Liontrust expands multi-asset team and removes VAT from MPS

Liontrust, the specialist UK fund management company, announces that James Klempster joins its Multi-Asset investment team and it has removed VAT from the team's range of managed portfolios. 

James Klempster, who has 17 years of investment management experience, joins Liontrust today (1 February 2021) to co-manage the company's 26 managed portfolios and white label service for IFAs with John Husselbee and the Multi-Asset team. James Klempster will also co-manage the Verbatim funds, the management of which is outsourced from SimplyBiz to Liontrust. 

Liontrust has today removed VAT from its managed portfolios, which will immediately reduce the cost for advisers' clients by 0.06%. This applies to all the WSS (Wealth Solutions Service) and MPS (Managed Portfolio Service) portfolios managed by Liontrust.    

James Klempster reports to John Husselbee, head of the Multi-Asset investment team, which has £7.1bn in Assets under Management and Administration (AuMA). The six other members of the team are: Sheldon MacDonald, Paul Kim, Nathan Sweeney, Jen Causton, Mayank Markanday and Shayan Ratnasingam. 

Klempster joins from Momentum Global Investment Management, where he spent 14 years and was most recently Director of Investment and led the global investment team and solutions strategy. He was previously a portfolio manager at Avebury Asset Management and an assistant fund manager at NW Brown Group. 

The appointment of Klempster comes three months after Liontrust created one of the most experienced and highly respected multi-asset multi-manager teams in the UK market with the acquisition of the Architas UK Investment Business. The acquisition has added the Multi-Asset Active, Blended and Passive risk profiled fund ranges, along with income generating and specialist funds, to Liontrust's existing target risk Multi-Asset managed portfolios.  

John Husselbee, Liontrust's head of Multi-Asset, commented: "James is a great addition to our team, adding extensive experience and investment knowledge, including the management of target risk funds. I have known James for many years; we share a similar philosophy and approach to multi-asset investing. James will enhance an already strong investment team and we look forward to introducing him to our clients." 

James Klempster said: "Liontrust is an exciting company to be joining with its growth, focus on a robust Multi-Asset investment process, first-class service to advisers and meeting client expectations. I have got to know John through presenting at the same events over the past few years and our outlook on investing is aligned."