A London-listed investment house has appointed leadership for its inaugural forestry fund.

Gresham House has hired Richard Davidson to chair the investment committee of its forestry management subsidiary, Aitchesse. 

Davidson brings over 25 years of fund management experience. Previously, he was partner at Lansdowne Partners and manager of Morgan Stanley Investment Management's $7 billion global asset allocation fund. There, he also served as chief investment officer and chief European equity strategist. He has also held investment strategy consultant roles at Aubrey Capital Management and Rivercrest Capital.

Davidson will become the lead fund manager of the new Gresham House Forestry Fund, working alongside Aitchesse founder, Digby Guy. The fund is aimed at family office, institutional and professional investors.

“Richard has a combination of deep fund management expertise and a strong background in forestry, and I’m thrilled to welcome him to the team,” said Rupert Robinson, managing director of Gresham House Asset Management.

“Alternatives are continuing to surge in popularity and it’s not just institutional investors who are capitalising on the opportunities. Increasingly family offices and ultra-high net worth individuals are allocating more capital to differentiated and illiquid assets, including commercial forestry, and we believe that Gresham House is well placed to meet this need.”

According to an index compiled by the UK Forestry Commission, forestry investments returned on average 17.3 per cent from 2012 to 2014. Commercial forestry can qualify for inheritance tax relief if bought at least two years before the investor’s death.