Adviser shock at Lang and Pattisson departures from Liontrust
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have resigned from the firm.
In a market update today, Liontrust confirmed that it has received notification of resignations from the two fund managers as directors and employees of the firm.
Lang and Pattisson will remain with Liontrust until January 11, 2010 in order to ensure an orderly handover of their functions and responsibilities.
Hargreaves Lansdown investment manager Ben Yearsley says: "It seems strange that both of them resigned at the same time. It looks suspiciously like they'll be setting their own thing up."
Chelsea Financial Services managing director Darius McDermott says: "This is one of the most unusual fund management movements I have heard. I don't think it's performance related.
"Lang and Pattisson are principals of that business and to my mind they're running the vast majority of the assets. If that is the case and they're equity shareholders and it's a boutique, surely if they'd wanted to launch something they could have done it within the firm."
Lang and Pattisson both started their careers together at James Capel Fund Managers in 1986. Lang joined Liontrust in 1996 as manager of the first income and first growth funds, becoming investment director in 1999. He has also pioneered the Lang approach for UK equity growth portfolios and the value dynamic for UK equity income portfolios.
Pattisson joined Liontrust as joint investment director in 1999, having spent the previous five years at Fleming Investment Management. He heads up the large-cap process. He manages both the first large-cap fund, launched in October 1999, and focus 350 fund.
By 10am shares in Liontrust - which has been the subject of much takeover speculation - had fallen by over 41 per cent to 72p per share on the back of the news after opening this morning at 110p.
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