"We are happy with what the company has achieved in the last couple of years, but there is still a lot we can do. There are huge opportunities in the industry and if you can assemble a good, talented team of managers and the right distribution people you will progress. We are excited about the outlook going forward," says Ions, who is Liontrust’s chief executive.
Today’s announcement of the planned acquisition of Walker Crips Asset Managers (WCAM) follows the takeover of Occam Asset Managers in October last year.
"In exactly the same way we did the Occam transaction, it’s all about people," explains Ions, "Stephen Bailey and Jan Luthman [who are moving across with the acquired WCAM funds] are two very highly regarded, liked and respected fund managers."
It is not the first time Liontrust has offered access to a pair of high pedigree UK equity managers, but in addition to the existing Liontrust UK offering, the WCAM duo and their funds will serve to broaden and strengthen the UK range.
Leading the turnaround
While Ions was not at Liontrust when Lang and Pattisson departed (to subsequently set up boutique asset manager Ardevora) he joined when the shock of their resignation was still fresh.
Initially he was appointed head of retail (in February 2010), but within three months had been promoted to chief executive, following the departure of co-founder Nigel Legge.
"I was not here when they were here, they were gone for a year before I joined," Ions says, "But we were down to £1bn in AUM in a business that used to support £5bn in AUM."
So a turnaround and bolstering of the company were always on the cards. Modestly, Ions says: "It has been a lot of hard work on everybody’s behalf. As we start to see the benefits of that it creates a much better environment going forward."
The recovery has been performance-led with Liontrust’s Special Situations Fund, its UK Growth Fund and its UK Smaller Companies showing particularly strong numbers last year.
The Special Situations Fund was the best performing fund in the IMA UK All Companies Sector, while the Growth and Smaller Companies funds were both third in their respective sectors.
But Ions says performance alone is not enough: "Success must be driven by fund managers doing well but it is supported by client service and distribution."
He said there are plenty of asset managers with the performance backdrop but who have not got the distribution capability to amass greater AUM, and conversely there are those with a huge amount of AUM who do not necessarily have the performance record to back it up.
He has also learned from his predecessor’s mistakes and says it is crucial to keep an eye on key man risk.
Next moves
Ions has always been open about his desire to acquire if both the managers and proposition are right in a business. He says there are no other purchases imminent but that Liontrust likes the multi-asset space and continues to look at that area.
However, he says the multi-asset market requires a long set-up process and is a difficult arena to break into from scratch. So the purchase of a multi-asset capability with a decent track record is more likely.
"They [acquisition opportunities] are like buses, I could spend nine months looking for one and not find it, or find one tomorrow. The day job is more important than the acquisitions – making sure managers have the right environment to perform to the best of their abilities."
Before Lang and Pattisson left, Liontrust was the subject of takeover speculation itself, having received a bid approach in May 2008 and subsequently holding merger discussions with a number of parties.
Ions said there are no plans to be bought or sold at this stage, however: "We have only just started. 10% of the job is done but there is still a lot more to do and we’ve no interest in being bought or sold by anybody. They do say everybody is an acquirer until they are acquired and I’m not sure I have much control over it. What is in my control is making sure we do the best job here that we can."
So far he’s done a good job, and something tells me he will continue to.
What do you think of Liontrust’s proposition/fund range? Do you think it odd that some of the funds acquired with WCAM will overlap existing funds? Let us know below.
