The pact involves a UK-headquartered business with £1.2 trillion ($1.6 trillion) of assets and a Canada-headquartered group with C$1.3 trillion ($940 billion) of AuM.

L&G and Manulife Wealth & Asset Management (Manulife WAM) have announced a long-term multi-faceted strategic partnership that covers distribution, investment management and product development.

The pact is designed to encourage growth of their business in Europe, Asia, the US, Canada, and Bermuda, the firms said in a statement. The rollout of the arrangement will happen over a number of years.

Manulife WAM will be able to make the most of its asset management capabilities and distribution channels in North America and Asia. In L&G’s case, it can leverage its global asset manager status and role in areas such as annuities and reinsurance, they said.

The firms expect to develop the partnership in phases, covering asset classes in public and private markets.

The partnership puts together L&G, with its approximate £1.2 trillion ($1.6 trillion) of assets under management, alongside Manulife’s C$1.3 trillion ($940 billion) in AuM.

The development fits L&G's plan last year to deliver international growth through a build, partner or buy strategy. 

“This is another example of L&G consolidating its position as a global asset manager and delivering on our strategy to build, partner or buy as we drive international growth,” Eric Adler, CEO of L&G Asset Management, said. “We see immense potential in our complementary investment capabilities working together to address increasing demand for retirement and wealth solutions.” 

Paul Lorentz, CEO of Manulife WAM, said: “This strategic partnership will support the expansion of our product platform to bring a more comprehensive and competitive offering to all markets where we currently operate – reinforcing our commitment to be the number one choice for customers around the world.”