James started his career at Quilter & Co in 1998 before joining Laing & Cruickshank Investment Management in 2003 as an Associate Director. In 2006, He helped establish Cheviot Asset Management, where he made Partner in 2010. James was a founding partner at Vermeer Partners in 2019 managing investment portfolios for individuals, trusts, companies, charities and pensions. He graduated from Queen Mary University of London with a BSc (Hons) in Biology and is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment. In 2015, he was part of an expedition to the Magnetic North Pole. In doing so, he raised £97,000 for Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby, and set a Guinness World Record for playing the ‘most northerly rugby match in history’. James joined the firm in July 2026 following W1M’s acquisition of Vermeer Partners.
