Liontrust interims show AUM of £17.4bn after Neptune acquisition
The purchase of Neptune Investment Management, which completed on 1 October 2019, added £2.7bn of AUM to UK manager Liontrust's overall AUM, which has hit £17.4bn (€19.3bn) as of that date.
The confirmation came alongside figures showing trading at Liontrust in the six months to the end of September 2019, with AUM ex-Neptune reported as £14.6bn after net inflows of £1.367bn over the period.
Net inflows have hit £3.1bn in the 18 months to 30 September.
John Ions, chief executive (pictured), said: "Liontrust continues to make substantial progress, delivering £642m in net inflows over the past three months and completing the acquisition of Neptune on 1 October. This has sustained the growth of the business of the last few years, with net inflows of £1.37bn over the past six months and £3.1bn over the past 18 months."
"These positive flows demonstrate the attraction of rigorous investment processes, strong long-term fund performance, a high-profile brand and the effectiveness of our sales and marketing.
"The net inflows have been achieved at a time of uncertainty for retail investors in the UK. Equity funds in aggregate across the industry have had net outflows for 10 of the past 13 months while retail funds suffered total net outflows of £1.71bn in August alone.
"Liontrust has continued to grow in this environment because of the quality of the investment teams and our more diversified proposition, with flows into equity, fixed income, sustainable and multi-asset portfolios that meet ever more demanding client requirements.
"Our investment capability is being broadened further with the addition of the Neptune investment team, now known as the Liontrust Global Equity team. We have been impressed by the quality of the team, and they bring an excellent range of funds with strong long-term performance.
"Liontrust Income is ranked 2nd out of 79 funds in the IA UK Equity Income sector over three years to 30 September 2019. Liontrust Global Alpha is ranked 1st, Liontrust Global Dividend is 2nd, Liontrust Global Technology is 4th and Liontrust Balanced is 3rd in their respective IA sectors over three years.
"Liontrust provides the team with an environment that will enable them to concentrate on delivering returns and meeting the expectations of clients and investors.
"Our business has moved forward strongly over the last few years and is well positioned to continue this growth with an excellent investment proposition and our continued focus on client service."
