​Who we are » ​Meet the Team

Meet the Team

  • Keith Ashworth-Lord

    CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER 

    FUND MANAGER

    Keith graduated with a degree in Astrophysics, followed by a postgraduate Master's degree in Management Studies from Imperial College, London. His career spans over 35 years in equity capital markets, working in company investment analysis, corporate finance and fund management.

    Keith is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, having formerly been an individual member of the Stock Exchange, and he holds the Investment Management Certificate of the United Kingdom Society of Investment Professionals.

    Keith was one of the leading lights responsible for research and writing the well-regarded monthly publication Analyst between 1997 and 2008. It was in this role that he became acquainted with the group of US value investors colloquially known as ‘the Buffettologists’. For five years prior to founding Sanford DeLand Asset Management in 2010, in his role as a self-employed consultant to a variety of stockbroking, fund management and pension fund clients, he won four Thomson-Reuters StarMine stock-picking awards.

     

  • Eric Burns

    CHIEF ANALYST 

    FUND MANAGER

    Eric began his investment career in 1995 at an independent equity research house. He originally worked with Keith Ashworth Lord from 2007 to 2010 when both were analysts at the institutional broking division of WH Ireland plc where he was voted Analyst of the Year at the 2015 UK SmallCap Awards. 

    Eric rejoined Keith at SDL in 2020 to lead the stock research process for the UK Buffettology and Free Spirit Funds and was subsequently appointed Lead Manager of the Free Spirit Fund in November 2023 and Deputy Manager of the Buffettology Fund in August 2024. He is a Chartered Fellow of the CISI and sits on the Yorkshire & North East Regional Advisory Group of the London Stock Exchange.

  • Rex Orton

    Board Chairman

    Rex was appointed Chairman of the Sanford DeLand (SDL) board in January 2019. He has been a shareholder of SDL since foundation and an investor in the Buffettology Fund since inception.

    Rex is Chief Financial Officer of Foster & Freeman Ltd, a designer and manufacturer of forensic investigation equipment.

    Rex was also Financial Director at Latchways plc for 17 years. During his tenure, the business grew its turnover substantially to £40m and was eventually sold to MSA Safety Inc. for 15x EBIT in 2015.

  • Alex Brotherston

    Chief Executive Officer

    Alex was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sanford DeLand in 2019. 

    Prior to that he was at Franklin Templeton, formerly Rensburg Fund Managers. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the investment industry.

  • David Beggs

    Investment Analyst 

    FUND MANAGER

    David started his career as an Investment Analyst at Castlefield Investment Partners, specialising in UK equities. In 2020, he joined Sanford DeLand, initially as an Investment Analyst, before subsequently being appointed as Co-Manager and then Deputy Manager of the Free Spirit Fund. He is also a Co-Manager of the Buffettology Fund. 

    David holds a First Class Degree in Economics from Newcastle University and is a CFA Charterholder. He also holds the CFA UK Investment Management Certificate and the CISI Investment Advice Diploma.

     

  • Chloe Smith

    Investment Analyst

    FUND MANAGER

    Chloe graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Law and a Master’s degree in International Financial Analysis. She began her investment career at Castlefield Investment Partners, where she worked as an Investment Analyst covering UK and European equities. During her time at Castlefield, she developed a strong grounding in ESG-integrated research and was also involved in elements of portfolio management. She subsequently joined Brown Shipley as a Portfolio Manager before joining Sanford DeLand in October 2021, initially as an Investment Analyst and now is co-Manager on the Buffettology and Free Spirit Funds. Chloe holds the Level 4 CISI Investment Advice Diploma, the Level 4 Certificate in Investment Management, and CFA UK Investment Management Certificate.

  • John O'Donnell

    COMPLIANCE OFFICER AND MLRO

    John joined Sanford DeLand in January 2021 as Compliance Officer & MLRO.

    John has more than 35 years’ experience in the investment industry, in compliance functions including Laurence Keen, Rathbones and BWD Rensburg.

  • Deanne Fleming

    Finance & HR Executive

    Deanne joined Sanford DeLand in January 2020 as the Executive Assistant to the CIO and CEO becoming Finance & HR Executive in April 2022.

    Deanne has over 20 years’ back and middle office management experience, including at WH Ireland and TD Waterhouse.

  • Sanjit Lall

    Business Support Executive

    Sanjit joined Sanford DeLand in April 2022 as Business Support Executive, bringing over 10 years of fund administration & compliance experience.

    He has a degree in Accounting and Finance and is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI).