Passive asset management may be rising in popularity but some groups are still making active strategies pay. UK-focused Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) has now enjoyed its eighth successive year of positive flows, gaining more than £1bn in net inflows during the 12 months through to March. That, along with the £2.5bn in assets gained from its acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments, boosted assets under management (AUM) by 61 per cent to £10.5bn.
Despite February’s brief market correction, the asset manager generated £430m in market returns, although that was less than half the gains made the previous year. However, chief executive John Ions points to the market bounce-back in April and May, which helped boost AUM to £11.3bn by the end of June.
The ‘economic advantage’ strategy led the way in boosting AUM, which were up more than a quarter. The Alliance Trust acquisition brought with it a ‘sustainable investment’ team – promising from a thematic angle, given its assets increased by £500m during the first year of ownership to almost £3bn. Three global fixed income funds were also launched, which had raised £214m in assets by the end of the first quarter of FY2019.
Analysts at Numis expect adjusted pre-tax profit of £30.1m during the year to March 2019, giving EPS of 46.8p (from £27.3m and 42.5p in 2018).
| LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT (LIO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 604p | MARKET VALUE: | £305m | |
| TOUCH: | 602-618p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 620p | LOW: 430p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.5% | PE RATIO: | 34 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 96p* | NET CASH: | £30.1m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014 | 28.5 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 3 |
| 2015 | 36.8 | 7.3 | 14.6 | 8 |
| 2016 | 45.0 | 9.4 | 16.5 | 12 |
| 2017 | 51.5 | 9.1 | 15.2 | 15 |
| 2018 | 76.9 | 12.3 | 17.8 | 21 |
| % change | +49 | +35 | +17 | +40 |
| Ex-div: | 5 Jul | |||
| Payment: | 10 Aug | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £25m, or 50p a share | ||||
