Liontrust has agreed to cut its discretionary fund management (DFM) fees on six multi-asset portfolio ranges after assets under management (Aum) in these funds stayed at £7.4bn for another year.
The asset manager’s multi-asset team underwent a shake-up last year, after it bought the Architas UK investment business in 2020 for £75mn. At the end of 2020, Liontrust’s multi-asset team was managing assets of £7.4bn.
But a year on from the management shake-up and asset growth has remained stagnant, sitting at £7.4bn on December 31, 2021.
We believe the reduction in fees…means the Liontrust MPS and WSS provide even greater value.John HusselbeeFrom April 1, the asset manager will cut DFM fees for six multi-asset portfolio ranges managed by John Husselbee and his team.
These include the ‘Growth’, ‘Income’ and ‘Dynamic’ ranges of Liontrust’s Managed Portfolio Service and its Wealth Solutions Service. Fees will drop to as low as 0.20 per cent.
“With the Aum for all of our multi-asset portfolios and funds having now reached £7.4bn (as at December 31, 2021) we are able to pass on the benefits of economies of scale to our clients and our clients’ clients,” Husselbee, Liontrust’s multi-asset head, said today (March 23).
“We believe the reduction in fees, along with the experience of our team and our high quality of service, means the Liontrust MPS and WSS provide even greater value.”
| Multi-asset portfolio range | DFM fee cut |
|---|---|
| MPS Growth | 0.30% to 0.25% |
| MPS Income | 0.30% to 0.25% |
| MPS Dynamic Beta | 0.30% to 0.20% |
| WSS Growth | 0.32% to 0.27% |
| WSS Income | 0.32% to 0.27% |
| WSS Dynamic Beta | 0.32% to 0.22% |
The asset management firm, which manages around £36bn in total, said its growth in Aum includes the acquisition of Architas UK Investment in July 2020.
Less than a year after the deal, former Architas fund managers Nathan Sweeney and Sheldon MacDonald went on gardening leave.
The current team, alongside Husselbee, includes deputy head James Klempster, Paul Kim, Mayank Markanday, Jen Causton and Shayan Ratnasingam, alongside a four-strong multi-asset investment support team.
The Aum of asset managers across the UK has been impacted over the past year by volatile performance. In the past six months, Liontrust's Blended Moderate Fund - which Husselbee manages - has lost 4.5 per cent.
Liontrust’s decision to cut its DFM costs follows Tatton Investment Management’s decision yesterday (March 22) to reduce the overall charges on the Verbatim Portfolio Growth funds it acquired last year.
Following the acquisition of Verbatim Asset Management in September 2021 by Tatton, the five risk-rated funds, which have £346mn in Aum between them, will now be marketed as growth funds alongside Tatton’s existing £295mn Blended Fund range.
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
