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Liontrust Asset Management has announced its first manager hire in more than two years, with the appointment of Julian Fosh as co-manager alongside Anthony Cross.

Mr Fosh, who starts at Liontrust this week, will work with Mr Cross on the boutique's £78.2m Intellectual Capital Trust, the £10.1m First Opportunities fund, and segregated institutional portfolios of more than £110m AUM.

The pair will continue to run the funds according to the long-standing investment philosophy behind the Cross Report, and will be based in Edinburgh and London.

This is the first hire since Liontrust brought Gary West and James Inglis-Jones onboard to run the £48.5m Continental Europe fund in February 2006.

Mr Fosh joins the company from Saracen Fund Managers, where he was co-manager of the £193.7m Saracen Growth fund alongside Jim Fisher for four years.

Over this time, the fund has returned 98.76 per cent, compared with the IMA UK All Companies sector average of 56.22 per cent. It is ranked fourth out of 246 funds.

Meanwhile the First Opportunities fund has returned 31.51 per cent since its launch in November 2005, compared with the UK All Companies sector average of 21.67 per cent, and is ranked 43rd out of 275 funds.

Last week Liontrust also announced an increase in annual pre-tax profits of 40 per cent, to £16.5m.