Legal & General shares have long laboured under a heavy discount, the market chaos that ensued after the autumn mini-budget only added more weight. But the strength of capital generation by the insurer indicates that more optimism might be warranted over the income potential of the stock.
Surplus capital generated by the insurer came in at £1.9 billion — a 10 per cent rise on 2021 — and combined with £1.7 billion in investment returns, pushed the surplus capital to almost £10 billion. Cue another 5 per cent rise in the dividend to 19.37p a share, bang in line with a target to grow the payment at a low-to-mid-single rate out until 2024.
How sustainable is that? The total amount of capital generated by the
