Legal & General Group PLC (LSE:LGEN) shares climbed higher after the life insurer provided a bullish update on its Institutional Retirement division, which specialises in bulk annuities.
Ahead of a strategic "deep dive" event for investors, the FTSE 100 group reaffirmed its robust outlook for the division, reporting bulk annuity volumes of £10 billion in the year to date, with exclusive agreements on a further £0.5 billion that is expected to close in the year.
It said the pipeline for these pension risk transfers is "strong" and the market is "highly attractive", with a target reiterated for between £50 billion and £65 billion in UK deals through 2028.
The group highlighted its shift toward gilts-based investment strategies in 2023, reducing strain on UK PRT deals to approximately 1%, well below its 4% guidance.
This reduced capital strain may support additional shareholder returns, which it said will be clarified at its final results in March.
L&G reiterated its broader financial targets, including 6–9% compound annual earnings growth from 2024–2027, a return on equity exceeding 20%, and Solvency II capital generation of £5–6 billion.
Shares in the group climbed 3.4% to 230.5p in early trading.