Specialist boutique KBI Global Investors (KBIGI) has appointed Craig Bonthron as Senior Portfolio Manager – Natural Resources Equity Strategies. Bonthron will report to Colm O’Connor, Head of Portfolio Management – Natural Resources Equity Strategies, and work across the broader natural resources suite. Bonthron previously worked at the Dublin-based manager as a portfolio manager on the firm’s water strategy from 2008-2010, with responsibilities across its alternative energy, climate change and agribusiness strategies. Bonthron has managed positive impact funds most of his career, bringing more than two decades of investment management experience as a global equity investor to his new role. He was most recently with Artemis Investment Management as part of the impact equities team, and for the previous six years an investment manager with Kames Capital, managing global equity and sustainability strategies. In the three years prior, Bonthron held investment manager and director positions with Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. Bonthron is the fourth appointment to KBIGI’s Natural Resources Equity Strategies team – which comprises eight portfolio managers and three analysts – in recent years. Already in 2024, the team has seen Ben Cooke appointed as a Portfolio Manager, Jeanne Chow Collins as ESG and Engagement Analyst, and Robert Fullam as an Equity Analyst. O’Connor said Bonthron’s experience in areas like healthcare and technology would be valuable to KBIGI. “Craig will be bringing complementary skills and experience to the team, adding further depth to our expertise. His appointment – and indeed those made throughout the year – underline our deep commitment to our clients, this growing area of the market, our commitment to sustainable investing, and our plan for growth,” he said. KBIGI is a unit of French asset manager Amundi and launched its first clean energy and water strategies in 2000.
