Liontrust Asset Management Share Discussion Threads

[masurenguy] 20/4/2023 01:15

Liontrust clients take fright at funds’ poor performance

Outflows from funds of Liontrust Asset Management have accelerated, with clients withdrawing a net £2 bn from the business between January and March. The disclosure came a day after Liontrust had rattled some investors by confirming that it was in talks about a possible takeover of GAM, the troubled Swiss asset manager, and less than a month after two non-executive directors stepped down amid a boardroom dispute. Shares in the FTSE 250 group dropped by 64½p, or 6.9%, to 870p yesterday as the scale of withdrawals shook investors, who had sent the stock down by 2.9% a day earlier amid nervousness about the possible bid for GAM. The latest outflows, during what was the fund manager’s 4th quarter, took net withdrawals for the year to £4.8bn. This, combined with £2.4bn lost to adverse market movements, pushed the total assets managed by Liontrust down to £31.4bn at the end of March, from £33.5bn a year earlier. The withdrawals and the group’s negative investment performance more than offset the £5.1bn of assets brought in by its £41m purchase of Majedie last April.

COMPLETE ARTICLE:

No position but on my watchlist.

[r2oo] 19/4/2023 21:48

Yep dips indeed, what happens to the so over a 12 to 18 month period is of no worry when you're investing with a 20yr + timeframe as I am.It is of course concerning if you are a trader.

[spawny100] 19/4/2023 13:56

Dips? It's been going down pretty much continually from £13 end of Jan and it was £25 only 18 months ago.

[r2oo] 19/4/2023 13:53

I see these dips as a buying opportunity in a solid company.

[r2oo] 19/4/2023 13:53

Bit of support here at 850p if it breaks then we could be down to next level of support at 700p but that would mean another 17% drop from here!

[rimau1] 19/4/2023 12:32

Strip out the terminations and AUM was down between march and april, just my interpretation:

“ Assets under management and advice ("AuMA") were GBP31.4 billion as at 31 March 2023, a decrease of 3.6% over the Period.


-- AuMA as at 17 April 2023 were GBP31.8 billion.
(1) Includes GBP608 million related to the termination of a life company advisory agreement for the Multi Asset team and GBP149 million related to the termination of the agreement with Majedie Investments Plc (as at 31 January 2023) for the Global Fundamental team”

[trident5] 19/4/2023 12:08

I couldn't see any comments on Q1 outflows, underlying was never going to be great and the price was seemingly already pricing this - then we get an "ahead of expectations" - and it's off 8%.

[rimau1] 19/4/2023 11:11

Not really trident. Outflows continued during Q1, also down y-o-y and the majority of the performance fees were booked by the acquisition so underlying was not great.

[trident5] 19/4/2023 10:29

Odd reaction to "ahead of expectations" .

[pugugly] 19/4/2023 08:47

Long term resistance Chartwise 500p. Unlikely to get anywhere near (imo) but already down 5% at 888p However bounced back from 6%. Could this be on House Broker note?

[tongostl] 19/4/2023 08:29

8% yield. Thanks very much.

[blackfinance] 19/4/2023 08:18

"Despite these headwinds, Liontrust has delivered impressive financial performance.".....Mmmmm I wonder what planet management live on ??????

[uzes] 18/4/2023 16:16

The £100bn is not a valid number - its rather sloppy reporting by some reporters. The "real" AUM of GAM is circa $25bn CHF (ie portfolios they actually manage where they earn proper asset management margins of circa 50-60bp) not the bigger figure they quote. The bigger figure they quote includes the 50bn CHF of "fund management service assets" where margins are just a few basis points (max 5bp) - this service is an outsource service to fund managers where they provide fund regulatory wrappers. I know this in detail. GAM is loss making and well below break even AUM so a lot of work to do for any buyer...

[tag57] 18/4/2023 15:53

Market doesn’t seem to like it.

[tongostl] 18/4/2023 13:21

Interesting. A tie up with GAM would push AUM to over £100B.

[trident5] 29/3/2023 15:19

Don't they sell ESG orientated funds?

[rp] 29/3/2023 14:26

The non-executive directors who quit Liontrust abruptly last week did so in protest over a decision that the long-serving chairman should remain on the board beyond the nine-year maximum, flouting best practice.

Rebel directors of the FTSE 250 fund management company lost out in a dispute over whether a process should begin to find a successor to Alastair Barbour, the chairman, who has been a director since April 2011, The Times has learnt.

The combined code on corporate governance, which sets standards for listed company boardrooms, says that chairmen should not normally serve longer than nine years from the date of their first appointment to the board.

[boozey] 24/3/2023 22:29

£6.1M for a dismal performance. Ions should not be still in the role. He is clearly not up to it.

[trident5] 24/3/2023 20:32

Thanks Specto

[spectoacc] 24/3/2023 20:20

"The dispute is thought to centre on governance, not pay".

That's the only interesting part I think.


Wary of copy/paste but here's most of it:


"A bust-up in the boardroom at Liontrust, the FTSE 250 fund management group, has led to the abrupt departures of two non-executive directors.

Emma Howard Boyd and Quintin Price both quit “with immediate effect”, the company said, with no explanation.

Their resignations follow the departure of another non-executive, Sophia Tickell, in September 2021, and a major shareholder revolt last September over executive pay at the company.

Howard Boyd, a former stewardship chief at Jupiter Asset Management, only joined the board in January last year. She had special board responsibility for sustainability at the group, which has marketed its funds heavily on their environmental credentials. She was also on the board remuneration committee.

Price, a fund management veteran, who also serves on the board of Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust, had been on the Liontrust board less than two years. He also sat on the remuneration committee, as well as the audit and nomination committees."

"Liontrust said it was “in the process of searching for new non-executive directors and will be providing a further update in due course”.

The dispute is thought to centre on governance, not pay."

"Last September 46 per cent of shareholders who voted were against the company’s remuneration policy in spite of modifications made to it in response to earlier criticisms. John Ions, chief executive, was paid £6.01 million last year and was given a 58 per cent increase in his base pay from £348,000 to £550,000, which angered some shareholders.

The company said at the time it would “engage with shareholders again to understand their continued disagreement with Liontrust’s approach”."

[trident5] 24/3/2023 20:11

There's an article in The Times - saying there was a bust up (I can't get past the firewall so don't know the detail).

[spectoacc] 24/3/2023 15:46

Caught over the photocopier?

[boozey] 24/3/2023 15:29

1pvh, all is possible but unlikely. Boyd in particular is a champion for sustainability and does a lot of work for the greater good so she is unlikely to have a conflict of interest. Moreover given her background she comes across as very credible.

Most likely reason is some sort of fallout. If it was a personality clash then fine, the fear is that it could be more sinister - especially as no reason was given. Maybe it is governance, maybe the CEO is an autocrat and doesn't like to be challenged. Who knows.

Very unusual for a NED to resign suddenly, even more unusual two at the same time.

[1pvh] 24/3/2023 08:17

Or conflict of interest in a takeover?

[spawny100] 24/3/2023 08:11

I didn't like that news so banked my profits here for now and will see what pans out here.