Liontrust UK Ethical Fund

The Liontrust UK Ethical Fund is a UK equity fund that aims to deliver capital growth over the long term, which it defines as five years or more, using the Sustainable Future investment process. It invests in companies incorporated, domiciled or which conduct significant business in the United Kingdom, and Liontrust recommends it is held long term, with a minimum period of five years¹.

It is not a savings account and it is not a cash fund. The value of the investments inside it can fall as well as rise, and Liontrust's own risk warning is blunt: past performance does not predict future returns, and you may get back less than you originally invested². What the fund offers is a way to hold a spread of UK companies chosen through an ethical and sustainability screen, inside a fund that carries the FCA's Sustainability Focus label¹.

You can buy it through a fund platform, through a financial adviser, or directly with Liontrust, and you can hold it inside a stocks and shares ISA or a Junior ISA as well as in a general investment account³. This page explains how the fund picks companies, what the label means, how the charges work, how to buy it and what happens when you want your money back.

How the Sustainable Future process picks companies

The fund's managers look at the world through three mega trends: better resource efficiency (cleaner), improved health (healthier) and greater safety and resilience (safer)¹. Companies are assessed against those themes rather than simply screened out, which is the difference between an approach that hunts for businesses aligned to a theme and one that only excludes sectors.

That places the fund within a wider spectrum of ethical investing. Which? classifies ethical funds by whether they avoid certain industries such as mining or tobacco, consider environmental, social and governance factors, or embrace companies focused on delivering positive social or environmental impact⁵. Funds described as light green are more flexible, recognising that responsible practices can be present in an industry that is otherwise considered less ethical⁶. The Sustainable Future process sits closer to the embrace end of that spectrum, because it is looking for companies whose products or services contribute to the themes.

The result is a concentrated portfolio. The fund held 36 holdings, with its largest position, SOFTCAT PLC, at 5.28% of the fund as at 31 August 2026¹. Financials made up 33.31% of the fund and industrials 26.32% on the same date, with 95.31% of assets in the UK¹. A concentrated, sector-weighted portfolio behaves differently from a broad index tracker: fewer holdings means each one matters more to the return, in both directions.

The fund may invest a small proportion, less than 10%, in unlisted securities¹. Unlisted holdings are harder to value and harder to sell than quoted shares, which is a risk worth knowing about even at a small weight.

Sustainability Focus: what the label means for investors

The fund adopted the Sustainability Focus label under the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements from 1 April 2025¹. The label is one of four that UK-domiciled funds using certain sustainability approaches can adopt, alongside Sustainability Improvers, Sustainability Impact and Sustainability Mixed Goals⁵.

Sustainability Focus funds invest mainly in assets that focus on sustainability for people or the planet⁸. To qualify, at least 70% of the investments in a fund must meet the sustainability objective set out by the fund's manager, and the fund's investment policy and strategy must set that expectation clearly⁵. The Liontrust UK Ethical Fund states that it meets this by investing at least 70% of its total assets in sustainable investments¹.

The label is a rule about what a fund must do, not a badge of quality. Since 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority has required that UK funds wanting to use certain terms have to adopt one of its sustainable investment labels¹⁰. Funds that do not have a sustainability goal as defined by the rules simply do not carry a label, and that is a legitimate position rather than a failing: the Fundsmith Stewardship Fund, for example, states that it does not have a UK sustainable investment label because it does not have a sustainability goal as defined by the FCA's rules¹¹. Some funds also explain that their responsible investing approach does not amount to a sustainability objective, so no label applies¹².

Every fund and investment trust using language to imply it has ethical credentials has to supply a sustainability factsheet setting out its objectives, approach and metrics⁵. That document, not the label alone, is where you find out what the fund actually does.

Who manages the fund and how it is measured

The Liontrust UK Ethical Fund is managed by Peter Michaelis and Simon Clements¹. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 518552¹. You can check that reference on the FCA Register, which is the UK's financial services conduct regulator¹⁴.

