Following ETF Securities decision to sell its European arm to WisdomTree, the London-based ETF provider has agreed to sell Canvas to Legal & General Investment Management, the United Kingdom’s largest asset manager.
Through acquiring Canvas, LGIM’s assets will increase by $2.7 billion and provide the asset manager with 17 equity, fixed-income and commodity ETFs that it plans to use to charge into the European ETF market, reports Chris Flood for the Financial Times.
The acquisition by LGIM is the second largest transaction in Europe this week after WisdomTree agreed to pay $611 million in cash and shares to buy the majority of ETF Securities’ European business.
According to ETFGI data, investors have funneled $94.8 billion into European-listed ETFs over the first 10 months of 2017, with new business growth expanding at twice the pace of last year. In response to the growing popularity of ETFs, more asset managers, like LGIM, are beginning to eye the ETF space as a potential growth opportunity.
Related: WisdomTree Buys ETF Securities’ Europe Business
LGIM also expects to broaden its ETF lineup for sale across Europe by launching “core” products that would compete with more established players in the space, like BlackRock. The asset manager is also planning other targeted strategies, including environmental, social and governance products, thematic funds and smart beta ETFs.
“This is a natural step in our strategy to develop products for a wider audience. The acquisition of Canvas enables us to cater to a growing base of clients across Europe and to further grow our market share in both retail and institutional markets,” Mark Zinkula, LGIM chief executive, told the Financial Times.
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