Simon has spent over 27 years in the financial industry, most of which was spent on the Institutional equity Sales side of the business.

After leaving University College of Wales, Aberystwyth with an Agricultural Economics degree Simon joined Nomura Securities Ltd in the City of London. His initial six months graduate training in Japan was to shape his future career and his long lasting interest with the Far East.

Establishing himself as one of the small number of Far East specialist sales in London, Simon moved to Tokyo with Goldman Sachs, at the begining of the long recession in Japan. He later moved to New York to run UBS's Japanese operation, dealing with a clientbase that in many cases had not even travelled to Asia.

After a number of years with Morgan Stanley in London, Simon left to set up his own hedge fund, running a Japan Long/Short for 3 years before he returned money to investors in mid 2008.