Legal & General today positioned itself for an assault on the US market after posting record full-year results.
The 177-year-old insurer said it hoped to increase its share of the $15 trillion (£10 trillion) of pension assets available in the world’s largest economy.
Legal & General’s fund management arm already controls about $33 billion of US funds, a figure it plans to increase. Chief executive Nigel Wilson said the group would also target bolt-on acquisitions in other parts of its business, including the UK.
His comments came as L&G reported a 9% rise in pre-tax profits to £1 billion helped by strong sales of its annuity and investment products.
L&G also raised its final dividend by 20pc to 7.65p ahead of an possible cut tomorrow by larger rival Aviva,under growing pressure to rebase its dividend because analysts believe it is unsustainable.
Wilson said: “The insurance industry has a poor track record of providing stable dividends. We cut ours back in 2009 but have since focussed on improving our cash flow. In our case, I’m pleased to see that things are now travelling in the right direction, above market benchmarks.”
Shares rose 2.3p to 165p as analysts predicted L&G would continue to increase market share.
Panmure Gordon’s Barrie Cornes said L&G is in “an exceptional position to capture growth from an ageing population, a reduction in state spending and the retrenchment of the banks.”
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