Industry stalwart and former Fidelity chief investment officer Simon Fraser has died following a short illness.
Fraser rose to prominence at Fidelity International, joining the business in 1981 and eventually becoming its chief investment officer. He left the asset manager in 2008, after a 28-year career, and went on to chair several trusts, including the F&C Investment Trust and Merchants Trust.
Since April 2021, he had been the chair of Murray International trust, having joined the board as a non-executive director the year before.
The board of the Abrdn trust confirmed he had passed away, in a regulatory filing published on 10 August 2021.
“The directors of the company announce, with deep sadness, that Simon Fraser, the chairman of the company, died in the early hours of 9 August 2021 following a short illness.
“Simon joined the board in May 2020 and was appointed chairman in April 2021 and had already, in this short time, contributed significantly to the company. The directors extend their sincerest condolences to Simon’s family.”
Aside from his role at Murray International, Fraser was also the chairman of shareholder lobby group The Investor Forum.
Murray International said senior independent director David Hardie will chair the trust on an interim basis, while non-executive director Alexandra Mackesy will become senior independent director and chair the remuneration committee.
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