The Legal & General Investment Management direct to consumer business has around 300,000 customers with £5.8bn assets under management.

The transaction – for an undisclosed sum – is expected to complete in the next 12 months. It will see Fidelity nearly double its current 280,000 customer base. Customers don’t need to take any action at the moment.

It comes just a couple of weeks after Fidelity confirmed around 31,000 Cavendish customer accounts with a total of £900m of assets will be moved to it next month.

Both acquisitions will form part of Fidelity’s Personal Investing platform with £20.3bn assets under management.

On the LGIM transfer, Fidelity said customers will pay the same or less than they do today. Customers will also be able to choose from its range of over 3,000 funds, shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds which can be held in an ISA, SIPP or investment account.

It added that customers will also benefit from Fidelity’s online guidance services, its range of investment tools and they can download Fidelity’s free iOS and Android apps to check their investments on the go.

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.

“Our platform is designed to help investors achieve their long-term financial goals and we provide guidance and support at every life stage. Our Wealth and retirement planning services, guidance service and tools will help those who want to make the most of their retirement savings and investments.  We look forward to welcoming LGIM’s customers and helping them meet their financial goals.”

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.”