Legal & General Group Plc
12 June 2024
|
Sustainable Growth, Sharper Focus,
Enhanced Returns
Legal & General sets out
refreshed strategy and financial targets
Group shares vision for a growing,
simpler and better-connected business, focused on three core
divisions[1], and announces £200m share
buyback for 2024 as first step of plan to increase returns to
shareholders.
Sustainable growth
· Institutional Retirement: Grow Pension Risk Transfer (PRT)
volumes, writing £50-65bn in the UK by year-end 2028[2], increasing store of future profit[3] and generating permanent capital to catalyse asset
management growth
· Asset Management: Invest to drive scale and profitability,
achieving cumulative Annualised Net New Revenues of £100-150m
(2025-28) and growing Private Markets platform assets under
management to £85bn by FY 2028
· Retail: Strengthen lifetime Retail proposition, including by
leveraging growing Workplace DC platform for customer acquisition,
targeting £40-50bn of cumulative net flows in Workplace DC
(2024-28)
Sharper focus
· Create single Asset Management division, bringing LGIM (Legal
& General Investment Management) and LGC (Legal & General
Capital) together as a unified, global, public and private markets
asset manager
· Embed revised Capital Allocation policy across the Group,
aligning investment to rigorous assessment of performance and
strategic fit
· Maximise the value of non-strategic assets through a new
Corporate Investments Unit
Enhanced returns
· Target 6-9% core operating EPS CAGR (2024-27) at an operating
return on equity of over 20%[4]
· £5-6bn cumulative Solvency II operational surplus generation
across 2025, 2026 and 2027
· The Board intends to return more to shareholders over
2024-27[5], through a combination of
dividends and buybacks, with 5% DPS growth to FY24 and a first
share buyback of £200m in 2024, followed by 2% DPS growth per annum
out to FY27 and further similar buybacks[6]
Group Chief Executive Officer,
António Simões, and Group Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Davies,
will present the Group's strategy at a Capital Markets Event at
930am (BST). A link to the presentation
webcast is here.
Slides will be made available shortly before 930am.
Legal & General Group CEO, António Simões
said:
"Over the last 5 months we have
rigorously reviewed our business, listening to investors,
customers, partners and employees. This work has deepened my belief
in our strong foundations and excellent potential.
L&G is in prime position to
respond to and benefit from major structural and societal changes.
Changing demographics, climate transition, economic uncertainty and
technology are driving demand for trusted, experienced investors
that can manage risk through the cycle, originate productive
assets, and deliver returns for savers.
Our vision is for a growing,
simpler, better-connected L&G, focused on three core business
divisions, and set apart by our shared sense of purpose and
powerful synergies.
By seizing the opportunity in
Institutional Retirement while investing to scale and deepen our
capabilities in Asset Management and Retail, we will evolve our
business to better address society's changing investment needs, and
shift towards fee-based earnings at higher returns on capital. We
will make the most of our international business opportunities,
with a particular focus on the US.
The strategy and targets set out
today signal L&G's ambition and commitment to invest to grow
our business, and reward our shareholders for their
support."
Divisional strategies
Institutional Retirement
The Group is well placed to seize
the significant Institutional Retirement opportunity, both in the
UK and internationally. The addressable market is significant -
only 10% of the c.£6.6tn of Defined Benefit pension assets in the
UK, the US, Canada and the Netherlands have so far transferred to
insurers.
In the UK, where we are the market
leader, volumes are expected to average £45bn per annum over the
next decade, up from c£25bn per annum since 2018. Internationally,
we have an established position in the US and are growing in Canada
and exploring our partner model in the Netherlands. We will
continue to pursue a disciplined approach to profitable growth in
these markets.
By FY 2028 we expect to:
·
Grow Institutional Retirement operating profits at
5-7% CAGR (2023-2028)
·
Write £50-65bn of UK PRT at a capital strain of
less than 4% (2024-2028)
Asset Management
We are bringing together LGIM and
LGC into a single, global asset manager, and investing to scale and
deepen their complementary capabilities across public and private
markets.
We are committed to driving growth
in public markets, creating a scalable global operating platform,
driving margin expansion through operating leverage and increasing
average revenue margin.
We plan to materially scale our
in-house and origination platform capability in private markets,
significantly expanding our capabilities and client offerings
across Real Estate, Private Credit and Infrastructure, including
through an accelerated programme of fund launches.
