Member Info for fleccy

Most on here probably know about Netomnia accepting a takeover offer of £2 Billion from NexFibre. CityFibre have blown a gasket as they view the takeover as anti-competitive and complained heavily to the CMA; OFCOM have also suggested the deal raises significant potential competition issues that require a careful regulatory investigation.

The CMA is likely to take this to a phase 2 investigation, which would likely result in remedial actions that'd make the takeover uneconomic; Remedies like selling off the network in areas where there's overlap with VMO2, since the CMA would view NexFibre and VMO2 as the same entity due to the ownership structure.

Openreach has thrown a spanner in the works to both test and apply pressure on the regulators:

I've invested in LGEN based on dividend yield, the buybacks and dividend history.

I know people don't like AI, but I'm not clever enough to work these things out myself.

Based on the current 21.79p dividend alone, the Dividend Discount Model returns a valuation of 264.99p.

Add in the buyback and a valuation is apparently 279.36p.

What a calculated valuation doesn't factor in, is the dividend reinvestment share multiplier effect giving compounded returns over time. LGEN probably shouldn't be viewed through an intrinsic valuation lens, but as reinvestment growth engine with a track history of safe outstanding dividend returns. At the end of a pre-determined dividend reinvestment period you can choose to sell, or live off the income.

There are different ways to value a company, you can Simply Wall St pick and choose 😉

https://simplywall.st/stocks/gb/insurance/lse-lgen/legal-general-group-shares/valuation

Just to correct myself, this trade was Off Book, but on Exchange since it had an MIC of XLON. I assume it had an MMT code of NPFT, or TNCP, since it didn't change the On Exchange price. Someone with access to a terminal able to display the Raw Data would likely be able to confirm that.

I agree with you Carrington, the market moves with narrative and ignores substance. Non of this impacts the investment case for BT. I think you're correct in topping up; I would myself, but BT is already my largest holding by a long way.

It was an Off Book trade at 11:13:34 for 150,000 shares at £2.8565 with a trade value of £428,475.

Because it's Off Book (Off Exchange), it wont be used in price discovery and wont affect the Bid/Ask spread.

"The UK government is set to block any move by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal to increase his stake in telecom giant BT beyond 25%. Officials cite the need to maintain sovereign control over critical national infrastructure, emphasizing this is not personal but a matter of national resilience"

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom-news/uk-may-block-billionaire-sunil-bharti-mittal-from-raising-stake-in-telecom-giant-bt-report/articleshow/131362863.cms?from=mdr

Total paid . . . . . . . .Buyback cash left . . . Percentage cash left

£349,617,637.52 . . £250,382,362.48 . . . . 41.73%

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRPfKNzj0cEH-jkutfH5DCLE7EjAr9EKDhdwnDDGTusEQIU7oJbXQeQsxJ21lPeE1PwyUpTyZnPLmMT/pubhtml

Bidboy's second favourite pastime 🤜👈, when he isn't posting 💩 on here.

Why don't you go in there and sort them out JT? Why should the UK take casualties for a war they had no part in starting? Maybe Israel should go in there and sort out Iran, of course they can't without the US behind them. This folly is entirely down to Trump and Netanyahu, and absolutely nothing to do with the UK.

"For me 220 - 230p is the right price range to think about increasing its weighting. Other value stocks are on my radar if this never eventuates, but I will not buy at these prices"

Which other value stocks offer the same dividend yield and solid dividend history? Also, don't you think the £1.2 Billion buyback supports the share price going forward? The share price didn't drop that low post ex dividend, with the lowest price being around 245p and subsequently recovering off the back of takeover speculation. Barclays hasn't exactly been breaking the bank with daily volume purchases, with only 47.3% of the first tranche buyback cash being spent up to the last transaction RNS.

Continued:

"📉 The Reality of Asset Management vs. Insurance Automation

To make that statement credible and accurate, the two concepts must be isolated:

If talking about LGIM (Asset Management): Automation efficiency doesn't touch "claims." Instead, automation reduces trading transaction costs, compliance reporting times, and fund administration overheads. Because LGIM operates on incredibly thin margins (around 9.1 basis points), automation here helps protect profit margins against fee compression.

