Hargreaves' Davis joins ABI as director of investment affairs

Non-executive director at Hargreaves Lansdown Jonathan Davis will join the ABI as director of investment affairs in the new year.

Davis will take up the role in January 2011, succeeding Peter Montagnon who left the ABI to join the Financial Reporting Council earlier in the year.

He will lead a team of 12 people and will work closely with Alain Dromer, recently appointed chairman of the ABI's investment committee.

Hargreaves announced today that Davis will step down as a non-executive director of the company on 31 December 2010 to take up the ABI post.

Davis founded Independent Investor, a specialist website for private investors, and has been closely involved in capital markets for 30 years. This  included writing regular columns for the national media, most recently for the Financial Times and Spectator.

He is currently also a non-executive director at Agrifirma Services and Victoria Capital (UK), and is author of two books on investment.

According to the ABI its members have £1.6trn invested in assets, including control of 13.4% of investments in the London stock market and £200bn in government bonds.

Davis says: "The ABI's Investment Committee has long been one of the main channels of communication between company managements and their institutional investors.

"After many years of commenting in the media on the complex and fascinating behaviour of financial markets, and being involved in both start-up and established company boards, I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue this important work under the umbrella of the ABI".