Liontrust to acquire Neptune

It was announced today Neptune Investment Management will be acquired by Liontrust Asset Management, subject to regulatory approval.

If approved, the deal is expected to complete in October. At this point Neptune's funds will be rebranded under the Liontrust name.

Robin Geffen will also step down as Chief Executive Officer of Neptune. This means he'll be able to concentrate on leading his investment team, to be renamed the Liontrust Global Equity Team. He'll also have more time to focus on managing funds, including the Neptune Income, Balanced, and Russia & Greater Russia funds.

Liontrust aims to buy Neptune as part of its goal to diversify its range of funds and boost the company's growth potential. It'll also increase the group's expertise in sectors that aren't fully covered by its existing fund management teams. Neptune has built a range of emerging markets, global, Japanese and North American funds, which Liontrust doesn’t currently provide, for example.

As it stands, Neptune's investment team will continue to manage their full range of funds, using their existing investment approach. So we don't think investors need to take any action if these funds continue to meet their objectives,

Any company acquisition is likely to bring about change though, so there's potential for fund manager or product changes later down the line. We'll continue to monitor the situation and keep clients informed of any further developments.