Mirabaud Asset Management is expanding its active equity management capabilities with the appointment of Will Ballard and Giles Parkinson as global equity portfolio managers.
Both will join on Sept. 1, 2026, based in London and reporting to Andrew Lake, chief investment officer. Their mandate goes beyond managing existing products: they will build a new global equity strategy together, set to launch Oct. 1, 2026, and positioned as a core global equity allocation within Mirabaud's equity lineup.
Ballard arrives from Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, where he headed the equity team and oversaw equity strategies with approximately £15 billion in assets. His prior experience includes roles as head of emerging market equities at Aviva Investors, as well as positions at the Royal Bank of Canada and Henderson Global Investors.
Parkinson comes from TrinityBridge, formerly Close Brothers Asset Management, where he was head of equities and managed equity and multi-asset strategies totaling around £6 billion. He also previously worked at Aviva Investors, where he launched the Global Equity Endurance Strategy in 2016.
The two portfolio managers are reuniting after working together at Aviva Investors, where Mirabaud said they developed a shared investment philosophy that will underpin the new strategy.
The approach is benchmark-oriented, with active risk driven primarily through individual stock selection rather than unintended exposure to specific sectors, countries, or investment styles. The focus is on high-quality companies with durable competitive advantages and improving fundamentals, reflecting the view that active returns should come mainly from company selection rather than inadvertent macro positioning.
Umberto Boccato, CEO of Mirabaud Asset Management, said the hires strengthen the existing equity platform and that both managers bring extensive institutional experience aligned with Mirabaud's long-term, active approach.
Parkinson noted that the structure of global equity markets has changed, pointing to increased index concentration and higher idiosyncratic volatility within indices. The new strategy is designed to respond to those shifts and meet current investor needs, he said.
Ballard called Mirabaud's independence and long-term orientation the right platform for the approach, adding the goal is to invest in strong companies, take the right risks and maintain discipline.
Mirabaud Asset Management operates across fixed income, equities and multi-asset, with offices in Geneva, Zurich, London, Paris, Madrid and Milan. The wider Mirabaud Group employs around 700 people.