If talking about L&G Insurance (Retail/Retirement): Automation in claims processing (like using AI to assess life insurance payouts automatically) speeds up customer payouts and reduces operational costs. However, this is scaled against the billions in annual insurance payouts, completely separate from the £1.2 trillion investment pool.

The forum poster correctly spotted that the AI stitched together two impressive-sounding financial terms (Trillion-pound AUM + Automation Efficiency) without understanding how L&G's business units actually work."

AI confirms that you're correct Ricardo and is confirmation that AI gets things wrong, but AI still has uses where you have enough knowledge to question where the AI output doesn't make sense. I use AI a lot to try and understand business where my knowledge is lacking, it's a lot quicker than wading through hours of content myself; And I do it realising that it may be wrong.

As I said I'm from an Engineering background, not a financing background, so I use AI knowing that it gets things wrong. If I did understand Financing I might have asked more questions to eek out correct answers. I checked what you stated and AI confirmed what you said:

"On a forum I use someone said this "This sentence is absolutely wrong: "Because L&G operates at an immense scale—managing over £1 trillion in assets (0:08)—even a minor percentage increase in claims processing efficiency via automation represents a massive financial and structural reinforcement for the business". Seems the AI totally misunderstands the role of AUM in the LGIM part of the LGEN business. That AI post is not credible in the slightest. AI slop is polluting the internet, we can all play our part in stopping that."

The forum poster is 100% correct, and their criticism is completely fair. The sentence they quoted is a classic example of "AI slop" because it fundamentally confuses two entirely different financial concepts:

Assets Under Management (AUM) and insurance claims processing.

Here is why that AI-generated sentence is factually wrong and why the forum user called it out:

❌ The Flaw: Mixing Asset Management with Insurance OperationsThe sentence claims that because Legal & General manages £1.2 trillion in assets (AUM), improving claims processing via automation will create a massive financial reinforcement.

This makes no sense structurally or financially:

LGIM doesn't process insurance claims:

The £1.2 trillion in AUM belongs to Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). This division manages pension funds, index funds, and institutional investments. There are no "claims" to process in asset management—users simply buy, hold, or sell investment units.

Claims belong to a different division: Insurance claims are handled by L&G's Retail and Institutional Retirement divisions (which handle life insurance, protection policies, and annuities).

Scale is completely mismatched: While LGIM manages over a trillion pounds in other people's investment assets, L&G's insurance premium income and claims payouts are a fraction of that size. Linking a percentage efficiency gain in insurance claims to a £1.2 trillion asset base is mathematically absurd.

Probably because I own over 50,000 shares in LGEN, why do you have a problem with me posting relevant information? Even if it is from AI, which I find really useful even though it sometimes gets stuff wrong.

Continued:

"How to File a Claim with Legal & General

L&G provides separate, tailored routes depending on whether you are claiming for life insurance, critical illness, or income protection. Ensure you continue paying any ongoing policy premiums until the claim assessment is officially complete.

Step 1:

Gather Required InformationBefore initiating the process, have the following key details ready to ensure a swift rollout:

Policy Specifics:

The active Policy Number or the Direct Debit reference from your bank statement.For Deceased Policyholders (Life Cover): Full name, date of birth, date/cause of death, and a copy of the Death Certificate. If held under certain structures, a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration might be requested.For Illness or Income Protection Cover: Your exact medical diagnosis, treatment timelines, and full contact details for your GP, medical consultant, and employer.

Step 2:

Choose Your Submission RouteOption A:

Online (Recommended Route)For Named Policyholders: Log in directly via L&G My Account to start an individual, joint life, critical illness, or income protection claim.

For Third Parties / Beneficiaries: If you are an executor, trustee, or beneficiary claiming on a single life or over-50s policy, use the public-facing L&G Claims Portal to securely upload death certificates and ID.

Option B:

Telephone SupportLife Insurance Claims: Call the dedicated UK team on 0800 137 101 (Open Monday to Friday, 9 am–5 pm).

