PiRho Investment Consulting Ltd offers bespoke investment advice to all types of institutional clients. We aim to make investment ‘as simple as possible – but not simpler’: we don’t like complexity in portfolio structures and products – especially when it is hidden – but ultra ‘simple’ approaches, such as portfolios of equities and bonds, are often highly volatile and may be poorly suited to clients’ objectives. Traditional asset class definitions are increasingly less relevant as mainstream firms deploy hedge fund type strategies, while hedge fund managers are offering long only products; our expertise in absolute return, liability-driven and unconstrained investments is of particular value. We help trustees, boards and investment committees to understand the implications of their current strategies, frame appropriate return objectives and risk constraints, and put in place strategies and products to achieve their objectives, including advice on the appointment of a fiduciary manager for all or part of a fund.
PiRho was launched as an independent investment advisory firm by Phil Irvine and Nicola Ralston in September 2008. Since then PiRho has given bespoke advice on assets of over £7bn to pension funds, insurance companies, banks, endowments investment companies and corporates.We have advised on a variety of strategies and portfolio structures, including fiduciary management, diversified growth funds, hedge funds, other absolute return mandates, liability driven investment and specialist equity portfolios, as well as providing corporate finance advice in the investment management industry.
Directors
Contact Nicola
Direct: +44 (0)20 7399 3341
Mobile: +44 (0)7770 496 396
Email: nicola.ralston@pirho-ic.com
Nicola Ralston
Nicola is a director of PiRho Investment Consulting which she co-founded with colleague Phil Irvine. She has over thirty years investment experience as an analyst, portfolio manager and investment consultant and featured in Dow Jones Europe/Financial News' "Veterans of Finance" list in 2009. She is now a director and co-founder of PiRho Investment Consulting. Nicola spent over 20 years at Schroders, where her roles included managing the UK institutional business and Head of Investment for the Group. She was subsequently Head of Global Investment Consulting at Hewitt, and then a director of Liability Solutions. Nicola is a Fellow of CFA UK, a former Chair of CFA UK and was a Governor of CFA Institute between 2003 and 2009. She is also a director of the Edinburgh Investment Trust, and a member of the FTSE Policy Committee. She has a first class honours degree in Modern History from Somerville College, Oxford and is an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College.
Contact Phil
Direct: +44 (0)20 7399 3340
Mobile: +44 (0)7939 013 379
Email: phil.irvine@pirho-ic.com
Phil Irvine
Phil is a director of PiRho Investment Consulting which he co-founded with colleague Nicola Ralston. Between 2003 and 2008 he was Director of Advisory Services at Liability Solutions, and he headed the consultancy business assisting institutions on absolute return strategies. Phil was previously Chief Investment Officer for TriAlpha (the offshore investment arm for South African bank, ABSA), where he had responsibility for long-only as well as hedge fund products, which he joined in 1999. Prior to TriAlpha, Phil spent 15 years at the UK Life Assurance company, Colonial Mutual, where he was CIO. He has chaired the judging panel of Hedge Fund Review’s award for European Fund of Hedge Funds since 2003. Phil graduated from London School of Economics with a 2:1(Hons) degree in Economics.
Associates
Clive Lang
- Over 30 years' investment experience with firms such as Merrill Lynch (MLIM) and PanAgora, focusing on quantitative products and services
- Worked in traditional and hedge fund firms, including designing and implementing risk management systems; most recently Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Peak Partners
- BSc degree in Pure Mathematics with Statistics and Physics, London University and MSc from Kent in Statistics with Econometrics
John Creet
- Fixed income specialist with over 20 years’ experience
- Worked as a fixed income broker and Investment Manager
- First in Mathematics and Masters in Statistics from University College London; Masters in Finance from the London Business School
Jolyon Griffiths
- Chartered accountant with 20+ years’ financial experience
- Variety of financial control roles in regulated financial services
- Current roles include regulatory and financial consulting
- Degree in Chemical Engineering from Exeter University
Loukas Antonatos
- Bachelor’s degree in Economic and Regional Development, Panteion University, Athens
- BSc in Economics and Finance, University of Bath