Alliance Trust takes on £1.2bn of Aviva’s assets along with staff
ALLIANCE Trust, one of Britain’s largest investment trusts, has signed a deal to acquire a portfolio of “socially responsible” funds from insurance group Aviva as it moves ahead with an overhaul of its businesses.
Alliance Trust said yesterday its Alliance Trust Investments unit will pay £1m to take on £1.2bn of assets in Aviva Investors Sustainable and Responsible Investment Funds that will transfer early next year.
Five members of the Aviva investment team will transfer to Alliance Trust, the company said in a statement.
Katherine Garrett-Cox, chief executive of Alliance Trust, called the deal “transformational” and at a price that is “fairly modest in the grander scheme of things”.
“It injects £1.2bn of assets under our umbrella… It’s a significant addition to funds under management,” she said.
Alliance Trust last month kicked off a restructuring of its portfolio management, consolidating regionally focused funds into a global portfolio.
It is also seeking to halve the number of stocks in its portfolio to around 100, moving towards a conviction investment style in which fund managers take bigger stakes in fewer companies. Garrett-Cox said the company is now “a good way” through the process.
In its half year report yesterday, Alliance Trust said the increase in net asset value for the six months to 30 June was 5.5 per cent per share, “broadly in line with the sector average.”