Mark Zinkula looks set to retire as chief executive of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) in the summer having taken the firm to a new milestone. LGIM said it had passed £1 trillion (€1.16 trillion) of assets under management (AuM).
LGIM had external net inflows of £42.6 billion in 2018, which contributed to a 3% increase in total AUM to £1,015 billion – or €1.16 trillion – from £983 billion the year before.
In February, LGIM announced that Michelle Scrimgeour, the regional chief executive of Columbia Threadneedle Investments, would succeed Zinkula as chief executive.
As Legal & General Group delivered its full-year results on Wednesday (6th), Zinkula said: “2018 was a pivotal year for the business [LGIM], surpassing £1 trillion in assets under management and building on the momentum of recent years in which we have delivered consistent growth. International expansion has been a strategic priority and we have made significant investments and key hires to ensure we have the right platform for long-term growth in all of our key markets.”
The firm has been working to expand its international presence, which saw international assets grow by 13% to £258 billion in 2018. In the US, LGIM saw net inflows of $15.2 billion, £6.8 billion in the Gulf and £3 billion in Asia.
The firm also saw growth in its home market. The UK defined contribution business continued to “grow rapidly”, with total net inflows of £8.4 billion, more than double the previous year’s figure.
Retail funds business saw net inflows of £2.8 billion, down from £3 billion in 2017, though AUM increased by over £1 billion to £25.5 billion. This was led by demand for multi-asset and index products.
LGIM launched a personal investing business in 2017 and said it had reduced core fund prices and minimum investment amounts. AuM in the business is £5.1 billion, up from £5.5 billion the year before.
Zinkula said: “The business is in a good position to continue the pattern of growth we’ve seen over the past eight years and I’m confident that Michelle is the right person to steer the business through this next stage.”
©2019 funds europe
