Fidelity has acquired Legal & General Investment Management’s UK Personal Investing business which manages £5.8bn in assets for 300,000 clients.

The company says the deal, for an undisclosed sum, will double the number of D2C customers using Fidelity’s expanding Personal Investing business.

Fidelity Personal Investing currently has 280,000 customers with £20.3bn assets under management.

The transaction is set to be completed in the next 12 months and follows Fidelity’s recent acquisition of Cavendish Online.

Fidelity says on transfer, customers will pay the “same or less” than they do with LGIM.

As Fidelity Personal Investing clients they will get access to an investment and pension platform which includes 3,000 funds, shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds which can be held in an ISA, SIPP or Investment Account.

The LGIM clients can also access Fidelity’s online guidance services, investment tools and other services.

Stuart Welch, global head of personal investing and advisory, Fidelity International, said: “This is an exciting acquisition for us. It follows our recent purchase of Cavendish Online Investments Limited and reflects our ambition and commitment to the UK direct investor market.”

Michelle Scrimgeour, chief executive officer at Legal & General Investment Management, said: “This transaction is a positive step for LGIM and particularly for our direct to consumer business.

“It optimises the strategic fit between two highly-regarded organisations and in particular supports customers, who now gain Fidelity International’s scale and operational capacity in these specific products while continuing to benefit from the LGIM investment expertise which underpinned their original product purchase.”