We are pleased to announce the appointment of Melanie Roberts as the new head of our charity team.
Melanie joined the Sarasin & Partners charity team – which currently manages £8bn of assets for more than 480 charity clients – in 2011, having previously worked at Newton Investment Management. She was made a Partner at Sarasin & Partners in 2016.
Following her recent appointment, Melanie will focus on strategy, stewardship and client service as she and the team seek to grow charity portfolios amidst a new economic regime of rising interest rates and slowing global growth.
Melanie takes over from Richard Maitland, who has been Head of Charities since 2003. Richard goes on to become a Senior Partner at the firm and will continue to sit on the firm’s Executive Committee. He will remain focused on client management, while helping develop new business opportunities, which includes Sarasin & Partners’ private equity business, Sarasin Bread Street.
Guy Matthews, Managing Partner at Sarasin & Partners, says: “Melanie has been at the very heart of the charity franchise’s success since she joined us more than a decade ago. I have every confidence she can further develop the team and the services we provide to our charity clients – even against the challenging economic backdrop we still face.
“Richard has been an integral part of Sarasin & Partners’ growth over the past two decades. During his tenure, we have seen charity AuM grow from under £1bn to more than £8bn and the team more than triple in size, while the AuM of Sarasin & Partners overall has grown considerably from £4bn to over £18bn.”
Melanie Roberts, Head of Charities at Sarasin & Partners, adds: “Markets are certainly challenging at the moment. The combination of falling asset prices and high inflation poses a tough backdrop for charities trying to preserve spending power. I look forward to supporting our clients in navigating these turbulent times and ensuring our investment and service proposition remains relevant and attractive to trustees.”
Richard Maitland, Senior Partner at Sarasin & Partners, comments: “I look forward to continue working within the charity team and with clients, while helping other areas of the partnership’s business develop over the years ahead. It has been an extraordinary journey so far, and I am confident the charity team will flourish under Melanie’s leadership.”