Strategic Leadership Shift at L&G: Deepening Real Assets Ambitions with New Global Co-Heads
In late January 2026, Legal & General (L&G) — the major UK financial services and asset management group — announced a strategic leadership appointment aimed at accelerating its growth in the real assets and private markets sectors. Two senior executives from Proprium Capital Partners, Tim Morris and Philipp Westermann, have been named Global Co-Heads of Real Assets within L&G’s Asset Management division, marking a key milestone in the firm’s efforts to scale its global infrastructure and real estate capabilities.
This development is more than a simple personnel change: it reflects broader industry trends, competitive pressures, and evolving investor demand. To fully understand the significance, one needs panoramic context — from the background of L&G’s private markets strategy to the potential implications for investors, employees, and global markets.
Background: L&G’s Evolving Role in Private Markets
Founded in 1836, Legal & General has grown into one of Europe’s largest financial services groups, managing life insurance, pensions, investment, and savings products. With assets under management (AUM) exceeding £1 trillion, the firm has increasingly looked beyond traditional public market investing into private markets and real assets for sustainable, long-term returns.
Private markets — which include infrastructure, real estate, private credit, and other non-public investments — have become a major focus for asset managers globally. These areas are attractive for their potential to deliver stable cash flows, inflation hedging, and diversification — especially in an era of low interest rates and market volatility.
In May 2025, L&G took a major step into this arena by acquiring a 75 % stake in Proprium Capital Partners, a specialist real estate private equity firm. The deal was strategically aimed at bolstering L&G’s footprint in sectors such as residential, logistics, hospitality, and student accommodation across key international markets.
Proprium itself was formed in 2013 as a spin-out from Morgan Stanley’s real estate special situations team and had built a reputation for agile investment strategies and deep sector expertise — traits that appealed to L&G as it pursued private markets expansion.
Why the Leadership Appointment Matters
The appointment of Tim Morris and Philipp Westermann as Global Co-Heads of Real Assets goes beyond simple titles. It serves several strategic purposes:
1. Integration and Partnership Consolidation
With Proprium already majority-owned by L&G, bringing its co-managing partners into senior leadership helps integrate the two firms’ cultures and operations. Such integration is critical in reducing friction between legacy systems and ensuring unified strategy execution across geographies.
2. Emphasis on Growth and Scale
L&G has publicly set an ambitious target: grow its private markets AUM from approximately £71 billion to £85 billion by 2028. Leadership capable of managing both strategic vision and execution is central to achieving this.
Morris will focus primarily on leading the Global Real Assets proposition, while Westermann will concentrate on growing Proprium’s business and aligning its activities with L&G’s overarching goals. This division of responsibility allows for concerted scaling efforts without losing entrepreneurial momentum.
3. Responding to Competitive Pressures
Across the asset management industry, firms such as BlackRock, Amundi, and Brookfield have aggressively expanded private markets capabilities. Leadership in this sphere is now a differentiator — particularly for institutional investors seeking complex, illiquid asset exposure. The Co-Head appointments signal to the market that L&G intends to be a serious global competitor.
What This Means for People and Markets
The ripple effects of L&G’s structural shift extend to multiple stakeholders:
For Investors
- Broader Access: Institutional and high-net-worth investors could gain wider access to real assets strategies through L&G’s expanded platform.
- Diversification: Increased focus on private markets may provide more diversified return streams, especially attractive during periods of public market volatility.
- Confidence Building: Clear leadership often reassures investors about execution capability, potentially improving investor commitments and fundraising outcomes.
For Employees and Partners
- Cultural Integration: Proprium staff and existing L&G teams will need to navigate a phased cultural and operational integration, which often comes with challenges such as aligning systems, processes, and performance expectations.
- Opportunity Windows: With growth ambitions, new hires and internal promotions are possible, potentially boosting career opportunities in global real assets and private markets.
For Markets
- Capital Flows: As L&G pushes into new sectors and geographies — including Asia, Europe, and the U.S. — it may influence competitive dynamics, potentially catalyzing further investments in infrastructure, logistics, and real estate.
- Real Asset Valuations: Large capital allocations from major players can affect asset pricing and liquidity in certain markets, especially niche segments like student accommodation or specialized logistics hubs.
Broader Strategic Trends in Private Markets
L&G’s current strategy is part of a broader trend across global finance — institutional investors and asset managers are increasingly allocating capital to private markets for long-term growth potential. These investments often offer:
- Higher fee potential compared to traditional public funds.
- Less correlation with public equity and bond markets.
- Stable, predictable cash flows, particularly from infrastructure assets like utilities, transport, and energy.
However, private markets also carry risks: illiquidity, longer investment horizons, and valuation opacity. Effective leadership, therefore, becomes critical to navigate these challenges — offering one explanation for L&G’s emphasis on experienced real assets executives.
Future Outlook: What Comes Next
Looking ahead, several developments are possible as a result of this leadership change and L&G’s broader ambitions:
1. Accelerated Global Expansion
With dedicated leadership and strategic funding, L&G’s real assets platform could accelerate its presence in emerging markets where infrastructure and real estate demand continues to grow — particularly in Asia and parts of the U.S.
2. Innovation in Product Offerings
Expect new investment products tailored to institutional investors seeking diversified exposure beyond traditional equities and bonds. These might include thematic real assets funds, sustainable infrastructure strategies, or co-investment structures.
3. Competitive Responses
Rivals will likely react to L&G’s moves, potentially leading to strategic partnerships, M&A, or talent acquisitions within the private markets domain. Heightened competition could benefit investors through increased innovation and options.
4. Regulatory and Market Considerations
Private markets are subject to regulatory scrutiny in different regions, particularly regarding transparency and investor protection. As L&G expands globally, navigating these frameworks will be vital to ensure compliance and maintain investor trust.
Conclusion
The appointment of Tim Morris and Philipp Westermann as Global Co-Heads of Real Assets at Legal & General reflects both a tactical and strategic evolution within one of Europe’s largest asset managers. It underscores L&G’s commitment to private markets growth, integration of specialized expertise, and strengthening its competitive position internationally.
For investors, employees, and markets alike, this leadership shift signals confidence in real assets as a long-term growth engine, supported by experienced professional guidance and strategic capital allocation. As private markets continue to evolve, such moves may shape the future landscape of global asset management.
Reviewed by Aparna Decors
on
January 29, 2026
Rating:
