Legal & General hires PGIM exec to lead GBP1.1 trillion asset management business

By James Booth

Eric Adler will replace Michelle Scrimgeour, who is stepping down from the role after five years

Legal & General has named Eric Adler from US asset manager PGIM as its next chief executive, as the UK's largest fund group looks to bolster its private markets business.

Adler, who is CEO of PGIM's $320bn private alternatives business, will replace Michelle Scrimgeour who is stepping down after five years in the top job at the GBP1.1 trillion firm.

The appointment of Adler comes after L&G said in June that it was shaking up its asset management business by combining Legal & General Investment Management and Legal & General Capital.

L&G also said it wanted to grow its private markets platform assets under management to GBP85bn by the 2028 financial year, up from around GBP48bn currently.

Prior to his leadership of PGIM's private alternatives arm, Adler was CEO and global chief investment officer of the asset manager's real estate division, as well as chair of its European business.

Before joining PGIM in 2010, Adler was co-head of Tishman Speyer Europe.

Adler is the latest asset management CEO appointment to be made in recent weeks. Both Abrdn and Schroders named new leaders earlier this month.

António Simões, group CEO of L&G, said Adler stood out for his track record of growing businesses.

"Eric will join an excellent team that is showing great momentum, and I am confident that this will continue to accelerate under his leadership," Simões said.

"I am looking forward to maximising the role of Asset Management in driving the Group's ambitions, achieving profitable growth and mobilising the power of investment to drive economic opportunity and positive social impact," Adler said in a statement.

During her time at the helm of LGIM, Scrimgeour has prioritised three areas: modernising, diversifying and growing its international footprint.

Under Scrimgeour's watch, LGIM has opened offices in Zurich and Singapore, grown assets under management in Europe to more than GBP100bn, and made a push into the ETF sector.

In addition to her CEO role, Scrimgeour is chair of a working group of the Treasury's asset management task force to assess the impact of new tech on the sector, such as AI, distributed ledger tech and tokenization.

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-24-24 0547ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.