Sarasin & Partners has hired Fiona O’Neill, a Fidelity International executive, as its new head of investment.
O’Neill will take on the new responsibility on 2 February 2026.
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She will oversee the firm’s thematic equity investment process, covering both equity research and stewardship activities.
The change is expected to bring more focus to portfolio managers Tom Wildgoose and Nikki Martin, as management duties within the equity team are redistributed.
Her responsibilities will include monitoring equity risk and handling investment reporting at the board level.
O’Neill will also join the Investment Strategy Group, where she will work to ensure that the group’s thematic insights are closely integrated with the equity research process and translated into actionable investment ideas.
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By GlobalDataAt Fidelity, she worked for 20 years in various senior investment capacities, latterly as head of global equity research capabilities.
In that position, she led initiatives intended to improve alpha generation across a team comprising more than 130 equity research analysts.
Her experience includes senior responsibilities in equity research, cross-asset research, and fund management, and she contributed to the team managing the Fidelity European Growth Fund, which oversaw assets of around $15bn.
She was also active on several leadership and governance committees during her tenure.
Fiona O’Neill said: “Sarasin & Partners has a strong investment philosophy, underpinned by high-conviction thematic research and a clear focus on long-term outcomes for clients.
“I look forward to working closely with the investment team to further strengthen our research capabilities, embed themes into portfolio construction and deliver market-leading investment outcomes for our clients.”
O’Neill’s appointment follows Sam Jeffries’ elevation to head of asset management last year.
Sam Jeffries commented: “The addition of Fiona significantly strengthens our investment leadership and brings greater clarity and focus to the structure of our equity team. By streamlining responsibilities, we are ensuring our portfolio managers have the time and capacity to concentrate on high-quality decision-making, while further enhancing the depth, consistency and effectiveness of our thematic equity research.”
The firm recently appointed Tom Vernon as head of private clients.
These moves are part of wider efforts to reinforce oversight across equities and multi-asset areas within Sarasin & Partners.
