LGIM

Paul Milsom, a former senior equities trader at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), has today been sentenced to two years imprisonment for disclosing inside information between October 2008 and March 2010.

Insurance giant Legal & General (L&G) has reported increased operating profit of £1.09bn in 2012, beating analysts' forecasts thanks to double digit sales growth.

David North, head of asset allocation and head of global high yield bonds at Legal & General IM, is to leave the group after 12 years.

Former Standard Life Investments fund manager Lance Phillips has joined L&G Investment Management as head of active equities.

LGIM's HODGES

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has hired Marion Stommel from institutional house WestLB Mellon Asset Management (WMAM) as its new head of credit, following the departure of Christophe Tamet.

Strategic bond fund managers Richard Hodges from LGIM and Fidelity's Ian Spreadbury both expect UK government bond yields to remain at their abnormally low levels for the foreseeable future.

Legal and General Investment Management's credit strategist Ben Bennett discusses whether the insatiable demand for fixed income assets can be sustained.

LGIM's head of European equities Gavin Launder has argued the three-month long short selling ban imposed on Spanish securities will have no material impact on the market.

Strategic bond managers have been reducing high yield exposure in anticipation of a default rate spike in the second half of the year.