Liontrust reports quarterly outflows as it progresses GAM acquisition

(Sharecast News) - Liontrust Asset Management reported net outflows and a decrease in assets under management and advice in an update on Friday, as well as recent developments related to the proposed acquisition of GAM Holding. The FTSE 250 investment manager said that during the three months ended 30 June, it experienced net outflows of £1.6bn.

It said the outflow contributed to a decline in assets under management and advice, which stood at £29.5bn as of 30 June, reflecting a 6% decrease over the period.

The board noted that the company's proposed acquisition of GAM was approved at the general meeting held on 7 July.

Approximately 83.7% of the votes were in favour of the resolutions.

Additionally, on 29 June, GAM announced its agreement to sell its third-party fund management services business to Carne Group.

That, the board said, was a step towards fulfilling the fund management services exit condition of Liontrust's offer for GAM.

In further support of the acquisition, Silchester International Investors - a major shareholder in GAM - informed the company that it intended to tender its shares, representing approximately 17.3% of GAM's share capital, into the Liontrust offer.

As of 12 July, assets under management and advice amounted to £29bn - a slight decline from the end of June.

"The last quarter continued to show the importance and benefits of having a broad product range with diversification across investment styles as well as asset classes," said chief executive officer John Ions.

"In a risk-off environment, our strong focus on equities has proved to be challenging, especially when the UK market has been out of favour.

"This is demonstrated by equities having had net negative retail sales in the UK in 10 of the last 12 months to the end of May, according to the Investment Association."

Ions said Liontrust was in "robust health" despite the current market environment.

"This provides a strong platform for future growth with the proposed acquisition of GAM bringing us the benefits of increasing investment talent; diversifying funds, asset classes and investment styles to offer more solutions to clients; broadening distribution across the world; and expanding the client base.

"We continue to apply the right processes to managing the business day in, day out and have full confidence in the investment teams' processes.

"These will ensure Liontrust delivers for clients and shareholders over the long term."

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.