Hedge fund hires British Earl as partner

Never let it be said that financial services careers in the City are the preserve of the British elite – but a London hedge fund has just hired an Earl.

William De La Warr, also known as Lord or Earl De La Warr, has just joined hedge fund Toscafund Asset Management as a partner according to regulatory filings.

In fairness, he does have 35 years’ experience in the financial sector, most recently having worked at Shore Capital’s natural resources team. He joined Toscafund earlier this month.

Lord and Lady De La Warr preside over the Buckhurst Estate in East Sussex, most famous for being the location of 100 Acre Wood – home to A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh. It’s also a working farm and produces a range of organic meat as well as breeding Shetland Ponies.

Earl De La Warr is the third recruit at Toscafund this month. Others include Judith McMath, who joined as a corporate development director for its Manchester-based £110m Tosca Debt Fund. The fund was launched in September and now has six investment professionals led by Gary Davison, who was previously head of EY’s UK debt advisory business.

Other notables in the City include Leander Cadbury, the Eton-educated heir to the chocolate fortune, who joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst last April.