The investment industry has paid tribute to Martin Gray, co-founder of Coram Asset Management and “best in the business” fund manager, who sadly passed away earlier this month. Coram’s James Sullivan, who worked alongside Martin (pictured) on the firm’s trio of multi-asset funds, said his “dear friend” passed after a short illness, which he dealt with in “typically great spirits”.
“We can take great comfort from the fact Martin’s legacy and our memories of him will never fade,” Sullivan said. “We will all miss him greatly and our thoughts are with his wife Brenda and his two sons, Matthew and Daniel, at this time.” Martin, 65, co-founded Coram in January 2015 with Sullivan, after a long stint at Miton.
He began his fund management career in the 1980s before joining Miton Investments, which later became Miton Asset Management, as a director and fund manager in 1995. Martin became managing director in 1997, taking responsibility for the strategy and development of the business.
“Knowing his own mind was his greatest strength. Many people who invested in
his funds benefitted from that and have lost their champion.”
Miton Group’s managing director Gervais Williams said Gray was one of the key early drivers of the Reading-based firm. “Martin led the multi-asset business for over two decades before leaving in the summer of 2014 to set up Coram.
“He built up a great following among intermediaries with his enthusiastic and tireless commitment to client service, travelling all over the UK to update his clients on his views and the positioning of his funds. He loved talking about markets and had time for everyone.”
He added that Martin most famously positioned his funds for a market setback prior to the global financial crisis. As a result, his Miton Special Situations portfolio returned 7% during 2008 against a market that fell 28%. His Strategic portfolio was up even more, rising 16%.
“The Special Situations portfolio returned 315% from launch to when Martin left Miton in 2014. By way of comparison, the FTSE 100 index returned 130%,” Williams added.
“Outside of work, he loved nothing more than talking sport and was great company with a pint in his hand. He could talk knowledgeably about everything from cricket to horse racing through to speedway. His passing has come as a shock to us all. He will be missed.” Sam Liddle, currently sales director at Church House Investment Management who worked with Martin at Miton, said the manager was among the “best in the business”.
“Since I heard the news, I have answered emails and taken so many calls from people/friends who knew Martin, and all included the words: ‘he was such a lovely bloke’.
“As a fund manager, he was among the best in the business; he knew his own mind and was never afraid to stand apart from the crowd. I have never known anyone who had such unshakeable conviction and, invariably, he was right.
“Plenty of fund managers would share the same views as Martin but very few would stand by them when faced with criticism and often, overwhelming counter-opinion.
“Knowing his own mind was his greatest strength. Many people who invested in his funds benefitted from that and have lost their champion.”
Footnote from MitonOptimal: Martin will be sadly missed by all the staff of the MitonOptimal Group, with whom he has had a long-standing friendship and business relationship, successfully managing the MitonOptimal Special Situations Fund for a number of years. Martin has been a guest speaker at many of our events and his friendship, opinions and market views will be missed.
[Source: Investment Week – written by Natalie Kenway – May 23, 2016]
