Davies (pictured) reports to Nigel Kennett, lead manager of the AlphaGen EtaCas Fund.

Davies has amassed over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry with 15 years focused on consumer-related research. He joins from Exista UK, where as director of research he led a UK-based buy-side equity research department for an Icelandic investment company.

Prior to this Davies spent ten years at JP Morgan Securities working as the head of the European beverages research team where he featured highly in the Institutional Investor and Extel rankings in addition to several other key investment surveys.

In his new role, Davies will be extensively involved in generating investment ideas for the AlphaGen EtaCas Fund, with a particular emphasis on global consumer stocks, while providing fund management support.

'The AlphaGen EtaCas Fund has been a strong performer since its launch in 2005, producing a 7.4 per cent net return during last year's extreme economic backdrop, in contrast to the hedge fund industry and major global equity markets,' Kennett says. 'With Nigel's strong analytical skill set and market experience we are confident he will be a valuable addition to the team.'