Simon Hopkins

CEO & Founder

Milltrust International Group

Simon has been a distinguished figure in the international investment management industry for over three decades. He began his career at S.G. Warburg and UBS, and occupied senior positions at HSBC James Capel and Nomura. Subsequently, he founded, developed, and exited an award-winning alternatives investment advisory, Fortune Group, which was acquired by LSE-listed Close Brothers Group. In 2010, Simon established sustainability-focussed Milltrust International in Singapore, with its mantra of “Sustainable Prosperity”. It operates an award-winning, FCA authorised, investment platform concentrating on three key secular themes: the evolution of Emerging Markets, with long-term ESG focussed investments across 32 developing countries, Agricultural Investments, and Science & Technological Innovation. Since 2016, the Singapore-based Venture Fund Management Company, Milltrust Ventures, a Milltrust affiliate regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, has made over 80 successful private investments focussed principally on the themes of Health, Food and Planet. The public equity funds managed by the group include the multi award-winning Global Emerging Markets Fund range and Climate Impact Asia Fund. Simon acts as an adviser to the board and was previously an investment manager at CerraCap Ventures, an early-stage technology investor based in California. He is chairman of the board of Swallowcourt Holdings, a UK social care operator, and until 2022, was a founding director of Roslin Technologies (University of Edinburgh). Simon was also a founding director of Novare Fund Manager, one of the largest indigenous African asset management firms, and CITIC Investment Partners’ One Belt One Road Fund. Today, he resides in Singapore where he chairs the global multi-family office East West Private Wealth, and Milltrust International Group. He is a member of NUS Medicine International Council, Singapore, where he contributes to the Kickstart investment committee, aiding and mentoring breakthrough science. He earned his degree with honours from the University of Bristol’s Faculty of Law in 1986, and in 2017, Simon completed the FT Non-Executive Director Diploma in Hong Kong.