Own the world, not a country
Portfolios span developed and emerging markets across equities, bonds and real assets, so no single economy decides the outcome for a family's grandchildren.
Multi-asset investment management · Edinburgh
Patient capital for families and foundations that think in decades.
Ashgrove Capital Partners manages diversified portfolios for about a hundred families, charities and endowments. We hold fewer positions than most managers, trade less than our peers, and write to every client each quarter in plain sentences about what we did and what we got wrong.
Capital is at risk. Past performance does not predict future results.
The firm in figures (sample data)
- Assets under management
- £3.4bn
- Client relationships
- 104
- Annual portfolio turnover on average
- 18%
- Average client tenure
- 16 years
Custody, audit and administration
- Dunmore Custody
- Linnet & Pike Audit
- Forth Fund Services
- Saltire Legal
- Harbourside Trustees
A deliberately short list of beliefs
We hold a small number of convictions and test them against evidence every quarter. When the evidence changes, we say so in writing.
Portfolio · Growth mandate
Global equities 58%
Investment-grade bonds 27%
Real assets 9%
Cash 6%
Drift vs target0.8 pts
Know what you own
Every holding has a one-page memo explaining why it is there, what would make us sell, and what it does to the portfolio's risk.
Cost is a return
Our fee is flat and published. We use low-cost building blocks wherever skill adds nothing, and we do not accept rebates from fund houses.
Mandate risk bands
| Mandate | Equity range | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Preservation | 10–25% | Quarterly |
| Balanced | 35–55% | Quarterly |
| Growth | 50–70% | Semi-annual |
| Endowment | 55–75% | Quarterly |
| Income | 20–40% | Monthly |
Risk in bands, not guesses
Each mandate has an agreed equity range and drawdown tolerance, reviewed with trustees or family members and recorded in a policy statement.
Governance that survives people
Investment decisions are made by committee, minuted and archived, so a retirement or a new trustee never unravels the way a portfolio is run.
Mandates we run
Sort by objective or minimum size. Figures are sample numbers for a fictional firm; objectives are aspirations, not promises.
| Preservation | 2 % | 10–25% | 2 £m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | 2 % | 20–40% | 2 £m |
| Balanced | 3 % | 35–55% | 3 £m |
| Growth | 4 % | 50–70% | 3 £m |
| Endowment | 5 % | 55–75% | 5 £m |
How the firm has changed its mind
We publish the decisions we reversed alongside the ones we kept, because clients should see how we behave when we are wrong.
- 2009
Founded in a borrowed office
Three partners leave a large asset manager with one client, a handful of principles and a rule that fees never depend on trading volume.
- 2013
First charity mandate
A Highland education trust asks for an ethical policy, and the committee process that still governs every decision is born.
- 2020
Cash held before the fall
Tripwires built into the policy statement raised cash modestly in February, and the portfolio rebuilt equity exposure in stages.
- 2024
Real assets sleeve rebuilt
Infrastructure holdings were consolidated into fewer, better-understood positions after a review found overlapping risks.
The partners
Every client meets all three partners in their first year, and one of them reads every quarterly letter before it goes out.
- Isla DrummondChief investment officer
- Callum FraserHead of client relationships
- Aarav MehtaRisk and operations
Questions from trustees and families
What is the minimum relationship?
Two million pounds for a single mandate. Smaller family groups sometimes pool assets with a trusted adviser, and we can discuss that during an introduction.
Do you hold our assets?
No. Assets sit with an independent custodian in your name. We have discretion to trade, and you see every position in real time through the custodian's portal.
How do you treat sustainability?
Each client chooses exclusions and engagement priorities in the policy statement. We report on those choices in the same quarterly letter as performance.
How do fees work?
A single fee on assets, tiered by size, covers management, reporting and committee time. We charge nothing for trades and accept no commissions.
Begin with an introduction, not a pitch.
Meet a partner for an hour at our Edinburgh office or over video. We will ask a lot of questions and leave the slides at home.
Visit us in Edinburgh
7 Rutland Mews, Edinburgh EH3 (fictional address)
- Mon–Fri 8:30–17:30
- Meetings by appointment
+44 131 496 0178