Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has become the latest UK-based asset manager to set up a presence in Ireland ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU.

The Central Bank of Ireland has authorised LGIM’s Dublin-based management company, LGIM Managers (Europe) Limited.

The €1.1trn asset manager said the Irish office would be home to investment strategies including index funds, active equity, bonds, multi-asset, liability-driven investment and money market funds.

Eve Finn, managing director for LGIM Ireland, said: “This will allow us to manage all of our EU-domiciled funds within Europe after the UK leaves the EU.

“Europe is a strategic focus for LGIM and we are committed to offering leading investment solutions to all our clients across the region.”

According to IPE’s Top 400 Asset Managers report, LGIM runs €793bn for European institutional investors, making it the second-biggest asset manager in the region after BlackRock.

The group’s move follows announcements by several other major asset managers they are to set up or expand operations in EU fund management hubs such as Dublin or Luxembourg.

Last week, Columbia Threadneedle Investment announced plans to shift assets from UK-domiciled funds to its Luxembourg range. A spokesman for the group said the assets affected amounted to 2% of its global assets – roughly €8.6bn, based on figures from IPE’s Top 400 report.

Jupiter, Royal London, Aberdeen Standard and M&G have made similar decisions in recent months.

Lawyers have warned that managers have less than three months left to apply for authorisation in Ireland in order to be prepared for Brexit at the end of March next year.

MFS plans Luxembourg expansion

Separately, MFS Investment Management is planning to create an EU hub in Luxembourg, according to Reuters.

Speaking to the newswire, Madeline Forrester, managing director of MFS’ UK institutional business, said the firm was making a “long-term investment” into its existing Luxembourg office. No final decisions had been made regarding how many staff would transfer or what roles would be included.

MFS’ Luxembourg base is home to 36 equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies available to European investors, a spokeswoman said.

The company ran €24.6bn on behalf of European institutional investors at the end of 2016, according to IPE’s Top 400 report.

The 2018 Top 400 Asset Managers survey and report will be published with the June issue of IPE.

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