IG Group announces £250m buyback after recording annual revenues of £1bn on the back of strong US performance July 20, 2023 IG Group upped its dividend and announced a new share buyback programme of £250m despite reporting a slight drop in pretax profit. In the year to May, profit at the trading firm dropped six per cent to £449.9m, down from £477m last year. It upped its dividend to 45.2p from 44.2p last year. The fall [...]
AJ Bell attracts over £1bn to bring assets under administration to ‘record high’ July 20, 2023 Retail investment platform AJ Bell saw an influx of funds which helped bring assets under administration to a record high, but inflows remained below the same period last year. In the three months to June, AJ Bell saw net inflows of £1.1bn into its platform model – which includes its direct-to-consumer platform and its advised [...]
Mid-market M&A remains resilient as UK market hopes for deal surge July 20, 2023 Mid-market deal activity in the UK has remained resilient despite a fall in the overall level of deals year-on-year, according to new data from Big Four firm PwC. In the first half of the year mid-market deals worth less than £1bn increased 1.8 per cent in the UK as smaller deals remained easier to finalise [...]
Buy-now see-you-later? FCA boss slams claims BNPL firms will quit UK due to regulation July 19, 2023 The chief of the City watchdog said he does not “buy the argument” that buy-now pay-later (BNPL) firms will quit the UK today after it emerged ministers may shelve planned rules over fears firms would leave. The government had been pushing ahead with plans to bring BNPL products offered by firms like Klarna and Clearpay [...]
Insurance chiefs back new Solvency II investment forum to help deliver £100bn in investment July 19, 2023 The heads of the UK’s major insurance firms have written in support of a new Investment Delivery Forum to help drive investment following the reforms to Solvency II. Established by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) earlier in July, the forum is designed to tackle the investment gap preventing investment from the insurance and long-term [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown shares soar as firm secures new clients amid leadership speculation July 19, 2023 Investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown recorded a six per cent increase in net new business over the past three months as clients sought to lock in deals at the end of the tax year. In the three months to June, the Bristol-based DIY investing outfit saw £1.7bn of net new business, despite the market more broadly [...]
GAM takeover battle erupts after Xavier Niel-backed group launches rival bid to Liontrust July 18, 2023 A takeover battle has erupted over ailing Swiss fund manager GAM today as a consortium backed by telecoms mogul Xavier Niel launched a counter bid to London-listed Liontrust.
FCA under fire over greenwashing regulation delays July 18, 2023 The City watchdog has come under fire from a top industry group today after it announced it would delay a key set of guardrails for ‘environmental, social and governance’ investment products.
Hargreaves Lansdown chair set to step down after run-ins with founder July 18, 2023 The chair of retail investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown is set to step down after a bruising series of run-ins with the firm’s founder. In a statement yesterday, the Bristol-based DIY investing outfit said last night that it had begun scouting out “successor chair candidates” for Deanna Oppenheimer, who has overseen the firm since 2018. News [...]
Smart Pension snaps up £750m peer as government calls for consolidation grow July 17, 2023 Top workplace pension firm Smart Pension has snapped up a peer with some £750m under management as pressure from the government grows for faster consolidation in the sector.