How to prevent investment fees from eroding long-term returns May 13, 2014 In a low interest rate environment, the power of compounding can make fee leakage a sizeable drain on your wealth IN A LOW growth environment, high fees equate to long-term wealth destruction. In the year to date, most asset classes have struggled to post positive returns, UK inflation (on the consumer price index) is at [...]
The big fund debate: When it pays to go active May 13, 2014 GOVERNMENT proposals last week that £85bn of assets controlled by local authority pension funds be switched to passive index trackers have intensified the debate over the value of active managers and the fees they charge. Some experts take a “passive where possible” approach, dismissing the ability of fund managers to outperform on the back of [...]
The new science of management? May 13, 2014 “Social Physics” can lead to incremental improvements, but risks marginalising strategy Thinkers influenced by the Enlightenment have long dreamt of applying the rigour, precision, and predictive power of the physical sciences to the social world. Seduced by the elegant laws of Newtonian physics, David Hume, Adam Smith and Auguste Comte sought to uncover rules governing [...]
UK comes one step closer to banning unpaid internships May 13, 2014 The House of Commons has passed a Ten Minute Rule Motion banning unpaid internships by a massive 181 votes to 19. The motion was brought forward by conservative MP Alec Shelbrooke, who argued that unpaid internships disproportionately favoured the children of the wealthy and well-connected. Shelbrooke said fellow members of the House of Commons had [...]
CNBC Comment: Is fixed income dying or just sickly? May 12, 2014 SHOULD investment banks cut off the tail before it infects the body, or nurse it back to health? This is the conundrum confronting banks with fixed income divisions. Once bread and butter for bank profits, the industry is now left fighting over stale crumbs. Barclays’s restructure of its investment bank has sparked fresh debate about [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: It might pay for traders to add to winning positions May 12, 2014 WE ALL know what most traders do wrong: they trade against the trend, their average gain is usually twice the average loss, and they will add to losing positions. And the most televised way of turning profitable is to adhere to the two first rules, while avoiding the third. There is nothing wrong with this, [...]
DailyFX Tips & Picks: Analyst’s pick May 12, 2014 CURRENCY STRATEGIST CHRIS VECCHIO My pick: Short euro basket Expertise: Fundamental and technical analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: A few hours to a few weeks At the current juncture, the ECB has now enhanced its forward guidance with the promise of more dovish policy action in June. The problem is that, [...]
How to end your day productively May 12, 2014 As work draws to a close, here are some useful tips for staying awake, focused and on form FIND yourself clock-watching before home-time? Or failing to disconnect when you do finally walk out of the door? Theories abound (from taking an afternoon nap to chugging caffeine) on how best to beat the 2pm productivity slump, [...]
Darkcoin: The cryptocurrency putting privacy first | City A.M. May 12, 2014 One of the newest cryptocurrencies has been experiencing a surge in recent days. Created on 18 January 2014, Darkcoin has seen its price jump from $1.65 last Thursday to $2.58 today, while its market capitalisation has boomed from less than $7m to more than $11m. This new cryptocurrency has not been been created to lower [...]
Meet John Pullinger: The UK’s new national statistician May 12, 2014 It’s a really technical job, and someone’s got to do it. The job of chief executive of the UK Statistics Authority, and national statistician, has gone to John Pullinger. Pullinger is currently House of Commons librarian and director general, a role he will leave to join the UK Statistics Authority in July. Those who’ve been [...]