The Investment Team

Stephen Morant

Founder/Director

Prior to establishing Morant Wright in 1999, Stephen was a partner at Cazenove & Co. with overall responsibility for Japanese business. He joined Cazenove & Co. in 1978, becoming a partner in 1982. Between 1978 and 1984 he managed the Hong Kong office, which covered Asia generally, and returned to London in 1984 to concentrate on the Japanese business. Previously he worked as an accountant in both industry and private practice. Stephen is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and a Member of the Securities Institute.

Ian Wright

Founder/Director

Ian has over 30 years’ investment management experience. He was head of the Japanese Department at Foreign & Colonial Management from 1993 to 1999, and was previously head of the Far East Department. He was the manager (and a Director for over ten years) of the Foreign & Colonial Pacific Investment Trust, and of other Japanese and Asian Funds until he left to establish Morant Wright. He has won a number of investment awards including, in 1998, Bloomberg /Investment Week Far East Investment Trust Manager of the Year. Prior to joining Foreign & Colonial in 1981, Ian worked at Clerical Medical where he qualified as an Associate of the Institute of Actuaries, and at Buckmaster & Moore managing institutional funds.

Richard Phillips

Director

Richard joined Morant Wright in 2001 and is a director and shareholder. He has 20 years of investment management experience and prior to joining he was an Associate Director of Schroder Investment Management where he had been for five years, including three years living in Japan. Previously he has been a fund manager at National Provident Institution and at Foreign & Colonial. Richard is a graduate of the London School of Economics.

Tom Mermagen

Director

Tom joined Morant Wright in 2004 and has 20 years of investment management experience. He was a Director of Schroder Investment Management, where he had been for ten tears including four years living in Tokyo as Head of the Japanese Equity Research department. More recently, he spent two years managing Japanese and international portfolios at First State Investments. Tom gained a first class honours degree in Japanese studies at Cambridge University, qualified as an associate of the IIMR and is a member of the UK Society of Investment Professionals.

Andrew Millward

Director

Andrew was previously a Japanese equity fund manager at Henderson Global Investors, which he joined as a graduate trainee in 1997. His time at Hendersons included two years working in Tokyo. Andrew has an MA in Economics and Management from Oxford University and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. He joined Morant Wright in March 2009.

Denis Clough

Director

Denis spent 24 years at Schroder Investment Management. During this time, he spent twenty years as a Japanese equity manager both in London and Tokyo. He has a distinguished long-term performance track record. The Schroder Tokyo Fund which he managed was AAA rated. Denis has an honours degree in Economics from Cambridge University.

Nick Sinclair

Director

Nick was previously a Japanese equity analyst at Aberdeen Standard Investments in Tokyo. He joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2015 on the graduate development programme before moving to Tokyo in January 2018. He has a first class honours degree in Japanese Studies from Cambridge University and is a CFA charterholder. He joined Morant Wright in September 2019.

Karin Ri

ESG Specialist

Karin joined Morant Wright in 2024 as the firm’s ESG and stewardship specialist, having previously performed similar roles at Asset Management One, Mizuho International and Hermes Investment Management. She has a Masters degree in Economics from Osaka University, an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, as well as being a Chartered Financial Analyst. She is fluent in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese.

Alasdair McKerrell

Director

Alasdair is responsible for Operations, Compliance and Risk functions at Morant Wright. He has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Before his appointment to Morant Wright, Alasdair spent 19 years with Cazenove & Co (latterly JP Morgan Cazenove) where he was a partner and Global Head of Compliance and a director of Cazenove’s fund management business. In his earlier career, Alasdair worked in the UK Civil Service, including a spell in Ministerial Private Office. He holds an MA from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and a PhD from the University of Bristol.

Ranny Chandra

Director

Ranny joined Morant Wright’s Operations team in 2007. She holds a Meng in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College and joined Morant Wright as a graduate.

Hannah James

Hannah joined Morant Wright’s Operations team in 2007 after finishing secretarial college.

Sarah Brouder

Sarah joined Morant Wright’s Operations team in February 2019 and was previously a Finance Executive at Babson Capital Management (now Barings). Prior to that she worked at HSBC and Bank of New York Mellon in operational roles. Sarah holds a BSc degree in Geography from the University of Southampton and has completed the Investment Operations and Investment Management Certificates.