Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has nabbed James Crossley as its head of UK retail sales as Simon Hynes shifts into the newly created role of head of retail distribution for Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea).
The shake-up comes as LGIM makes a retail push in Continental Europe and follows its acquisition of ETF platform Canvas.
In May, LGIM, the UK’s largest asset manager, announced it had received the green light from the Irish regulator to set up a management company for Ucits and its Alternative Investment Funds as part of its Brexit planning. It said at the time Europe was a strategic focus for the business.
Crossley previously worked at Jupiter as head of retail sales. He had worked with Hynes, who was head of global distribution at the firm before joining LGIM in 2015.
Both men will report to Honor Solomon (pictured), head of retail for Emea.
“The UK remains a core focus for us,” Solomon said regarding Crossley’s appointment. She said he is highly experienced in UK sales management. “We know he is highly thought of by many of our partners.”
Solomon has been in her role since it was created in 2014 as part of Lgim’s growing distribution strategy.
Crossley exited Jupiter in January following its own restructuring of its retail distribution team. That saw Jupiter’s wealth and retail teams merge under the leadership of John Tevenan. The move was due to the “increasingly blurred boundaries between wealth managers and retail distributors”, Jupiter said at the time.
