Potential Liontrust-GAM deal 'opportunistic' but 'complementary'

'Strategic and sensible'

The potential acquisition of GAM by Liontrust took the industry by surprise, but the Swiss manager's fixed income franchise, distribution network and AUM are some of the key factors that Liontrust may be eyeing.

Liontrust's move has been described as an "opportunistic approach" by Ryan Hughes, head of investment partnerships at AJ Bell, while Darius McDermott, managing director of FundCalibre, said the deal was likely to be "complementary". McDermott complimented the asset manager's equity footprint in the UK, but argued the purchase of GAM would add a "large fixed income franchise" and "strong overseas distribution" to the mix. Liontrust 'in discussions' to buy GAM Both Hughes and McDermott agreed the "opportunity purchase" falls into Liontrust's recent modus operandi when it comes to acq...