Liontrust deputy head of multi-asset Sheldon MacDonald and senior investment manager Nathan Sweeney are both leaving the firm, just four months after joining through the acquisition of Architas.
MacDonald and Sweeney (pictured) joined Liontrust at the end of October last year when its £75m deal to buy the Architas’ UK multi-asset team completed.
The pair had been at Architas since in 2010 where MacDonald was deputy chief investment officer and Sweeney was a senior investment manager.
On joining Liontrust, MacDonald was made deputy head of multi-asset under John Husselbee while Sweeney remained senior investment manager.
Liontrust confirmed that MacDonald and Sweeney are currently on gardening leave and no longer managing any of the multi-asset funds. Both are seeking employment according to their LinkedIn profiles.
The acquisition of Architas, first announced in July last year, added £5.6bn to the company’s assets under management and administration, bringing its total assets to £30.1bn, according to its January trading update.
Liontrust chief executive John Ions said in the update that the Architas UK investment business is “fully rebranded and integrated”, adding that in addition to the existing multi-asset funds, Liontrust “now have a compelling proposition to help advisers meet their client objectives”.
James Klempster joined Liontrust’s multi-asset team from Momentum Investment Management earlier this year. He now co-manages the funds alongside Husselbee. The multi-asset unit has seen inflows of £7.1bn since the acquisition of Architas.
Liontrust has made a number of acquisitions over recent years, with the Architas deal following on closely from its £40m takeover of Neptune in 2019.
