Meet the Hardman & Co team
The Hardman & Co team comprises specialists across oil and gas, mining, technology, media telecoms, engineering, financial services, healthcare, support services, retail, property, pubs, breweries and leisure.
Roger Hardman
Roger
Hardman founded Hardman & Co after spending 11 years as head of Small
Company Research at Hong Kong Bank James Capel. He realised that the golden
age of investment coverage of small companies in the conventional stockbroking
environment was drawing to a close. Another way had to be discovered in
order to provide investment managers with much needed research on companies
with a sub £500m market cap.
He began his career in journalism, editing the Mining World and the Investors Guardian. At the Sunday Times his work led to the investigation by Parliamentary Select Committees of the brain drain of British scientists to work abroad, and to abuses in company pension schemes, this latter investigation led to a change in the law, strengthening employee pension rights. He also unsuccessfully campaigned against the safety risks in Roll-On Roll-Off ferries two years before the Zeebrugge disaster. Later, when City Editor of Financial Weekly, he came top of the newspaper share tipster league table for two consecutive years.
At Hong Kong Bank James Capel, he and his team were rated highly in the Greenwich and Extel surveys. His team pioneered the stockbroking research analysis of shares from an environmental viewpoint with publication of 'The Green Book', and helped over 20 companies to a stock exchange listing.
When not researching, he enjoys cycling (Lands End-John O'Groats, Prague-Venice), mountain bike racing, long distance running, and occasionally canoeing.
Roger can be contacted on 020 7929 3399 or by email by clicking
Stephen Thomas
Stephen joined from Teathers. He is a highly-experienced analyst, with a broad range of experience. He has been a small/mid-cap analyst since 1993, initially at Rathbones and then at Teathers. Covering, primarily, corporate stocks, he has focused mainly, but not exclusively, on companies in the services and financial sectors. At Rathbones, he was also a member of the corporate finance team. His earlier Stock Exchange career was as an analyst in the oil sector, with the gas and water sectors being added at privatisation.
Post university, he began his career with a brief spell as a retail banker; it has also included experience in accountancy and insolvency.
Outside the office, his interests include music, walking — he has reached the Pyrenees on a walk to Compostella that he joined in Saumur — and gardening. He is also an active member of the community at St Albans Cathedral.
Stephen can be contacted on 020 7929 3399 or by email by clicking
Sonia Kaur
Sonia's background is in financial journalism, where she has worked for some of the UK's leading financial websites writing comprehensive investment commentary on small-cap stocks and reporting on global stock market developments. She took her Level 1 CFA exams while working as an economic analyst for Deloitte & Touche and joined Hardman & Co in March 2003.
In her spare time, Sonia takes a keen interest in alternative therapies such as homeopathy and aromotherapy and is one assessment away from becoming a qualified practitioner of the Bach Flower Remedies. She also enjoys practising yoga and the Indonesian martial art form, Serak.
Sonia can be contacted on 020 7929 3399 or by email by clicking
Rae Ellingham
Rae joined Hardman & Co in 2006 from the Bank of New Zealand's Investment Management team where she was employed in equities research and funds management. Holding a Masters degree in Commerce and Management with First Class Honours she brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to the team from her coverage of companies across a broad range of industries. She is currently focused for Hardman & Co on the property, healthcare and retail sectors.
She has an interest in contemporary art of which she has an eclectic collection, is a science fiction/fantasy buff and is currently studying the German language. Rae has an interest in her genealogy and has traced her ancestors back to Bedfordshire in 1729 - one of the reasons for relocating to the UK.
Rae can be contacted on 020 7929 3399 or by email by clicking
Mark Parfitt
Mark joined the firm in November 2003 as a qualified geologist who has maintained an active trading interest in the stockmarket. Having gained a joint honours degree in Geology and Chemistry he continued to obtain a Masters degree in Petroleum Geochemistry. Within the firm, his research principally covers the energy and energy services sectors though his interests extend to the wider area encompassing emergent technologies related to future energy demands. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London (FGS), an associate member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (AMRCS) and a member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB).
In his spare time, Mark can occasionally be found wandering Torridon or Knoydart, abseiling from large buildings or pursuing that elusive first edition.
Mark can
be contacted on 020 7929 3399 or by email by clicking
Ian Falconer
Ian joined the company at the start of 2007. He gained a first degree in Environmental & Resource Geology from Manchester University and a Masters in Mining Geology from Camborne School of Mines. He has first hand experience of mining operations covering alumina to zircon, managing open pit operations, and several years experience working offshore in the oil industry as a geologist. His experience working overseas is complemented by Fellowship of the Geological Society of London (FGS) where he actively participates. He has recently gained a second Masters degree, from The University of Exeter, in Energy Policy and Sustainability. He will be concentrating on the mining sector and has a special interest in the shifting natural resource requirements implied by evolving energy policies around the world.
Ian's holidays involve surf or snow, when and if they are available. He is a governing member of the RNLI and has a strong interest in coastal safety. In his spare time he is also undertaking a part-time doctorate examining information flow and the nature of influence in online news media and between citizen journalists.
Ian can be contacted on 020 7929 3399 or by email by clicking
Yingheng Chen
Yingheng has an economics degree from the London School of Economics, and has passed the Level 2 Chartered Financial Analyst qualification. She joined Hardman & Co from The Agricultural Bank of China. She plays Freestyle Chess internationally at competition level. She is also a keen Ten Pin Bowling player. She is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin and has a thorough understanding of the Chinese financial and business markets as well as of those in the UK.
Laura Mitchell
Laura is the office manager, and is responsible for systems, bill payments, invoicing and collections. She joined Hardman & Co after having previously worked in a similar role in other industries. Her interests are dancing, cycling, snorkelling and her grandchild.