The fund is measured against two comparator benchmarks: the MSCI United Kingdom and the IA UK All Companies¹. A comparator benchmark is a yardstick for judging performance, not a target the fund must track. The fund also carries a Titan Square Mile 3D Rating of Silver¹. Ratings of this kind are opinions produced by research firms, and they change; they are not a prediction and not a recommendation.

Performance figures are published on the fund's own page and are updated there. Those numbers sit side by side deliberately: a long-run gain and a negative five-year stretch can both be true of the same fund, which is why the recommended minimum holding period is five years and why the fund is described as long term.

How the charges work

Liontrust's charges page sets out how its funds are charged, and the fund's own page carries the current figures. What matters for a reader is the shape of the charges rather than the numbers, which change.

For the majority of its funds, Liontrust does not currently apply a charge for buying shares or units, known as an initial charge, or for selling them, known as a redemption charge¹⁵. That is a statement about the majority of funds and about the position at the time it was published, not a permanent promise. The ongoing cost of running the fund is a separate matter and is disclosed in the fund's documents.

Liontrust also publishes a list of funds that may incur performance fees, with share class restrictions for some of them, as at 21 January 2026¹⁶. A performance fee is charged when a fund outperforms a defined measure, and it is worth checking whether the share class you are considering carries one.

The charges you pay are not only the fund's. If you hold the fund through a platform, the platform charges its own account fee, and possibly dealing charges on each purchase or sale¹⁷. Those platform charges are set by the platform, not by Liontrust, and they vary between providers, so the same fund can cost different amounts to hold in different places. If you buy through a financial adviser, the adviser's fee is a third, separate cost¹⁹.

Ways to invest: platform, adviser or direct

There are three routes, and they differ in cost, control and how much help you get.

Through a fund platform. Liontrust names AJ Bell, Fidelity and Interactive Investor as platforms where its funds can be bought⁴. A platform holds the investment for you, handles the dealing and reports to you, and charges its own account fee. This route suits someone who is comfortable choosing a fund themselves and wants to manage it online. Platform charges are explained in more detail in how investment platforms work and platform fees and charges.

Through a financial adviser. An adviser assesses your circumstances and can recommend whether the fund belongs in your portfolio at all. Liontrust says it always recommends speaking to a financial adviser if you need advice on making an investment, and points to unbiased.co.uk to find one near you⁴. Advisers charge for their work, and the cost varies; how much a financial adviser costs sets out the usual structures.

Direct with Liontrust. You can invest a lump sum or save monthly, directly in a fund or through an ISA⁴. For direct retail customers, including those investing through a Liontrust ISA or Junior ISA, the minimum investment and redemption amounts are set at £10 for each trade, and Liontrust has agreed to waive the minimum investment, redemption and holding amounts set out in the prospectus for these customers⁴. Minimum amounts for different share classes are detailed in the factsheet for the individual fund⁴.

Whichever route you use, the fund's own documents are the same. The fund documents page explains what a KIID, a factsheet and a prospectus each contain.

Buying through an ISA or Junior ISA

Liontrust offers a Stocks and Shares ISA that can be invested into its fund ranges, and a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA, which it describes as a tax-efficient way to invest in its funds²⁰. The Junior ISA is designed for children under 18 who are resident in the UK²¹.

There are limits on what each account can hold. The Junior ISA is restricted to Liontrust funds: it cannot be used to invest in individual company shares or in the funds of other asset managers²¹. The adult ISA accepts transfers of both stocks and shares ISAs and cash ISAs from another provider, using an ISA Transfer Form²⁰. The Junior ISA accepts transfers of an existing Junior Stocks and Shares ISA or Junior Cash ISA, using the Junior ISA Transfer Form, but Liontrust does not accept transfers of Child Trust Funds into a Junior ISA²¹.

