LGIM enters European ETF market

RNS Number : 5189W

Legal & General Group Plc

15 November 2017

 

Legal & General Group plc

15 November 2017

Legal & General Investment Management enters European ETF market by acquiring ETF platform Canvas with $2.7bn of assets

Legal & General Group Plc ("L&G") today announces that Legal & General Investment Management (Holdings) Limited ("LGIM") has entered into an agreement to acquire Canvas, the established Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) platform of ETF Securities Limited. The acquisition includes the platform and embedded infrastructure for ETFs as well as $2.7bn of existing assets across 17 products and partnerships in equity, fixed income and commodities.  The UK and Ireland based platform is listed on multiple stock exchanges and licensed for distribution in 14 European countries and will enable LGIM to develop a broad range of strategies in the European ETF market. 

Canvas is a platform which has built a diverse range of ETFs working with partners and directly in a UCITS compliant ETF format.  It manages investments for a number of ETFs, while also allowing partners to launch and manage their own ETFs on the platform. 

LGIM is the UK's largest asset manager with over $1.2 trillion assets under management² including $45bn² of European AUM and this acquisition provides new and existing clients with access to one of the fastest growing segments in asset management.  It will broaden LGIM's geographical reach, product capabilities and expertise, enabling it to provide more solutions to help clients achieve their investment objectives. 

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

As at the end of October 2017 the global ETF and exchange traded product (ETP) market size reached a new record of $4.6trn AUM with year to date flows of $538bn eclipsing 2016's full year flow record of $391bn.  The US remains the largest region by assets with $3.3trn AUM; however Europe is growing at a faster pace.  Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Europe reached a new record of $0.8trn, increasing 33.7% in the first 10 months of 2017.  2017 is on track for a record year in net inflows in Europe with October 2017 marking 37 consecutive months of net inflows and a record level of $95bn in the year to date, up 102% on October 2016.¹

Mark Zinkula, CEO of LGIM, commented:

"Legal & General is a leader in product innovation and we are constantly exploring ways to deliver new investment solutions for our clients. The ETF market is one of the fastest growing segments in asset management. A number of long-term macro trends, including the increasing use of passive vehicles and the drive to digitalisation, will lead to a growing demand for ETF products. We are well positioned to leverage the scale of our $431bn² index business to develop an ETF solutions range that complements our existing range of index funds."

"This is a natural step in our strategy to develop products for a wider audience. The acquisition of Canvas enables us to cater to a growing base of clients across Europe and further grow our market share in both retail and institutional markets. LGIM shares a strong cultural alignment with Canvas and we look forward to working with the team going forward."

1.     Source: ETFGI

2.     As at 30 June 2017 LGIM AUM £951.1bn, Index AUM £331.5bn and European AUM ex UK £34.8bn;

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For further information, please contact:

Investors:

Laura Doyle                            Head of Investor Relations                                                               020 3124 2088

Sujee Rajah                            Investor Relations Manager                                                             020 3124 2047

Media:

Elizabeth Bickham                  Senior PR Manager, LGIM                                                               020 3124 3589

Elizabeth Steyn                      Senior PR Executive, LGIM                                                              020 3124 4353

Notes to editors:

Legal & General Group Plc:

1.     Established in 1836, Legal & General is a leading provider of insurance, savings and investment management products in the UK. The Group has a market capitalisation of £15.9bn (as at 14 November 2017) and is responsible for investing £951bn worldwide (as at 30 June 2017) on behalf of investors, policyholders and shareholders.

2.     Legal & General has over seven million customers in the UK for life assurance, pensions, investments and general insurance plans and over one million customers in the US who rely on us for life assurance.

3.     For full year 2016, Legal & General's adjusted operating profit (IFRS basis) was £1,628m and adjusted earnings per share were 22.20p for the period, an increase of 11% and 19% respectively. Net release from operations (net cash) was up 12% to £1,411. Full year dividend was up 7% to 14.35p, with adjusted return on equity at 19.6%.

4.     In H1 2017, Legal & General's operating profit was up 27% to £988m with earnings per share up 41% to 15.94p. Total release from operations was up 13% to £824m.  An interim dividend of 4.30p was announced, return on equity rose to 26.7% and the Solvency II coverage ratio was 186%. 

5.     Legal & General is listed on the London Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol LGEN.LN and has an American Depositary Receipt ticker symbol OTC:LGGNY.  Further information on our ADR program can be found here: http://www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/investors/adr.html

For more information on Legal & General, please see http://www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/

ETF Securities Group

The ETF Securities Group is one of the world's leading innovators of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) and provides specialist investment solutions to investors around the world, enabling them to intelligently build and diversify their portfolios.

Canvas

The European ETF platform of the ETF Securities Group, Canvas is a leading, scalable UCITS ETF platform which has the flexibility to build on in-house capabilities as well as work with other partners to launch new and innovative ETFs.  The Canvas product range is registered for distribution in 14 countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and the UK.

ETFGI

ETFGI is a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, based in London, England. Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner, co-founder, ETFGI website www.etfgi.com.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to Legal & General, its plans and its current goals and expectations relating to future financial condition, performance and results. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances which are beyond Legal & General's control, including, among others, UK domestic and global economic and business conditions, market related risks such as fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates, the policies and actions of regulatory and Governmental authorities, the impact of competition, the timing impact of these events and other uncertainties of future acquisition or combinations within relevant industries. As a result, Legal & General's actual future condition, performance and results may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set out in these forward-looking statements and persons reading this announcement should not place reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as at the date on which such statements are made and Legal & General Group Plc does not undertake to update forward-looking statements contained in this announcement or any other forward-looking statement it may make.

 

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