Link Fund Solutions is losing £4.8bn worth of business as Premier Miton brings all its authorised corporate director activities in-house a year after its merger.
Premier Miton is had been using four providers for its fund operations, including LFS, when the two asset managers merged in November 2019. Eleven former Miton funds had used LFS as their ACD, including the £1.9bn LF Miton European Opportunities and £829.4m US Opportunities funds.
A further two funds, FP Miton Income and MI Cautious Monthly Income, used Fundrock and Maitland respectively as ACDs. Earlier this year, the former merged into the Premier Monthly Income and the latter became the Premier Miton Cautious Monthly Income fund. The ACD for both is now the in-house ACD, Premier Portfolio Managers Limited.
Chief executive Mike O’Shea (pictured) said in a press release, issued on Thursday morning, that using a single in-house ACD would reduce overall fund costs for investors.
Willis Owen head of personal investing Adrian Lowcock said examining ACD arrangements would have required significant due diligence and research from Premier Miton. “It makes sense for a business to have one ACD which will reduce admin and simplify processes.”
See also: Woodford suspension sparks debate on in-house versus external ACDs
A further blow to LFS after Woodford
The loss of the Miton funds is another blow for Link Fund Solutions, which suffered a loss of assets and a hit to its reputation through acting as the ACD for the Woodford Equity Income fund in the lead up to its suspension and subsequent windup.
The ACD, which has assets under management of £86bn, is currently facing litigation in a class action from Woodford Equity Income investors who have accused the ACD of allowing Neil Woodford to invest in inappropriate assets and for failing to address concentration risk in the fund.
Lowcock said LFS’s handling of the Woodford Equity Income fund has raised a lot of questions. “While they are being challenged for their role in the crisis I think Woodford was an exception and Link and indeed other ACDs, will learn from the experience and improve their controls.”
LFS remains the ACD of the former Woodford Income Focus fund, which is now managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments.
LFS parent Link Group is currently the subject of a takeover bid from a consortium of private equity investors.
Premier Miton fund range to be renamed
In further changes at the boutique asset manager, the 37 open-ended funds in the range will also be rebranded under the Premier Miton name.
Most of the rebrand will take effect from 27 November, although the Premier Global Alpha Growth and Global Optimum Income funds will change names on 1 February when they become the Premier Miton Global Sustainable Growth and Global Sustainable Optimum Income funds respectively.
The changes do not impact Premier Miton’s five investment trusts.
Premier Miton fund name changes
|
Existing fund name |
Rebranded fund name |
|
LF Miton Balanced Multi Asset Fund |
Premier Miton Balanced Multi Asset Fund |
|
LF Miton Cautious Multi Asset Fund |
Premier Miton Cautious Multi Asset Fund |
|
LF Miton Defensive Multi Asset Fund |
Premier Miton Defensive Multi Asset Fund |
|
LF Miton European Opportunities Fund |
Premier Miton European Opportunities Fund |
|
LF Miton Global Infrastructure Fund |
Premier Miton Global Infrastructure Fund |
|
LF Miton UK Multi Cap Income Fund |
Premier Miton UK Multi Cap Income Fund |
|
LF Miton UK Smaller Companies Fund |
Premier Miton UK Smaller Companies Fund |
|
LF Miton UK Value Opportunities Fund |
Premier Miton UK Value Opportunities Fund |
|
LF Miton US Opportunities Fund |
Premier Miton US Opportunities Fund |
|
LF Miton US Smaller Companies Fund |
Premier Miton US Smaller Companies Fund |
|
LF Miton Worldwide Opportunities Fund |
Premier Miton Worldwide Opportunities Fund |
|
Premier Miton Cautious Monthly Income Fund |
Premier Miton Cautious Monthly Income Fund (Fund name changed on 31.07.20) |
|
Premier Corporate Bond Monthly Income Fund |
Premier Miton Corporate Bond Monthly Income Fund |
|
Premier Defensive Growth Fund |
Premier Miton Defensive Growth Fund |
|
Premier Diversified Balanced Growth Fund |
Premier Miton Diversified Balanced Growth Fund |
|
Premier Diversified Cautious Growth Fund |
Premier Miton Diversified Cautious Growth Fund |
|
Premier Diversified Dynamic Growth Fund |
Premier Miton Diversified Dynamic Growth Fund |
|
Premier Diversified Growth Fund |
Premier Miton Diversified Growth Fund |
|
Premier Diversified Income Fund |
Premier Miton Diversified Income Fund |
|
Premier Ethical Fund |
Premier Miton Ethical Fund |
|
Premier Miton Financials Capital Securities Fund |
Premier Miton Financials Capital Securities Fund |
|
Premier Global Alpha Growth Fund |
Changing to Premier Miton Global Sustainable Growth Fund on 01 February 2021 |
|
Premier Global Optimum Income Fund |
Changing to Premier Miton Global Sustainable Optimum Income Fund on 01 February 2021 |
|
Premier Income Fund |
Premier Miton Income Fund |
|
Premier Liberation No. IV Fund |
Premier Miton Liberation No. IV Fund |
|
Premier Liberation No. V Fund |
Premier Miton Liberation No. V Fund |
|
Premier Liberation No. VI Fund |
Premier Miton Liberation No. VI Fund |
|
Premier Liberation No. VII Fund |
Premier Miton Liberation No. VII Fund |
|
Premier Managed Index Balanced Fund |
Premier Miton Managed Index Balanced Fund |
|
Premier Monthly Income Fund |
Premier Miton Monthly Income Fund |
|
Premier Multi-Asset Absolute Return Fund |
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Absolute Return Fund |
|
Premier Multi-Asset Conservative Growth Fund |
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Conservative Growth Fund |
|
Premier Multi-Asset Distribution Fund |
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Distribution Fund |
|
Premier Multi-Asset Global Growth Fund |
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Global Growth Fund |
|
Premier Multi-Asset Growth and Income Fund |
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Growth and Income Fund |
|
Premier Multi-Asset Monthly Income Fund |
Premier Miton Multi-Asset Monthly Income Fund |
|
Premier Optimum Income Fund |
Premier Miton Optimum Income Fund |
|
Premier Miton Strategic Monthly Income Bond Fund |
Premier Miton Strategic Monthly Income Bond Fund |
|
Premier UK Growth Fund |
Premier Miton UK Growth Fund |
|
Premier UK Money Market Fund |
Premier Miton UK Money Market Fund |
