Exclusive: City’s venture capital guru on Brexit, ESG fundraising and impact investing August 31, 2021 With Brexit just behind us, and the pandemic gradually being brought under control, it seemed like a good time to measure the temperature of London’s venture capital investment space. City A.M. sat down with David Hall, for his first major interview as chairman of the Venture Capital Trust Association, since succeeding Stuart Veale in January [...]
Climate progress tracker improves on higher carbon prices and electric vehicle sales August 31, 2021 | City Talk Last week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, issued a landmark scientific report that serves as a “code red for humanity”, according to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. It comes three months before the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), warns of climate catastrophe and lays the blame firmly at the door of human activity. [...]
UK’s Nest pension fund launches £1.5bn private equity spending spree August 27, 2021 Workplace pension scheme giant Nest has launched a new procurement for private equity, in which it plans to invest £1.5bn – or 5 per cent of its assets under management – by 2024. The state-backed pension fund, which has £20bn assets under management and 10m members, has announced a search for fund managers for the [...]
DWS rejects greenwashing allegations after probes launched in US and Germany August 27, 2021 German asset manager DWS has rebuffed claims that it misled clients by overstating its sustainable investing activities, after the news of probes by US and German regulators into the allegations sent shares plummeting. Shares in the €859bn group plunged by as much as 14.2 per cent yesterday, after reports emerged that the German regulator BaFin [...]
Impact investing is increasingly a buzzword in the City as millennial investors take over August 24, 2021 Impact investing, the strategy to make financial profits but create a long-standing, positive impact on our world, in the process, is becoming increasingly ‘a thing’ in the City and other financial hubs around the world. Many investors are hyper-aware of what is happening around them, with factors such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) making a [...]
ESG investing now mainstream, but who’s holding ‘greenwashed’ portfolios to account? August 24, 2021 Environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns are rising up the agenda of investors, who are increasingly more attentive to the impact of their investments. Beyond financial performance, investors are looking at their portfolios in relation to ESG factors, but how can they assess the ESG credentials of companies and funds when the data is scattered [...]
Global dividends continue march toward pre-Covid levels August 23, 2021 Companies are restoring investor payouts rapidly as the spectre of the Covid crisis over their future prospects recedes, according to fresh figures released today. Data from Janus Henderson shows global dividends surged 26.3 per cent to $471.7bn in the second quarter of this year on an annual basis. Companies that halted dividends to protect cash [...]
Investors in EU sustainable funds may end up with oil, mining or tobacco stocks August 20, 2021 If you want to invest in a fund branded as sustainable under new European Union rules, you’re spoilt for choice. But you may end up owning shares in oil companies, mining conglomerates or tobacco firms. Watch the full report.
Space SPAC: Seraphim-backed satellite firm Spire makes New York debut August 18, 2021 Space investor Seraphim has announced its portfolio company Spire, which provides satellites for space, has debuted on the New York Stock Exchange after becoming the latest space company to close a merger via SPAC. Spire has merged with special acquisition company NavSight Holdings, which valued the satellite firm at $1.6bn in equity. The new combined [...]
Chasing Tesla: how traditional carmakers are revving up their electric vehicle production August 16, 2021 | City Talk Equities generally had a strong year in 2020, but few parts of the market could match the runaway share price gains of the pure electric vehicle (EV) makers. Tapping into investor (and day trader) demand for two popular themes – tech and sustainability – such companies became extremely highly sought after. US group Tesla is [...]