Asian stocks reach record highs on tech euphoria and US-Iran peace deal Markets Stocks across Asia surged during Monday trading, as market euphoria from SpaceX’s IPO on Friday combined with relief over the US-Iran peace deal sent investors back into the stock market, pushing indexes to record highs. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rocketed over five per cent in the first 90 minutes of trading, surpassing the 69,000 mark to [...]
Pension funds must ’embrace’ private markets to fuel growth Investing UK pension funds must stop hiding in public equity benchmarks and ‘embrace’ private markets in order to meet their obligations and accelerate economic growth, the group chief executive of one of the UK’s largest pension providers has argued. Andrew Evans, co-founder and group CEO of Smart Pension, urged providers to steer away from public markets [...]
‘We do not accept the FCA’s characterisation’: Neil Woodford firm responds to watchdog Investing Former star fund manager Neil Woodford’s comeback venture has hit back at the UK financial watchdog, arguing it ‘does not accept’ the regulator’s characterisation of the business after the FCA launched civil proceedings. W Four Point Zero FZE, which trades as W4.0 and is registered in the United Arab Emirates, rebuffed the Financial Conduct Authority’s [...]
‘Novel and extreme’: Analysts calls out SpaceX governance days before IPO June 9, 2026 Analysts and major institutional investors have expressed alarm over the corporate governance of SpaceX as its Wall Street debut creeps closer. The concerns from institutional investors, in particular public pension funds, over corporate governance at Elon Musk’s space tech company “run deep”, with firms in New York and California deeming the structure “novel and extreme”. [...]
OpenAI files to go public as the race between tech giants heats up June 9, 2026 OpenAI has confirmed plans for an initial public offering as it looks to beat fellow artificial intelligence giant Anthropic to Wall Street. The artificial intelligence firm, led by chief executive Sam Altman, submitted paperwork to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO on Monday. OpenAI did not disclose the size or terms of [...]
FCA seeks injunction against Neil Woodford over ‘unauthorised’ investment advice June 8, 2026 The financial watchdog has launched civil proceedings against former star fund manager Neil Woodford and his comeback venture over allegedly providing unauthorised investment advice. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has started civil proceedings against Woodford and W Four Point Zero FZE, which trades as W4.0. The FCA alleges that Woodford and W4.0, which is registered [...]
Blackstone looks to shed $2bn of stakes in private investment funds June 8, 2026 Blackstone is looking to offload over $2bn of stakes held in private investment funds, presenting a test of investors’ appetite for ageing private equity vehicles. The firm is promoting a so-called collateralised fund obligation (CFO), which will bundle more than $2bn (£1.5bn) of stakes in leveraged buyout funds into bonds to sell to investors and [...]
Will the SpaceX IPO send retail investors into orbit? June 5, 2026 SpaceX is preparing the largest retail allocation ever attempted in a megacap IPO in its anticipated listing later this month, with Elon Musk seeking to reserve as much as a quarter of the company’s $75bn float for individual investors. Musk reportedly wants ordinary investors cemented near the centre of the group’s ownership straight from blast [...]
Savvy the Squirrel and ‘simpler regulation’: New City minister reaffirms Labour’s investment push June 4, 2026 The government’s new City minister has doubled down on the government’s commitment to overhaul the UK’s investment culture and encourage more Brits to enter the stock market, including its new squirrel-themed nationwide campaign. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Rachel Blake, who took over from Lucy Rigby three weeks ago, noted that “too many people have [...]
Partners Group suffers surge in withdrawal requests and braces to cap more funds June 4, 2026 Partners Group warned that its flagship private equity fund had been hit by a flurry of requests from wealthy investors, raising concerns the Swiss firm would have to cap withdrawals, a day after doing so on a major European fund. Redemption requests at its $16bn private equity master fund reached roughly six per cent of [...]