US Presidential Election 2016: Clinton vs Trump – whose economic policy is better for markets? April 27, 2016 It is a momentous time in terms of geopolitics. A plethora of major events with potentially significant investment consequences will take place this year. They range from the Brexit hurricane in the UK, to tectonic shifts in the oil economy abroad. Even ostensibly local conflagrations, such as political deadlock in Brazil, may impact wider markets. But [...]
Inflows and funds under management up for St James’s Place, and new mortgage products announced April 26, 2016 St James's Place revealed what it called a "strong" set of results today, as well as formally announcing the launch of a new mortgage offering. The wealth manager reported group funds under management of £62bn for the three months ended March 2016, up from £55.8bn the year before, while gross inflows increased to £2.5bn, up [...]
Executive pay: Focus on remuneration packages is distracting from the real issues April 26, 2016 April hasn’t been a good month to be on a remuneration committee. Earlier this month BP came under fire for awarding their chief executive a £14m deal; last week the Investment Association stated that boardroom pay practice “isn’t fit for purpose”. Anyone with responsibility for setting executive pay could be forgiven for keeping their heads below the [...]
End of tax year investor rush drives positive fund sales in March April 25, 2016 Net retail investor sales shot up to £379m last month as punters rushed into fixed income, mixed asset and targeted absolute return funds. Cautious investors backed out of equity funds, however, with an outflow of £459m, according to the the Investment Association's monthly statistics release. Investors are still nervous after worldwide share issues slumped to a seven-year [...]
Brace yourself, bosses: Leading investor reveals it shot down resolutions at almost one in five AGMs last year April 25, 2016 As companies such as Shire and AstraZeneca brace themselves for a rocky AGM season, one major asset manager has today revealed that it has been voting no for some time now. Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), which held assets worth over £750bn at the end of 2015, has revealed that it shot down at least one resolution at [...]
How technology is driving investor interest in British entrepreneurs April 22, 2016 Investors are increasingly interested in British entrepreneurs, according to a new report. Growth capital raising in the UK, driven by automating technology, totalled £360m across 76 transactions in the first quarter, research by Kingston Smith found. The report noted that the figure was down from £405m across 99 transactions in the first quarter of 2015, but [...]
The City wades in to Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday celebrations – with some right royal investment tips April 20, 2016 You may have heard, the Queen has a big birthday coming up. Her Majesty will be turning 90 on Thursday 21 April. This is a big and historic moment in the history of the nation and London’s public relations and marketing industries wouldn’t have their world famous reputation if they let an opportunity such as this [...]
Ethical investing: How to get started April 20, 2016 People used to call it nuts – but ethical investing has changed radically. Whether its termed ethical, responsible, or sustainable investing, the aim is generally the same. It's investing your money in businesses which have some intention of making the world a better place. Barely a week goes by without newspaper headlines about corporate tax avoidance, [...]
Ardian raises $10.8bn to invest in secondary private equity funds and says “market has come of age” April 19, 2016 The second-hand private equity market has "come of age", Ardian declared as it announced new funding worth $10.8bn (£7.5bn). The private equity firm, which until 2013 was Axa Private Equity and is now largely employee-owned, said it has raised $27.4bn for secondary investment in the last five years. Ardian today announced it had fundraised $10.8bn for secondary [...]
Investors warn of weaker profits on S&P 500 – and low wages in the States could cause civil unrest too April 19, 2016 Investors are warning over the future path of the S&P 500 as a combination of low wages and the strong dollar place a question mark over corporate profitability. US wages are at a record low in relation to the country’s GDP – and this accounts for corporate profits being so high. But it’s a worrying sign, [...]