Seafarer®

Pursuing Lasting Progress in Emerging Markets®

Team

Nicholas Borst, CFA

Vice President and Director of China Research

Nicholas joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2018. He is Vice President and Director of China Research. Prior to joining Seafarer, Nicholas was a senior analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco covering financial and economic developments in Greater China. Previously, he was the China Program Manager and a research associate at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Nicholas has also worked as an analyst at the World Bank.

Nicholas’ research and commentary has been featured in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Bloomberg, and South China Morning Post. Nicholas was a 2021-2023 Public Intellectuals Program Fellow at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and has testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on multiple occasions.

Nicholas holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Arizona and a Master’s degree in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

Brent Clayton, CFA

Co-Portfolio Manager

Brent joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2018 and is a Co-Manager of the Seafarer Overseas Value Fund. Prior to joining Seafarer, Brent served as Co-Portfolio Manager, Head of Fundamental Research, and Equity Analyst at LR Global Partners, an investment firm focused on value-based investing in frontier and emerging markets.

Brent holds an A.B. with Honors in Government from Dartmouth College. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

Chris Clayton

Director of Trading

Chris joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2016 and is the Director of Trading.  Prior to joining Seafarer, Chris worked on the trading desk at Tora Trading Services.  Previously, he was based in Hong Kong as managing director and trader for Evolution Capital Management, an Asia-Pacific focused multi-strategy hedge fund.  Chris began his career in Bangkok as a Thai equity analyst with Macquarie Securities. 

Chris holds an A.B. in Philosophy from Harvard College.

Rohan Dalal

Senior Analyst

Rohan joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2023 and is a senior analyst on the investment team. Prior to joining Seafarer, he served as a research analyst at Grandeur Peak Global Advisors, specializing in Central Asian equities. Previously, Rohan led research coverage of small- and mid-sized healthcare companies at a brokerage firm in India.

Rohan holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Richmond and is fluent in Hindi.

Daniel Duncan, CIMA

Managing Director, Business Development and Client Services

Daniel joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2014 and is responsible for business development and client services. Prior to joining Seafarer, Daniel was a Vice President, Relationship Manager at Matthews International Capital Management, adviser to the Matthews Asia Funds. At Matthews he led business development initiatives, primarily focusing on broker-dealer firm clients. Previously, Daniel was an Account Specialist at Janus Capital Group, supporting the firm’s sales efforts through financial institutions, and a Financial Consultant with CUNA Mutual Group. He began his career in finance as a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley.

Daniel received a B.S. in Hospitality Management from Texas Tech University and an International M.B.A. from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. He is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA).

Paul Espinosa, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Paul joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2014. He is the Lead Portfolio Manager of the Seafarer Overseas Value Fund and a Lead Manager of the Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income Fund.

Paul’s career has focused on equity analysis in global emerging markets. Previously, he was a London-based equity research analyst at Legg Mason, where he was responsible for stock selection in the industrial and consumer sectors. His portfolio responsibilities included core, small cap, and market-neutral strategies among others. Prior to joining Legg Mason, Paul performed the same function with the same team at Citigroup Asset Management and J.P. Morgan Investment Management in New York. He began his career as a corporate finance analyst at Salomon Brothers’ Financial Institutions Group.

Paul holds an A.B. in Economics with Honors from Brown University. He is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

Andrew Foster

Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager

Andrew founded Seafarer Capital Partners in 2011. He is the Chief Investment Officer, a Lead Portfolio Manager of the Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income Fund, and a Co-Manager of the Seafarer Overseas Value Fund.

Prior to founding Seafarer, Andrew worked at Matthews International Capital Management, adviser to the Matthews Asia Funds. While there, he served in a number of roles, including Portfolio Manager, Director of Research and Acting Chief Investment Officer. Andrew was responsible for the management of emerging market assets in both public mutual funds and private accounts, including a sub-advisory relationship for Bank of Montreal’s Asian Growth and Income Fund.

Andrew began his career in emerging markets in 1996, when he worked as a management consultant with A.T. Kearney, based in Singapore.

Andrew holds an A.B. in Public Policy and a secondary degree in Economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.

Michelle Foster

Chief Executive Officer

Michelle founded Seafarer Capital Partners in 2011 and serves as CEO. Previously, she was a member of the investment advisory team at Litman Gregory Asset Management, an independent wealth management firm. Prior to joining Litman Gregory, Michelle was a Principal in the iShares division of Barclays Global Investors (now known as Blackrock). While there, she was responsible for the development of exchange traded funds in asset classes such as international equity, emerging markets equity, and fixed income. Michelle began her career as an investment banking analyst at J.P. Morgan.

Michelle holds an A.B. in Economics with Honors from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Steve Fry, CIMA

Relationship Manager, Business Development and Client Services

Steve joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2023 and is responsible for business development and client services. Prior to joining Seafarer, Steve was a Senior Investment Specialist for The Motley Fool. Previously, he was Director of Analyst Relations/National Accounts for USAA Investments and Executive Director of the Analyst Relations Group at Janus Capital Group. In these roles Steve led business development initiatives and relationship management with a focus on home offices, research analysts, and consultants.

Steve received a B.B.A. in Finance from University of Houston and an M.B.A. from Lewis University. He is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) through the Investments and Wealth Institute.

