Hamish Buchan
Born: November 23, 1944;
Died: April 30, 2026
Hamish Buchan, who has died aged 81, was recognised as a leading adviser and manager of financial affairs and one of Scotland’s leading investment trust analysts.
He spent 30 years at the renowned Edinburgh broking firm of Wood Mackenzie, where he gained an international reputation for his analysis and research of investment trusts. He was a shrewd and canny observer of stock market trends and his analysis was always straight-forward, comprehensible and relevant. He was widely followed in financial circles in Scotland and in the City of London and will be fondly remembered as a titan of the financial sector.
Hamish Noble Buchan was born in Santiago, Chile, the younger son of Eric Buchan and Janie (née Noble). His father managed the Punta Arenas branch of Bank of London and South America, part of Lloyds Bank and his mother was a teacher in a prep school. Buchan attended Dollar Academy (1956 -1963) where he was a prominent mathematician.
He joined Scottish Widows in St Andrews Square in Edinburgh where his interest in financial affairs and the stock market was much encouraged. In 1969 he joined the rapidly expanding firm of Wood Mackenzie in Queen Street which, under the inspired management of the firm’s senior partner, John Chiene, had built a healthy reputation for advice on the burgeoning North Sea oil business and the companies operating out of Aberdeen. The firm had established an international reputation and in 1979 Buchan was made a partner of the firm and chairman of the group’s Scottish operations.
“During the 1970s,” he said, “we were on a bit of a roll. The whole firm had a dynamism about it, and you just felt you were getting somewhere. It was a very exciting era, a fantastic time to be in that firm.”
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Wood Mackenzie was much courted by large banks and London brokers who viewed their analytical expertise and institutional connections as a valuable asset. The new City regulations basically eliminated fixed commissions and allowed firms to act as both brokers and market makers. Wood Mackenzie was sold in 1986 to the London merchant bank Hill Samuel.
During Buchan’s time at Wood Mackenzie he forged a strong partnership with his colleague Robin Angus. Their quarterly reviews were vital reading in the leading finance houses worldwide and the high quality of their research set a high standard. Buchan and Angus often introduced classical quotations at the start of their research and their much-awaited annual review of the sector was similarly acclaimed.
The firm then went through a series of new owners but as the turmoil in the City settled down it was owned, in 1999, by the German bank Deutsche Bank. Buchan decided that management of funds was now more to his liking: he saw that last takeover as a “natural exit point” and he set off on a career within the investment trust industry.
From 2001 to 2011, he was a director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), which promotes the widespread benefits of investments trusts as a vehicle for funds large and small. He was an energetic chairman of AIC for two years with his admiration for the industry never faltering. In characteristic style he ended an incisive essay, “There’s always something going on in this industry and that’s what makes it successful and fascinating.”
While at AIC he chaired an influential working group which produced a guide to good practice throughout the industry for the presentation of reports and accounts.
He was on the board of several investment trusts, including Templeton Emerging Markets, The Scottish Investment Trust, JPMorgan American Investment Trust and Shires Income Trust. He was also on the board of Dollar Academy, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Stewart Ivory Foundation and supported many Scottish arts organisations including Scottish Young Musicians of which he was a founding member.
Buchan was a wise and prudent investment adviser with a warm and kind nature. And much good humour. He helped younger colleagues and one has commented, “A selfless, generous and modest man, he helped many along the way including myself. With the possible exception of his advice to ‘In the winter have a Drambuie in your porridge on the first tee.’”
Golf was an abiding passion and he played off a low handicap for many years. Buchan was a member of Bruntsfield and Gullane which he captained in 1992 with typical charm and courtesy. He also was interested in curling, travel and antiques. His Christmas carol parties at his home in Barnton were legendary.
Buchan met and married Lynne Stewart (née Richmond) in 1989. Lynne died in 2017 and he is survived by three step-children
ALASDAIR STEVEN
