Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) is to set up its first Luxembourg Sicav fund in a push to make its
investments available to the European wholesale market.
The London-based asset manager, which is part of insurer Legal & General, says it has gained permission from the Luxembourg financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), for its first Sicav and three underlying funds and that it has filed an application for five other funds, expecting approval before year-end.
LGIM says there is growing demand for its institutional investment capabilities and describes itself as the UK’s largest institutional asset manager with €505 billion in assets under management and as ranking second in Europe among institutional asset managers.
Mike Craston, head of LGIM’s global institutional business, says work is underway to register the funds in 12 further European countries and that LGIM would target specific European markets, aiming at wholesale and institutional clients.
“Initially we will be focusing on European investors seeking exposure to our flagship active fixed income capabilities,” he says.
“There has been significant interest from global financial institutions in the UK, Germany and Switzerland and pension funds in the Nordics region wanting to gain access to our active credit and absolute return type strategies, which are already successfully marketed to institutional clients in the UK.”
LGIM already has local distribution capabilities in place in the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Germany and the Nordics.
It is expected that further appointments will be announced in 2014.
©2013 funds europe
