Founded in 1985, Asset Value Investors (AVI) was established to take over the management of one of London’s oldest listed investment companies, then known as The British Empire Trust. Today, we manage three distinct investment strategies: Global, Japan, and Closed-End Funds. Each strategy is guided by a bottom-up, benchmark-agnostic, and research-driven approach. We focus on identifying areas of the market prone to pricing inefficiencies and have a demonstrable track record of constructive shareholder engagement — all with a clear commitment to long-term value creation.

Smithson Investment Trust (SSON)

The Smithson Investment Trust plc. (the "Fund") investment policy is to invest in shares issued by small and mid ("SMID") sized listed or traded companies globally with a market capitalisation (at the time of initial investment) within the range of the constituents of the MSCI World SMID Index. The Fund’s approach is to be a long-term investor in its chosen stocks. It will not adopt short-term trading strategies. Accordingly, it will pursue its investment policy by investing in approximately 25 to 40 companies.

HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) is a listed investment company that provides investors with access to private company investments. Listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, HVPE sits in the FTSE 250 and has net assets of $3.9 billion and a market capitalisation of approximately £2.0 billion as at 31 January 2025. HVPE invests exclusively in HarbourVest managed funds. HarbourVest Partners is an independent, global private markets asset manager with over 43 years of experience.

Richard Hickman:

Richard Hickman joined HarbourVest in 2014 to focus on the activities of HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited (HVPE), a closed-end investment company that invests in and alongside HarbourVest-managed funds. Richard is responsible for the day-to-day management of the company.

He joined HarbourVest after seven years with 3i plc, where he progressed through a number of roles, latterly serving as a manager in the business planning and analysis group.