Professional Adviser

Liontrust: Our plans for Husselbee's multi-asset service

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Liontrust AM's chief executive John Ions expects John Husselbee's Wealth Solutions service to become a significant part of the business over the next few years, following the takeover earlier this month.

Liontrust has bought North Investment Partners and also hired Paul Kim in a move to expand into the multi-asset space.

While not a pure multi-asset play, North’s Wealth Solutions service taps into a growing requirement from advisers to outsource investment management to experts, and has already gathered £100m in assets.

While it is Liontrust’s first foray into the field of multi-asset, Ions said Husselbee’s experience – combined with the increased marketing and distribution capabilities of Liontrust – should help the expansion.

Ions (pictured) said: “I expect this to become a significant part of the business. This is a huge growth area, especially as more and more IFAs are outsourcing, and I would like to think we could make significant progress in the short to medium term, given the team we now have.”

Husselbee launched the Wealth Solutions service two years ago, offering advisers a range of portfolios for their clients covering various risk levels and strategies.

It works using a hub concept, with larger IFAs taking the proposition to smaller adviser firms, providing a service with advice, admin and an investment proposition.

Husselbee is already partnered with ten firms, but is now looking to double it with the help of Liontrust.

“A lot of mass-market IFAs are outsourcing now as they do not want to manage investment portfolios by themselves,” Husselbee said.

Ions added the offering is competitively priced, with TERs below 2%, allowing them to take on rivals in the space.

“The cost is competitive and we will be leaving it where it is. Price is key as IFAs obviously want to offer good value to clients.”

Husselbee’s focus on growing the service over the last 18 months impacted his own business, leading to a £389,860 loss for North in 2012, reversing the previous year’s profit. The added costs and time involved were one of the reasons Husselbee was keen to work with Liontrust, he said.

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