Tommy Held

Senior Communications Manager

Tommy joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2019 and serves as Senior Communications Manager. Prior to joining Seafarer, Tommy researched Asian financial and economic developments at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Previously, he worked as an organizer on political campaigns and taught English for four years in India and China.

Tommy holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy and a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Kate Jaquet

Co-Portfolio Manager

Kate joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2011. She is a Co-Manager of the Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income Fund. Before Kate joined Seafarer, her career focused on credit analysis in emerging and developed markets. Most recently, she was a senior research analyst in the high yield group at Seneca Capital Management. While there, Kate covered the metals and mining, oil and gas, and utilities industries as well as emerging market sovereign and corporate issuers. Prior to joining Seneca, she worked at Credit Suisse First Boston, first as an investment banking analyst in the Latin America group, and later as a research analyst covering bond issuers in Latin America and Asia. Kate began her career as an economic policy researcher for the Adam Smith Institute in London.

Kate holds a B.Sc. with Honors in Economics and Government and a M.Sc. in Economics and Public Policy, both from the London School of Economics.

Kevin Jo

Trader

Kevin joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2015 and is a Trader. Kevin’s career has focused on trading and operations. Prior to joining Seafarer, he was an Associate in fixed income trading operations at Sutter Securities. Previously, Kevin worked as a Trading Analyst for a registered investment adviser and an investment bank.

Kevin received a B.S. in Business Administration from San Jose State University and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University.

Kevin Lammert, CPA

Chief Financial Officer

Kevin joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2016 and is the Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Seafarer, Kevin was the Chief Financial Officer of Fiduciary Research and Consulting, an investment management firm. His previous financial services experience includes Avera Global Partners, a global long/short hedge fund where he served as Chief Financial Officer, and TriplePoint Capital, a venture leasing company. Kevin began his career in accounting in the audit department of Arthur Andersen and Company in 1981.

Kevin holds a B.S. in Accounting from the Wharton School of Business and an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

David Lenik

Chief Compliance Officer and Fund Administration Manager

David joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2016 and is the Chief Compliance Officer and Fund Administration Manager. Prior to joining Seafarer, David was a Managing Director in the Compliance and Legal Services department at Charles Schwab, where he was responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of compliance controls for affiliated institutional investment advisors and Schwab Funds. Previously, he was a Compliance Director at BlackRock and Barclays Global Investors, where he focused on the compliance programs for ETFs, mutual funds and ERISA regulated collective trust funds. David held fund administration and compliance roles at LGT Asset Management and began his financial services career at Wells Fargo.

David received a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz and studied finance and economics at Golden Gate University.

Alex Lusherovich

Managing Director, Trading and Operations

Alex joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2013 and is responsible for trading and operations. Prior to joining Seafarer, Alex worked for Tora Trading Services in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for electronic trade execution, trading operations and product development. Previously, he was an investment analyst for a long-short equity fund and an operations analyst for a small-cap investment manager.

Alex holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

Joel Sebagala

Analyst

Joel joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2023 and is an analyst on the investment team. Prior to joining Seafarer, Joel served as a Senior Portfolio Analyst at Loomis, Sayles & Company, where he analyzed performance attribution for fixed income strategies. Previously, he worked as a Pricing Specialist at Brown Brothers Harriman.

Joel holds a B.A in Economics from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Lydia So, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Lydia joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2022. She is a Lead Manager of the Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income Fund.

Lydia’s career has focused on equity research and portfolio management in emerging markets. Prior to joining Seafarer, she was a portfolio manager at Rondure Global Advisors. Before Rondure, Lydia spent 15 years at Matthews International Capital Management, adviser to the Matthews Asia Funds, where she built and led a team focused on growth-oriented strategies in emerging Asia. While there, she launched and was the Lead Portfolio Manager of the Matthews Asia Small Companies Fund (known now as the Matthews Emerging Markets Small Companies Fund) from its inception in 2008 to 2020. Lydia was also a Co-Portfolio Manager of the Matthews Asia Science and Technology Fund (known now as the Matthews Asia Innovators Fund) from 2008 to 2017 and Co-Portfolio Manager of the Matthews China Small Companies Fund from 2019 to 2020.

Prior to joining Matthews, Lydia was a portfolio associate at Dresdner RCM Global Investors. She began her career in the investment industry at Kochis Fitz Wealth Management.

Lydia holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Davis. She is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.

Natalia Urbanek

National Accounts Manager, Business Development and Client Services

Natalia joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2016 and serves as National Accounts Manager. Natalia’s career has focused on the mutual fund industry and client service. Prior to joining Seafarer, she was a Senior Representative in global investment operations at Northern Trust. Natalia began her career as a fund accountant in mutual fund valuation at Northern Trust.

Natalia received a B.S. in Finance and Management from DePaul University.

Hannah Woolley

Business Manager

Hannah joined Seafarer Capital Partners in 2022 and is a Business Manager.

Prior to joining Seafarer, Hannah worked as administrative lead at Wellington Management, where her responsibilities included managing the regional executive assistants and supporting the director of the western region.

Hannah holds a B.A. in Government from Hamilton College.

Daniel Duncan, Michelle Foster, Steve Fry, David Lenik, and Natalia Urbanek are Registered Representatives of ALPS Distributors, Inc.