Asset manager Liontrust has confirmed it has approached the board of GAM with a view to taking over its Swiss rival’s business and merging it with its own to create an asset manager with around £100bn in AUM.

Net inflows and assets under management hit record highs in 2017, according to a report released this morning.

The FCA has warned that four asset management firms - Artemis Investment Management LLP, Hargreave Hale Ltd, Newton Investment Management Limited and River & Mercantile Asset Management LLP - may have broken competition law.

Poor governance in the investments asset managers make has been cited as the biggest challenge faced by companies in the sector after tax regulations.