Two brothers separated by the Atlantic.
Scotland and the United States of America have a shared culture, history and heritage stretching back many centuries.
Scots were amongst the first settlers in North America and shaped the continent with their value and work. Trading with both settlers and Native Americans, they shaped the country of the continent.
Scots also played a majar role in American arts and politcs, as 35 out of the 46 US presidents are of Scottish descents. Major American writers, such as Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville and Margaret Mitchell , also come from a Scottish background.
But they are also great business partners. The USA is both Scotland's top international export destination and their largest inward investor. Annual exports have been worth up to £6B in recent years, with the engineering and advanced manufacturing, food and drink, financial and business services; technology, digital and media; and the energy sectors all performing strongly.
Nowadays, Scottish and Americans are still working in close collaboration, as shown by Andrew Ward and Charles Ferraz, recently joining GBAM to share business perspectives.
Bringing their experience across 5 continents
GBAM is a global organisation with boutique members across five continents. It comprises specialist asset management firms that share ideas to strengthen their presence in international markets. Ward and Ferraz have joined to add their experience into the mix across the network and increase the presence of both the Group and its constituents across the investment industry.
"We are thrilled to welcome Andrew Ward of Aubrey Capital Management and Charles Ferraz of Itaú USA Asset Management to our esteemed Group of Boutique Asset Managers. Their expertise and proven success across multiple geographies will undoubtedly enhance our community's collaborative spirit and innovation. We look forward to their valuable contributions to our Group." says Tim Warrington, GBAM Chairman.
GBAM investment professionals describe themselves as innovative craftsmen who have a creative yet focused approach to fund management with a passion for ‘doing the right thing’ for their customers. They are given the freedom to manage, are driven by performance cultures and pride themselves on the intellectual rigour they bring to asset management.
Experimentend collaborators
Andrew Ward has over eleven years of asset management experience following a 22-year career in the British Army. In 2012, Andrew Joined First State Investments from the British Army, where his last role was Commanding Officer of the Infantry Battle School.
In 2019, Ward joined Aubrey Capital Management from Stewart Investors, following a similar path by working across multiple areas of the business as Chief Operations Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Director. He was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in March 2022.
Charles Ferraz brings over twenty-six years of Brazilian and American asset management experience to GBAM, having worked in São Paulo, Miami and New York. Ferraz began his asset management journey at BankBoston in 1997. As Managing Partner, Ferraz oversaw the BankBoston Asset Management unit and managed approximately £10.3M in AUM (Assets Under Management) as of 2006.
In August 2016, Ferraz assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer at Itaú USA Asset Management in New York responsible for the operations and the growth strategy of Itaú Asset Management across the USA. Besides his executive role for Itau USA Asset Management, he is the Global Head of Solutions at Itaú Asset Management, responsible for teams based in NY, Miami and Sao Paulo.
