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Legal & General chief insists UK’s economic prospects outweigh impact of far-Right protests
Riots will not deter overseas investors from putting money into Britain, the boss of Legal & General (L&G) has said.
António Simões, chief executive of the pensions giant, said there was “no correlation” between the recent unrest seen across the country and the appetite of international companies to invest.
When asked whether foreign funds might steer clear of Britain, he said: “That’s not my view, I don’t see that. Most investors invest on the basis of the fundamentals of the economy.”
Britain’s brightening economic prospects, including high wage growth and falling inflation, were more important factors, he added.
A number of English cities have been engulfed in riots over the past two weeks, with racial tensions simmering after far-Right protests.
The Government has pledged to crack down on rioters, while prosecutors have signalled that they could use tough anti-terror laws to deal with those behind the disorder.
Mr Simões said he had held around 85 meetings with investors across Asia and the US since taking over at L&G in June, claiming that most are eager to invest in Britain.
He said: “There is pent up demand for investment in the UK and having political and fiscal stability is really important.
“For international investors they see the fundamentals of the UK economy, with low inflation, low unemployment and having a good stability, investors are quite keen to invest in the UK.”
L&G is Britain’s largest insurer and fund manager, with $1.1 trillion (£860bn) of assets under management and 14m retail customers.
Mr Simões launched a radical overhaul of the group following his appointment, merging the L&G Capital division with its wider fund management business.
He also pledged to shrink the business by selling off divisions such as housebuilder Cala Homes.
The plan is already bearing fruit, as core operating profit for the half year ending June 2024 rose to £849m from £844m.
Since coming to power last month, the Government has pledged to plough more pension funds into so-called “productive” assets, which includes infrastructure and housebuilding.
L&G has backed the investment plan, with Mr Simões claiming there is a symmetry between the Government’s plans and the insurer’s own business model.
He said: “Everything we’ve seen is encouraging and actually very aligned with our own strategies.”