Like son, like father

You’ve got to wonder about City money manager Henry Thornton’s market timing.

You’ve got to wonder about City money manager Henry Thornton’s market timing. After all, this may not be the most propitious moment to launch an asset management firm, especially one that emphasizes emerging markets.

But BDT Investment Management has a few things going for it: Thornton’s track record as head of emerging markets at Colonial First State Investments, a clutch of supportive early clients and an unusually well seasoned chairman - U.K. portfolio veteran Richard Thornton, who happens to be Henry’s father.

The elder Thornton, 70, co-founded both GT Management (now part of Amvescap) and Thornton & Co. (now part of Dresdner RCM Global Investors). “He rattles our cage every now and again, and though he is not involved on a day-to-day basis, his experience is very much appreciated,” confides the younger Thornton, 37.

Open since January, value manager BDT already has some $100 million in assets, which Henry manages with partners Robert Brewis and Simon Dobson. He sees rosy prospects as emerging markets rebound. “The worrying thing about the U.S., the U.K. and some European markets is that they could fall by another 40 percent and still be regarded as expensive,” he points out. “That isn’t the case in emerging markets.”

In Henry’s case, good fundamentals presumably include his own Thornton genes. But, as Diderot observed, “In order to get as much fame as one’s father, one has to be much more able than he.” Henry has his work cut out for him.

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