Fidelity International has bought Legal and General Investment Management’s direct to consumer investing arm in a move that will double customer numbers at the fund house.
The asset manager announced today (October 23) it had bought the business, which comprises almost 300,000 customers and £5.8bn assets under management, to form part of its own D2C platform Personal Investing.
After the deal, which is expected to complete in the next 12 months, Fidelity’s personal investing arm will boast 580,000 customers and £26bn of assets.
It is the second time Fidelity has looked to bolster its D2C platform within the past month.
Fidelity’s recently announced acquisition of Cavendish Online, which is also set to form part of Personal Investing, will bring more than 30,000 new customers and £900m of assets to the Fidelity platform.
The retail investments included in the deal — primarily legacy Isa, Junior Isa and GIA products — will remain invested in LGIM funds post-deal.
LGIM said the transfer therefore gave customers the “best of Fidelity’s large scale administration” alongside the “LGIM investment expertise they chose”.
Fidelity pledged customers moved to its platform would pay the same or less than they do with LGIM, while having access to the firm’s investment and pension platform.
Former LGIM customers will also have access to Fidelity’s online guidance services, its range of investment tools, market news, daily insights and in-depth analysis as well as Fidelity’s free iOS and Android apps to check their investments on the go.
Stuart Welch, global head of personal investing and advisory at Fidelity International, said: “This is an exciting acquisition for us. Our platform is designed to help investors achieve their long-term financial goals and we provide guidance and support at every life stage.
“We look forward to welcoming LGIM’s customers and helping them meet their financial goals.”
Michelle Scrimgeour, chief executive officer at LGIM, said the transaction was a “positive step” for LGIM.
She added: “It optimises the strategic fit between two highly-regarded organisations and in particular supports customers, who now gain Fidelity International’s scale and operational capacity in these specific products while continuing to benefit from the LGIM investment expertise which underpinned their original product purchase.”
imogen.tew@ft.com
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