The Edinburgh-headquartered asset manager Kames Capital has bolstered its international equities team with the addition of Carolyn Bell.

The Edinburgh-headquartered asset manager Kames Capital has bolstered its international equities team with the addition of Carolyn Bell.

Bell joins Kames as an investment manager with responsibility for idea generation and portfolio management across North American equities. Based in Edinburgh, she will report to Kames’ head of North American equities, Marcus Chandler.

She has five years investment experience, having previously worked as an investment analyst at Baillie Gifford, where latterly she was responsible for researching North American equities with particular focus on the technology and energy sectors. Prior to this she analysed Asian equities and UK equities.

In addition, the firm also announced that director of property investment David Wise has been appointed the new chairman of the Association of Real Estate Funds. AREF is the representative body for the UK unlisted commercial real estate funds and has a membership of 78 funds, collectively managing over £35 billion of net assets.

“I am keen to raise awareness of some of the excellent work that AREF has been quietly doing to assist the development of the property investment fund market,” said Wise.

Wise joined Kames Capital in October 2007 and is currently responsible for the firm's direct property investment team and for the four direct funds run by the team. He will also be responsible for Kames’ new property authorised investment fund which launches in the first quarter of 2014, the firm said. The fund will be the first retail offering issued by Kames.

Kames Capital is a specialist investment management company with £53 billion ($87.4 billion) assets under management as at 30 September 2013.