LONDON, March 25, 2026, 14:35 GMT
Legal & General shares rose on Wednesday after the British insurer and asset manager said on Tuesday it had formed a strategic partnership with Manulife Wealth & Asset Management. The stock was quoted at 243.5 pence at 13:15 GMT, up about 1.8% from Tuesday’s 239.3p close, company and exchange data showed. 1
The latest deal matters because L&G is still trying to win back investors after its March 11 results missed on key measures and showed a weaker solvency position, even as it unveiled a record £1.2 billion buyback. Chief Executive Antonio Simoes said this month that “in two years, we’ve reshaped the company,” but the shares had been broadly flat since he took over at the start of 2024, compared with gains of about 44% for Aviva and 34% for the FTSE 100, Reuters reported. 2
The Manulife tie-up spans distribution, investment management and product development, and is expected to cover products across public and private markets, including alternative credit, fixed income, multi-asset strategies, real estate and infrastructure. Eric Adler, chief executive of L&G Asset Management, called it “another example” of the group using its “build, partner or buy” strategy to drive international growth. 3
That route is becoming more common as traditional fund managers hunt higher-fee business in private markets while margins in listed stocks and bonds stay under pressure. Reuters reported last month that Schroders struck a similar partnership with Apollo to build retirement and wealth products, underscoring how alliances are becoming a favoured route to growth. 4
Wednesday’s gain also landed in a firmer market. The FTSE 100 was up 1.1% by 10:28 GMT on hopes of a Middle East ceasefire, and L&G’s shares, while above the prior close, were still below their 52-week high of 279.5p. 5
In its 2025 results, L&G reported core operating profit of £1.623 billion, up 6%, alongside 9% growth in core earnings per share and a pro forma Solvency II coverage ratio of 210%, a regulatory measure of capital strength. The group also said on March 23 that it had bought 7.2 million shares between March 16 and March 20 under the buyback programme. 6
Sell-side views remain cautious rather than bullish. Matt Britzman of Hargreaves Lansdown said the post-results reaction looked “a little harsh,” while AJ Bell’s Dan Coatsworth called the profit miss “not catastrophic”; separately, broker ratings compiled by Alliance News showed Citigroup raising its target price to 249p on Tuesday while keeping a neutral stance. 7
But the fresh tie-up does not settle the main argument around the stock. The Financial Times reported that KBW analyst William Hawkins called L&G’s solvency result a “big miss”, and if partnerships take time to turn into fees or market conditions worsen again, Wednesday’s bounce may prove hard to sustain. 8
