London-headquartered Legal & General Group has named a new product development head and created a new build to rent fund manager role.

LGIM Real Assets, part of Legal & General Investment Management, has hired Schroders' Tony Doherty as head of product development and appointed his predecessor Dan Batterton to the new role of build to rent fund manager.

Doherty joins after 15 years with Schroders Investment Management where he worked across research, fund analysis, and, for the past 11 years, as a fund manager in the indirect real estate space. Replacing Batterton, he will oversee product structuring and fund launches across the real assets division of LGIM, while providing equity raising support for the firm's property funds and the execution of indirect transactions.

Meanwhile, Batterton will be responsible for developing and structuring L&G’s institutional offering in the build to rent space.

“Tony joins L&G at an exciting time for our Real Assets business and brings with him significant experience across structuring, investment and client solutions. As we continue to move into new areas, Dan’s leadership of our Build to Rent Fund is the start of more announcements in this area in the months to come,” said Charlie Walker, director of business development, real assets at LGIM.

LGIM Real Assets is made up three divisions: Legal & General Property, LGIM Infrastructure and Commercial Lending Limited. As of the end of September, LGIM managed £717 billion ($1.08 trillion) in assets, of which LGIM Real Assets had a total asset value of £19.9 billion.