Michelle Scrimgeour has announced
her intention to step down from the role of LGIM CEO, and the Group
has begun a global search for a CEO to lead the growth of the
combined Asset Management division. Michelle will continue as CEO
of the legal entity, LGIM (Holdings) Limited, until this
appointment is made, and will lead the transition and establishment
of our new division with Laura Mason[7],
who is appointed CEO of Private Markets. Both will report to the
Group CEO.
By FY 2028 we expect to:
·
Deliver operating profit of £500-600m by
2028
·
Achieve Cumulative Annualised Net New Revenues
(ANNR) of £100-150m (2025-2028)
·
Grow our Private Markets platform AUM[8] to £85bn (£48bn at FY23)
Retail
We will invest to drive growth in
retirement and savings, recognising the opportunities presented by
the growth in defined contribution and decumulation assets, and the
corresponding customer need for support and guidance.
We will focus on scaling our
Workplace platform profitably, leveraging our strong Mastertrust
position and opportunities in technology to improve the quality and
efficiency of our proposition.
At the same time, we will aim to
increase the profitability and capital contribution of our
Protection businesses, making better use of technology and AI to
improve efficiency and customer experience.
By FY 2028 we expect to:
·
Achieve 6-8% CAGR in operating profit
(2023-2028)
·
Generate £40-50bn of Workplace net flows
(2024-2028)
Corporate Investments
Non-strategic assets, most
materially CALA, will be managed by a Corporate Investments Unit,
reporting to the Group CFO, with the goal of maximising shareholder
value ahead of potential divestment.
Notes
About Legal & General Group
plc
Established in 1836, Legal &
General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a
major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under
management (as at FY23) of which c40% (circa £0.5 trillion) is
international.
We have a highly synergistic
business model, which continues to drive strong returns. We are a
leading international player in Institutional Retirement, in Retail
Savings and Protection, and in both public and private markets
through our Asset Management division. Across the Group, we are
committed to responsible investing and dedicated to serving the
long-term savings and investment needs of customers and
society.
As at 7 June 2024, we estimate the
Group's Solvency II coverage ratio to be 224%.
As at 11 June 2024, Legal &
General has a market capitalisation of £14.6 billion.
Definitions
Store of future profit: Store
of future profit is defined as gross of tax Contractual Service
Margin (CSM) and Risk Adjustment (RA).
Annualised net new revenues: The annualised revenue on new monies invested by our clients
in the year, minus the annualised revenue on existing monies
divested by our clients in the year, plus or minus the annualised
revenue on switches between asset classes / strategies by our
clients in the year.
Core operating profit: Operating profit performance of the core businesses (excluding
the Corporate Investments unit) less Group debt and
expenses.
Core operating earnings per share: Core operating profit, reduced by tax at the UK corporation
tax rate, divided by the average number of shares over the
year.
Operating return on equity: Operating profit, reduced by tax at
the UK corporation tax rate, divided by average IFRS
equity.
Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains certain
forward-looking statements relating to Legal & General, its
plans and its current goals and expectations relating to future
financial condition, performance and results.
Statements herein, other than
statements of historical fact, regarding Legal & General's
future results of operations, financial condition, cash flows,
business strategy, plans and future objectives are forward-looking
statements. Words such as "targets", "believe", "expect", "aim",
"intend", "plan", "seek", "will", "may", "should", "anticipate",
"continue", "predict" or variations of these words, as well as
other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts or
regarding future events or prospects, constitute forward-looking
statements. Please read more about the risks facing Legal &
General in the section entitled 'Principal risks and uncertainties'
on pages 56 to 59, as well as and in notes 7 and 15-17, of the 2023
annual report and accounts available at https://group.legalandgeneral.com/.
These forward-looking statements are based on current views with
respect to future events and financial performance. 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 acquisitions 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.
Nothing in this announcement should be construed
as a profit forecast or to imply that the earnings of Legal &
General for the current year or future years will necessarily match
or exceed its historical or published earnings.
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.
Enquiries
Investors
Edward Houghton, Group Strategy
& Investor Relations Director
investor.relations@group.landg.com
+44 203 124 2091
Gregory Franck, Investor Relations
Director
investor.relations@group.landg.com
+44 203 124 4415
Media
Natalie Whitty, Group Corporate
Affairs Director
Natalie.whitty@group.landg.com
+44 738 443 5692
Elizabeth Bickham, Communications
team
elizabeth.bickham@lgim.com
+44 7887 930 518
Will Throp, Communications
team
will.throp@lgim.com
+44 7791 899 779
Lucy Legh / Nigel Prideaux, Headland
Consultancy
LandG@headlandconsultancy.com
+44 20 3805 4822