LONDON, March 24, 2026, 16:15 GMT
- Legal & General shares traded at 237.26 pence as of 1232 GMT on Tuesday, topping Monday’s 236.7 pence finish.
- L&G disclosed Monday it picked up 7.2 million of its own shares between March 16 and March 20, snapping them up for cancellation as part of the ongoing buyback.
- March 11 saw an earnings miss and a dip in the solvency ratio—both still on investors’ minds—even with the insurer announcing a record £1.2 billion buyback.
Legal & General shares moved up on Tuesday, trading at 237.26 pence as of 1232 GMT, according to figures posted on the company’s website. Investors were weighing news of a tie-up with Manulife Wealth & Asset Management, along with recent buyback activity. The stock finished Monday at 236.7 pence, Hargreaves Lansdown data showed.
This move is notable, with L&G still working to stabilize sentiment after shares slid 6% on March 11—annual results had missed analysts’ earnings forecasts, despite the group rolling out its largest-ever £1.2 billion buyback. The company maintained that, alongside dividend increases, the programme should push total planned shareholder returns to £2.4 billion over the next year.
Investors homed in on the Solvency II coverage ratio—a key regulatory yardstick for capital—which slipped to 210%, down from 232% the previous year and falling short of expectations. Chief Executive Antonio Simoes told Reuters he was “very comfortable” with the current figure, but the muted reaction on Tuesday points to lingering doubts over whether cash returns and restructuring moves are enough to offset a softer capital read. Reuters
On Tuesday, expansion took the spotlight in corporate news. L&G and Manulife WAM unveiled a sweeping, long-term deal covering everything from distribution to investment management and product development, with reach stretching across Europe, Asia, the U.S., Canada, and Bermuda.
Eric Adler, CEO of L&G Asset Management, called the partnership a move to “expand our global distribution reach” and open up more of L&G’s public- and private-markets products to investors. L&G reported assets under management of about £1.2 trillion at the end of 2025, with some 43% of that outside the UK. Legal General Group
Some actual numbers hit the tape late on Monday. L&G disclosed it snapped up 7.2 million ordinary shares for cancellation between March 16 and March 20, tying directly into the buyback laid out alongside its full-year results.
Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, described the March 11 figures as a “mixed bag” and suggested the early pullback seemed “a little harsh.” In his note, he pointed out that management’s drive to streamline operations and restore profitability in asset management gave some grounds for a more optimistic view on the stock. Hargreaves Lansdown
The sector’s picture remains mixed. Aviva posted a 25% rise in annual profit earlier this month and brought back its £350 million buyback. Standard Life, on the other hand, saw its shares decline on March 16 after investors grew concerned about softer book value and cooling demand for bulk annuities. These pension-risk transfers let insurers assume corporate pension obligations.
Nicolaos Nicandrou, finance chief at Standard Life, told Reuters he still sees the potential for “40 to 60 billion pounds” in pension-risk transfers annually, despite what’s shaping up to be a tepid 2025. That’s a key figure for L&G, which has outlined plans to cement its lead in defined benefit pension-risk transfer and push further into both retail and asset management. Reuters
Even so, any uptick might not last. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% on Tuesday, Reuters said, with surging oil—back over $100 a barrel thanks to Middle East instability—and expectations for more rate hikes from the Bank of England weighing on the market. Insurers and other financials tied to rates took the brunt.
L&G shares, despite Tuesday’s uptick, still sat far from their 279.5 pence high this year, Hargreaves Lansdown data show. The question for investors: is the buyback, plus those new partnerships, a real catalyst for rerating, or just a breather after last week’s drop?