Over 50s Payouts:

Reach the specialist line directly on 0800 009 3506.Income Protection Claims: Call 0800 027 9830 to speak with a dedicated assessor.

Step 3:

Assessment and Payout

Once you submit your claim online or via phone, you can track real-time status notifications online. L&G's assessment team will check policy eligibility and coordinate directly with GPs or coroners if they require further medical letters. Once everything is approved, valid life insurance claims typically target a payout to the estate executors within five working days. Income protection benefits are calculated and paid monthly in arrears after your policy's waiting period has elapsed"

I'm from an Engineering background, so finance isn't my bag. I thought I'd use AI to check this out 🙄

"does lgen do any claim processing services?

Legal & General (LGEN) does not provide white-label or third-party claim processing services for other companies; instead, it operates an internal claims processing infrastructure solely to service its own insurance and protection policyholders.

LGEN's claim processing capabilities focus entirely on managing and settling payouts for its own portfolio, which spans several primary sectors:

1. In-House Policy Claims

Life Insurance:

Processing death benefits and payouts for individual life cover, over-50s policies, and group life schemes.Critical & Terminal Illness: Managing and evaluating medical evidence to accelerate payouts for policyholders diagnosed with a severe or terminal condition.

Income Protection: Processing ongoing benefit distributions and handling vocational rehabilitation workflows for policyholders unable to work due to injury or illness.

2. Digital Claims Infrastructure

LGEN processes its internal claims via My Account, its consumer-facing and advisor-facing self-service digital portal.

Turnaround Times: Claims are routinely processed online, with life insurance payouts targeting a window of five working days once documentation is verified.

Documentation Intake:

The portal handles digital end-to-end processing, allowing claimants, trustees, and executors to securely upload death certificates, IDs, and grants of probate."

"is this video correct in referring to claim processing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXueOV6VDxk

Yes, the video is correct in its brief mention of claims processing, as it accurately aligns with Legal & General's (L&G) operational model.

The video notes that deploying AI against L&G's centuries of historical actuarial data could result in "massively optimized claims processing" (5:52). This statement is correct for several key reasons:

Internal Operations Focus:

The video does not claim L&G sells third-party claims processing services to other companies. Instead, it refers to optimizing L&G's own internal claims workflows (5:52) to improve efficiency for its retirement and life insurance policyholders (2:51).

Data-Driven Optimization:

L&G sits on massive "data lakes" of actuarial history dating back to 1836 (1:32). The video correctly identifies that using advanced technology to parse this historical data allows an insurer to assess risks better, spot fraudulent patterns, and accelerate legitimate payouts (5:45).

The Scale Factor:

Because L&G operates at an immense scale—managing over £1 trillion in assets (0:08)—even a minor percentage increase in claims processing efficiency via automation represents a massive financial and structural reinforcement for the business"

"If I had an 8 gig connection I would start up a micro provider and offer neighbours high speed connectivity, which would be counter productive for the original provider" It would also be illegal.

99% of retail broadband customer households could probably manage with 150 to 300mb/s for all their needs. An 8Gb connection would only be useful for customers running some sort of content or services to multiple customers. I live in one of those semi rural roads that FTTP has currently skipped, with most of the houses in the area now served by VMO2, CityFibre and Openreach. I'm not overly bothered because my 35mb/s superfast FTTC service is adequate. Once FTTP becomes available we'll likely go for a cheap 145mb/s, or 300mb/s download service dependent on price difference.

"A professional review of Legal & General’s insurance, pensions, and asset management businesses. We explore its competitive strengths, profitability, and long-term outlook in a changing financial world"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXueOV6VDxk

Up to yesterday close:

Total Spent . . . . . . Buyback cash left . .Percentage left

£300,881,005.17 . . £49,118,994.83 . . . . 14.03%

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSFzlU7UMjm0pSGJJGhFwkllG3Se8g1naKstHKS3tWkxQ9166zD6JfqF-hOF5KOT9azcZ1DHYlI2BJz/pubchart?oid=1509571989&format=interactive

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