Our philosophy

As a group, Legal & General believes in inclusive capitalism where our purpose is to build a better society while improving the lives of our clients and creating value for shareholders.

For LGIM, this means having a responsible investment strategy that tries to help address some of society’s biggest problems such as climate change, housing crises and the need for regional economic regeneration. Responsible investing can also be good for the long-term returns we generate for our clients. This is because we believe that economic growth can be affected by ESG (environment, social, governance) factors and so it’s essential to have an investment strategy that mitigates risks and unearths opportunities.

As an employer, it makes sense to LGIM that building a better society for all should start with the culture we create for our own people. If we want an environment where people can do their best work, they need to feel safe and valued or we risk losing them to rival firms and missing out on the benefits that different perspectives can bring. Therefore, LGIM is committed to constructing an equitable, inclusive workplace, not just because it’s the right thing to do for our people, but because we recognise the huge benefits it brings to our business.

Our actions

Words matter, but actions are more powerful

It isn’t enough to want to create a workplace culture where all employees can thrive. We need to put practical measures in place so that our people can expect – and receive – career opportunities based on merit not background, where different perspectives are not only valued but actively encouraged, and where everyone feels safe to be themselves.

We've set out four priority actions for our business that we believe are helping to encourage diversity in our workforce:

  • Hiring better: we proactively recruit from a wider and more representative cross-section of the societies and geographies in which we work
  • Creating more opportunities: we use our scale and industry reputation to reach those from under-represented backgrounds and create opportunities for them to acquire skills that help them to join and succeed in workplaces like ours
  • Helping our line managers and leaders to be professionally inclusive: we equip our people with understanding, knowledge and skills to help them work effectively and inclusively regardless of team or setting
  • Retaining and progressing existing talent: we aim to ensure that those who already work at LGIM feel connected to our firm and believe it’s a place where they can grow and develop. We do this by providing supportive networks, activities and services such as offering spaces for prayer in our buildings to supplying desk fans for those managing menopausal symptoms

Diversity and Inclusion at LGIM

Diversity and Inclusion at LGIM video

LEGIT (Legal & General Inclusion Team)

The Legal & General Inclusion team (LEGIT) coordinates and promotes engagement on diversity and inclusion at LGIM. LEGIT consists of several self-governed employee networks. The networks are open to all, whether you are part of a particular community, want to become an ally of those who are, or simply want to find out more. Each network raises awareness of diversity and inclusion topics across LGIM. They regularly invite colleagues to join discussions, networking opportunities and speaker events that are held throughout the year.

Our LEGIT networks:

  • L&GBT+ Allies
  • Gender Balance
  • Family & Carers
  • Cultural Diversity /Ethnicity/Race
  • Socio-economic Mobility
  • Disability
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Neurodiversity

Responsible investing

We believe that bringing together people of different ages, experiences, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, neurological outlook, and social and economic background is a crucial step towards building a better economy and society. 

Studies show that diverse businesses are more successful[1]. At LGIM, we don’t only believe this of our own workforce, but we also view diversity as a financially material issue for our clients, with investment implications for the assets we manage on their behalf.

For 10 years, we’ve been using our position to engage with companies on this issue. In 2020, with our expectations on gender diversity well-established, we announced that from 2022 we would be voting against the chairs of boards in the US and UK that lack ethnic diversity. In March 2022, we reflected on the progress made so far and announced which companies we expected to vote against due to a lack of board ethnic diversity.

[1] Why diversity matters | McKinsey

Please see here for further details.  

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Key risks

The value of an investment and any income taken from it is not guaranteed and can go down as well as up, you may not get back the amount you originally invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.