Liontrust China shareholders oppose merger with EM strategy

investmentweek.co.uk:

Both funds have been underperforming their respective sector for a few years.

At an extraordinary general meeting on 1 September, investors rejected the merger, which was put forward following continued outflows.

The China fund holds £11.5m in assets, down from a peak of £100m, while its EM counterpart has £9.4m, according to Liontrust.

Liontrust set to merge China fund into EM portfolio as assets shrink

Primary manager Ruth Chambers has led the China strategy over the last five years, joining Liontrust in 2019 following its acquisition of Neptune.

China fund deputy manager Ewan Thompson is also a manger on the EM strategy, as well as the Liontrust India fund. Thomas Smith, deputy manager on the fund, also looks after the Liontrust Latin America and Liontrust Russia funds, with the latter still suspended.

Liontrust declined to comment on the shareholder vote. The future of both funds remains unclear.

According to data from FE fundinfo, the China fund has been consistently underperforming the IA China/Greater China sector over the last five years, while the EM fund has been underperforming the IA Global Emerging Markets sector over the same period, with the exception of the three- and six-month marks, where it outperformed the sector.

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