The firm is seeking to move on after its failed attempt to acquire the Swiss-listed GAM Holding business this year.

UK-listed Liontrust Asset Management, which in August was thwarted in its bid to buy GAM Holding, another investment house, yesterday reported net outflows of £1.6 billion ($1.94 billion) in the three months to the end of September, with assets under management and advice falling 6.3 per cent to £27.7 billion. 

The statement did not specify if the decline was on the same period a year ago or from the previous quarter. This publication has contacted Liontrust for clarification, and will update in due course. 

“After more than a decade of significant growth for Liontrust, the past year or so has been more challenging. Like many other asset managers, Liontrust continues to face the headwind of current investor sentiment,” John Ions, chief executive, said. “Liontrust has been impacted by our bias towards equities, the quality growth style, mid and small caps and the broad negative sentiment towards the UK."

"The All Companies sector has been the worst net selling retail sector in the UK for six of the past seven quarters, according to the Investment Association.

“Investor sentiment continues to be negatively affected by rising interest rates and the increased yield available on cash. But holding cash over the long term is not a strategy for delivering real growth for savers. In time, cash will leave savings accounts and money market funds to return to investment markets. We are striving for Liontrust to be in the best position possible to attract investors’ savings and to benefit when sentiment changes,” he said. 

In May, the firm bid to buy Zurich-listed GAM Holding, a business that has been battling to recover its own fortunes. Acquiring GAM would have broadened the range of asset classes under the Liontrust umbrella. However, investors objected to the move and Liontrust failed to win the necessary shareholder support. 

“The proposed acquisition of GAM would have accelerated our strategic objectives; without GAM, they do not change and our belief in them has only strengthened,” Ions said. "The knowledge and insight gained through the GAM process is also helping us shape our future operating model for the long-term growth of the Liontrust business. This will lead to restructuring and efficiencies in some areas of the business.”