Two features of the Junior ISA are worth understanding before you open one. The parent or guardian controls the account on behalf of the child until the child reaches 16, at which point the holder can control it themselves, and at 18 the account becomes a general ISA that the named holder can use for anything they wish²¹. Money deposited cannot be withdrawn or transferred until the nominated child reaches 18²¹. Liontrust also has no cash holding facility for any of its products, so everything deposited into the Junior ISA stays fully invested at all times, including income, which is reinvested as soon as it becomes payable²¹.

Liontrust does not offer a cash ISA, and it does not offer a Junior Cash ISA²⁰. If a cash Junior ISA is what you want, that is a different product from a different provider: NS&I's Junior ISA is a cash Junior ISA, and NS&I does not offer a stocks and shares Junior ISA²². Lloyds Bank's Junior Cash ISA accepts transfers in from a range of sources, including the whole of another Junior Cash ISA, part or all of a stocks and shares Junior ISA, and all funds in a Child Trust Fund²³. Cash Junior ISAs are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000²⁴.

What to read before you apply

Liontrust asks investors to read the relevant Key Investor Information Document before completing an application, and the same requirement applies before transferring a Junior ISA from another provider⁴. The KIID is a short, standardised document that sets out the fund's objective, risk indicator and charges.

The application form can be downloaded from the relevant fund page or from the application forms page, and the form itself carries the details of how to submit it¹⁵. If you are applying for a Junior ISA, you complete the application form to open the account and the Junior ISA Transfer Form to move an existing Junior ISA across²¹.

Beyond the KIID, a fund using language that implies ethical credentials has to supply a sustainability factsheet setting out its objectives, approach and metrics⁵. That is the document to read if the ethical character of the fund is the reason you are interested, because it explains what the fund actually measures rather than what its name suggests.

If you are investing through a platform rather than directly, the platform will have its own application process and its own documents to read, including its fee schedule. The investment funds guide covers how funds are structured and priced, and how funds are priced and dealt explains when your deal actually goes through.

Getting your money out

Liontrust states that you can redeem your investment from the fund at any time and that there is no exit fee for doing so¹. That is a statement about the fund's own terms. It does not mean the money arrives instantly, and it does not mean you get back what you put in.

A fund is priced at set valuation points rather than continuously, so the price you receive is the one struck when your instruction is processed, not the one showing when you placed it. If you hold through a platform, the platform's own withdrawal process and timescales apply on top, and the platform may charge for dealing. How long investment platform withdrawals take sets out the usual sequence.

There is one situation where selling is not possible at all: a fund can be suspended, which stops investors buying and selling for a period. That is rare but it happens, and fund suspensions explains what it means for holders. Liontrust itself suspended dealing in its Russia Fund on 25 February 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions, in agreement with the depositary and with the knowledge of the FCA. That is a different fund from this one, but it shows what a suspension looks like in practice.

If an investor dies, Liontrust sets out three options for beneficiaries of inherited investments: invest into a new account, transfer the investments into a new name, or sell the investments and receive the proceeds in cash²⁵. Trusts and inheritance tax have their own rules, and the government's guidance on reporting inheritance tax on a gift or trust sets out when a trust may need to be registered before an IHT100 is started²⁶.

Problems, complaints and protection

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 518552¹. Regulation means the firm must follow the FCA's rules on how it treats customers and how it handles complaints. It does not protect you from investment losses.

If something goes wrong, the first step is Liontrust's own complaints process, and if you are not satisfied with the outcome you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free to use. If you bought through a platform or an adviser, the complaint may lie with them rather than with Liontrust, depending on what went wrong.

On compensation, the position for investments is different from the position for cash. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme can step in when a regulated firm fails and cannot meet claims, but it does not cover poor investment performance: if the fund falls in value, that loss is yours. Does FSCS cover poor investment performance? explains where that line falls, and what happens if a platform fails covers the platform side.

Two further points are worth knowing. First, the fund's own risk warning applies throughout: past performance does not predict future returns, and you may get back less than you originally invested². Second, if you are approached about an investment in this fund by anyone other than Liontrust, a platform or an adviser you contacted yourself, treat it as a potential scam and check the firm on the FCA Register. Investment scams sets out the warning signs.