Asset manager M&G rolls out £500m buyback after smashing capital targets
British insurer and asset manager M&G unveiled a £500m share buyback programme today after it smashed capital generation targets set out following its demerger from Prudential in 2019.
Bosses at M&G said the firm had hit a number of demerger commitments and topped capital generation of £2.8bn over two years, easing past the original target of £2.2bn by the end of 2020.
Chief executive John Foley said the strong performance would allow the firm to put cash back in investors’ pockets.
“In light of this performance and our strong capital generation we are able to announce today £500 million to be returned to shareholders by way of a buy-back programme, expected to start shortly,” he told investors today in a statement.
“Together with dividends paid, we will have returned £1.8 billion of capital to shareholders, equivalent to 32 per cent of M&G’s market value at demerger.”
Foley said the firm was now targeting a series of investments and strategic acquisitions in the UK and Europe across its asset management and wealth divisions.
Profits at the firm slumped nine per cent to £721m last year however, down from £788m in 2020, after changes to longevity assumptions – which includes investment return and inflation – led to reduced benefits.
Assets under management rose by 0.8 per cent to £37bn, which the firm said had been boosted by almost £6bn net inflows into its institutional asset management business and growth in its retail asset management.