Liontrust completes Neptune acquisition
iNED appointment also confirmed
Liontrust has completed its acquisition of Neptune Investment Management, with all its funds rebranded under the umbrella heading Liontrust Global Equity team, to be led by Robin Geffen.
Neptune's 19 funds - spanning global, income, regional and emerging markets - have all moved over, with no planned changes to their managers or investment processes, with Geffen's twin focus now managing money while leading the former Neptune investment team.
Storm Uru's Neptune Global Income fund has been renamed the Liontrust Global Dividend fund.
Liontrust chief executive John Ions said the acquisition, reported as being for £40m, would help the firm further its growth strategy, which has "moved forward strongly over the last several years".
He said the business was "well positioned to continue" that growth with its investment proposition and "continued focus on client service".
Ions added: "This is great for Liontrust and for the investment team at Neptune. We have been impressed by the quality of Robin and his team and they bring an excellent range of funds with strong long-term performance.
"Liontrust provides the investment team with an environment that will enable them to concentrate on delivering returns and meeting the expectations of clients and investors."
Liontrust boosts multi-asset sales team
Geffen praised the leadership, sales and marketing teams at Liontrust, noting how they had "grown awareness and assets for other investment teams at Liontrust."
The firm is known for allowing its fund managers to manage their money to their own individual styles and processes, without being shackled by a 'house style'.
Geffen added: "The move to Liontrust allows me to devote all my time to managing the Global Equity investment team and the funds I run. The fact that I can focus all my energy on my real passion of managing funds is really exciting for me. I am also thrilled that I can continue to manage the funds exactly how I want to run them."
Meanwhile, Liontrust has also confirmed that Mandy Donald has joined the Liontrust board of directors as independent non-executive director and chairman of the audit and risk committee, as was first announced on 19 July.
A chartered accountant, Donald spent 18 years at EY, before turning towards board positions on a range of start-up businesses.
She brings experience of both complex organisations and early-stage environments, is a trustee of The Institute of Cancer Research, where she is also chair of the audit committee, and is a NED and chair of the audit committee of Punter Southall Group.
