Legal & General Group made its first U.S. money management acquisition, buying Global Index Advisors, confirmed Emma Douglas, head of defined contribution solutions at subsidiary Legal & General Investment Management.
U.S. subsidiary Legal & General Investment Management America agreed to purchase the Atlanta-based money manager, which provides target-date funds, for up to $50.4 million, subject to performance and other conditions being met, according to a news release from Legal & General Group. The deal is expected to close by midyear.
The acquisition gives LGIMA more than $50 billion in assets under management, as well as the potential to boost assets in the DC markets in both the U.K. and the U.S.
“It is a great way to break into the U.S. DC market,” Ms. Douglas said in a telephone interview. “It was good to find a firm with a good strategic fit with what LGIM is looking to do in the U.S. GIA is a U.S. company and will be run out of the U.S. It is very well-established there — it is important for us to keep the GIA brand there.”
“We are hoping to share ideas and thoughts between the U.S. and the U.K. Broadly speaking, the issues in the U.S. and the U.K. when it comes to DC are very similar,” Ms. Douglas added.
