UK fund manager Liontrust Asset Management has agreed to outsource its fund services operations to BNY Mellon.
Liontrust, which has reached £11.3 billion in assets under management over the past eight years, will consolidate its asset servicing relationships for its UK and Ireland fund ranges and use BNY Mellon as its sole outsourcing provider.
The services provided by BNY Mellon will include depositary, fund accounting, global custody, global risk solutions, middle-office and transfer agency.
Liontrust had used State Street as its custodian for the UK and Ireland funds since 1995.
“This decision demonstrates how our commitment to providing investment managers with the most comprehensive service offering will enable Liontrust to focus on delivering value to its clients, investors and shareholders,” said Daron Pearce, CEO, BNY Mellon EMEA asset servicing.
BNY Mellon will also provide ancillary services covering securities lending, FX and cash management.
The deal reflects a growing trend of consolidating service providers among large asset managers to ensure they only have one or two custodians.
Vinay Abrol, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Liontrust, explained there was a strategic need to move to a single outsourcing partner, following its acquisition of Dundee-based investment firm Alliance Trust Investments in April last year, which as a result, led to five asset servicing relationships across the Liontrust business.
“To accomplish this, we ran a thorough provider selection exercise, followed by a further period of detailed due diligence, with the support of Alpha Financial Markets Consulting. We selected BNY Mellon because of its commitment to the relationship, its partnership approach and the quality of its service proposition,” said Abrol.