LM Investment Management under voluntary administration
The directors of LM Investment Management have appointed John Park and Ginette Muller of FTI Consulting as voluntary administrators.
LM chief executive Peter Drake stated that neither the company nor any of its funds are in liquidation or receivership, and that the decision to appoint independent advisers was to enable LM to protect its funds and "continue to act in the best interests of their investors".
He said the ten-month long grapple with Trilogy Funds over LM's Wholesale Mortgage Income Fund — which Trilogy acquired in November last year — had impacted the liquidity of the funds and "therefore investors' interests".
"This campaign has been magnified by the additional impact of the strong Aussie dollar (particularly against pound sterling), resulting in excess margin requirements for the funds very recently," Drake said.
"Had we not acted, this perfect storm of impacts meant we may have been unable to meet our obligations, and hence the appointment."
According to FTI Consulting, it will conduct a review of the business and all of the LM funds, updating unit holders as a matter of priority.
FTI will be working closely with LM's senior investment personnel to develop a comprehensive strategy to meet the obligations of all stakeholders, Drake added.
"All licence conditions of the responsible entity will continue to be met, and there has been no breach in this regard," he said.
"The ultimate aim of the voluntary administrator is to manage and resolve a solution over a period of time."
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