Legal & General – which recently
sold its Dutch unit for £137 million – is tapping a new market, whose ageing population could drive growth for the firm’s retirement business.
“We’ve just got approval from the Japanese regulator – you’ll see us win business very quickly,” said L&G chief executive Nigel Wilson, as quoted by Reuters. “We are evolving. America and Japan, given the size of the markets there, are two great opportunities for us.”
According to Wilson, who was interviewed by the news agency, the operation in Japan will start off with around six employees to offer investment management and company pension scheme insurance. The report also cited a spokesperson for the British insurer who said retail pensions will not be part of the Japanese unit.
In 2013 Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) entered Asia Pacific by putting up Legal & General Investment Management Asia Ltd (LGIMA). Wilson noted that LGIM currently sells funds to Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese customers without local operations in those markets.
One of the biggest asset managers in Europe, LGIM has total assets of US$1.2 trillion as of June 30, 2017, including those managed by LGIMA.
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