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Liontrust continues to shine

The asset manager has seen strong inflows despite Covid-19
July 8, 2020

Even with the world in lockdown, it has never been easier to get hold of people’s capital – or so it would seem. Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) recorded net positive inflows of £492m during the first three months of 2020, even as the virus took hold globally. That brought net inflows for the March year-end up to around £2.7bn, a 52 per cent increase on FY2019.

IC TIP: Sell at 1,400p

Assets under management and advice (AuMA) were up by 27 per cent in the period under review and have grown by a fifth since the start of the current financial year (1 April through 30 June 2020).

Post period-end, Liontrust announced the proposed acquisition of Architas-Multi Manager Ltd and Architas Advisory Services Ltd for up to £75m, which will bring AuMA up to around £25bn on completion, an increase of £5.7bn from the existing level.

The rise in revenue mirrored the increase in AuMA, but statutory profits came up short on the prior year due to £9.7m of acquisition and ancillary costs incurred through the takeover of Neptune Investment Management Ltd, which completed in October 2019.

LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT (LIO) 
ORD PRICE:1,400pMARKET VALUE:£848m
TOUCH:1,400-1,405p12-MONTH HIGH:1,495pLOW: 678p
DIVIDEND YIELD:2.4%PE RATIO:57
NET ASSET VALUE:146p*NET CASH:£34.5m**
Year to 31 MarchTurnover (£m)Pre-tax profit (£m)Earnings per share (p)Dividend per share (p)
201645.09.4016.512.0
201751.59.1015.215.0
201876.912.317.821.0
2019 (restated)97.622.240.027.0
202012416.524.733.0
% change+27-26-38+22
Ex-div:16 Jul   
Payment:21 Aug   
*Includes intangible assets of £57.6m, or 95p a share. **Includes lease liabilities of £5.8m.