LGIM appoints Helena Morrissey CBE as Head of Personal Investing

This is a new role, reflecting LGIM’s commitment to developing its business offering savings and investments direct to customers. Technology and changing consumer behaviour are transforming the savings industry, and Helena’s appointment will help LGIM address these trends. 

Helena was chief executive of Newton Investment Management for 15 years, before stepping down last August, and is chair of the Investment Association (IA). She also founded the 30% Club and chairs the Diversity Project². Her expertise in this area will benefit Legal & General as the company aims to achieve gender balance in the workforce through the 50/50 by 2020 initiative. Helena has, throughout her career, championed greater diversity and transparency in the asset management industry and the wider business community. In her new role, she will build and lead a compelling digital platform for direct customers, helping them to manage key milestones such as saving for children or investing for retirement. Helena will report into Mark Zinkula, CEO of LGIM, and will be joining LGIM’s board.

The UK savings market is undergoing significant change, with increasing convergence between pensions and other forms of savings such as ISAs. LGIM’s defined contribution (DC) business has grown from £28bn in 2012 to £50bn³ and has over two million customers in workplace pensions. LGIM already offers investment products to consumers directly, and the direct proposition will build on its relationships with existing end customers as they move through their working lives into retirement. Helena will work closely with LGIM’s DC, and its wealth and intermediary businesses as she develops the direct proposition.

Helena said: “I wanted a role where I could make a real difference to how the industry engages with its customers. LGIM has the potential to be not just a market leader in this space but to develop a genuinely different approach. We are looking forward to building a savings business with strong and direct connections with our customers, including those who have never really thought about investing before or find existing offerings off-putting. There is no doubt that the UK direct savings market is highly competitive and moving very quickly: we are looking to get to the point where we are all using technology to access funds in the same way that we use Amazon to access books. Our focus will be on building a service, not a sales process.”

Mark said: “We are very excited that Helena is joining us at LGIM. She is highly respected and one of the most progressive thinkers in the industry. She is passionate about understanding and meeting the needs of investors, and is the right person to lead LGIM’s direct to consumer business. LGIM is a market leader in defined benefit (DB) and DC pensions and is experiencing strong growth in its wealth and intermediary business, and we see an opportunity to bring our significant expertise to the direct market. Our business model continues to evolve, and we will remain at the forefront of meeting our customers’ needs with a focus on value for money, transparency and responsible investing.”

Helena will take up her new role on May 1, subject to the usual regulatory approvals. She will continue to chair the Diversity Project, which is supported by LGIM.

ENDS

1. Source: LGIM internal data as at 30 June 2016. These figures include assets managed by LGIMA, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.  Data includes derivative positions.
2. Helena set up the 30% Club in 2010 to campaign for greater female representation on company boards. She chairs the Diversity Project, which was launched last year to encourage a more inclusive culture in the investment and savings industry. She has been Chair of the Investment Association since July 2014. She stepped down as chief executive of Newton in August 2016, remaining as non-executive chairman until the end of the year.
3. Assets under administration for the UK DC business were £50bn as at 30 June 2016.