across both the IFA, Life Company/Platform arena and the key ratings agencies.

Prior to this, Steve was Sales Director for Strategic Partners at F&C Investments and prior to that worked at Barclays Stockbrokers. He has been in the industry for 26 years and holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Company start date: 2011
Industry start date: 1989

Mark joined Columbia Threadneedle Investments in June 2017 and works in the regional sales team, responsible for managing relationships with intermediary clients in the Midlands. With over 16 years in the industry some of his previous experience was gained during 8 years as an investment analyst & prior to that, teaching political science in the United States.

Tom Hanafin is Regional Sales Manager at Columbia Threadneedle, working in the team responsible for the sales of funds to intermediaries and wealth managers in the south of the UK. Tom joined Columbia Threadneedle through the acquisition of BMO GAM (EMEA) in 2021. He has over 17 years' experience in sales and the financial services industry. Prior to his current role, Tom was a sales manager at Cazenove Capital Management where he focused on both multi-manager and single strategy sales. He has also held a broker desk role at Jupiter where he was responsible for supporting the firm's Strategic Alliances team. Tom also holds the CFA ESG Investing Certificate.