Renewal at Legal & General: A U.S. Manager Takes Over

Legal & General (L&G) has appointed a new CEO for its recently established asset management division. The new leader hails from the US and brings extensive expertise in private wealth management, indicating the direction in which the UK’s largest asset manager plans to grow. In a series of announcements made by the new L&G CEO António Simões on Tuesday, the company disclosed the appointment of Eric Adler, who was previously with the US insurance group Prudential Financial. The appointment is pending regulatory approval. L&G manages over £1.1 trillion in assets and has consolidated its funds management department with its private markets business into a new unit. Michelle Scrimgeour, the current head of Legal & General Investment Management, will step down after a transition period. Adler, who led the private alternatives division at Prudential Financial’s asset manager, aims to advance L&G’s ambitions for profitable growth and the mobilization of investments to create economic opportunities and positive social impacts. He emphasized that the combination of scale, global distribution, and expertise in both public and private markets puts L&G in an excellent position to meet client needs, including the growing demand for responsible, mixed investment solutions. Simões praised Adler for his track record in building business units, his extensive international experience, and his strong client focus. Adler formerly headed the real estate division at Prudential Financial’s fund manager and also served as head of its European business. L&G aims to achieve operating profits of £500 million to £600 million from its asset management division by 2028, and plans to grow its private markets platform from £52 billion to £85 billion. The announcement comes just a week after L&G agreed to sell its homebuilding company Cala Homes, as part of a streamlining process led by Simões. The CEO, who took up his position in January, outlined his plans for a more clearly structured group with a sharper investment focus at an investor day in June. However, L&G’s stock has yet to respond to these measures and is down 10 percent since the beginning of the year, while the UK blue-chip index has risen by 7 percent. L&G, which under former CEO Sir Nigel Wilson became a significant investor in areas ranging from residential properties to science parks, recently announced a partnership with the UK’s state pension program Nest and the Dutch pension fund manager PGGM to invest up to £1 billion in rental housing in the UK.