LGIMA Launches Index Fund Business

Legal & General Investment Management America (LGIMA), a Chicago-based investment adviser, introduced the new U.S. index fund management business to build on capabilities and management strategies provided to U.S. pension and institutional market clients. The firm has also expanded its core fixed-income and liability-driven investing offerings as part of the move. 

The index fund management unit will leverage a model established by its UK-based affiliate, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), which currently oversee about $466 billion of index fund assets under management, as of September 30, 2014.

“Indexing is an important component in our sophisticated approach to implementing a cost effective and customized de-risking strategy for our pension and institutional clients,” says Mike Craston, LGIMA CEO.

In preparation for the global launch, LGIMA assumed $60 billion in pension assets from LGIM, more than doubling its assets, and added two members to its index fund team.

“We expect the movement from traditional active management to index and alternative beta strategies will continue to accelerate, driven by the investor’s increasing appetite for transparency and lower cost implementation,” says Chad Rakvin, head of U.S. index funds. “Our core offerings of active fixed income, liability driven investing, and index management provide the perfect platform for delivering sophisticated solutions to institutional investors.”