Rosemary Banyard began her career with James Capel & Co where she was a senior investment analyst for 12 years before becoming a fund manager at AIB Govett. She rose to prominence and developed a reputation as one of the leading female fund managers in the UK after she joined Schroders in 1997. For almost 20 years she was known for running the acclaimed Schroder UK Smaller Companies Fund with Andy Brough, and was for many years lead manager of the award-winning Schroder Mid Cap Fund PLC as well as heading up several other segregated UK equity mandates, managing total assets of circa £1 billion.

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In 2016, she joined Sanford DeLand to launch and manage the Free Spirit Fund. The Schroder UK Mid Cap trust returned 17%* p.a. while she was manager and in her two and a half years managing money at Sanford DeLand the Free Spirit Fund returned 31%**, placing it in the top decile of the IA UK All Companies sector. She joined Downing in March 2020 to launch the VT Downing Unique Opportunities Fund.

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*Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund Plc, Annual Reports & Accounts 2015.

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** Financial Express as as 28 June 2019.

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