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 [...]
Podcast: The plastic problem facing investors August 11, 2021 | City Talk Read the full transcript Part one: The weight of plastic worth all the fish in the sea Ashleigh Cowie (AC): In doing research for this podcast I came across this astonishing fact. Are you ready for it? David Brett (DB): Go on then. Hit me with it. AC: Right now, there are more than 5 trillion pieces of [...]
Robinhood acquires investor relations platform Say Technologies in $140m takeover deal August 10, 2021 Fresh from its IPO at the end of last month, Robinhood today announced to its new shareholders that it will acquire online retail investor relations platform Say Technologies in a $140m (£101m) all-cash deal. New York fintech startup Say provides a digital platfrom that aims to enable retail investors to interact with the companies where [...]
Strategic asset allocation or how I learned to stop worrying and love dispersion August 10, 2021 | City Talk For decades, strategic asset allocation has been considered the driving force behind investment portfolio returns. But the old adage that allocation determines 90 per cent of performance is rapidly becoming outdated. During 2020 and 2021, we have seen how the world of investing is shifting from one in which declining interest rates drive beta performance [...]
Going public: This new report highlights six key trends driving the IPO surge August 10, 2021 | Sponsored While we’ve all been shut indoors for a year and a half, quite the opposite has been happening with the public markets. Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) grew 51 percent in 2020, and the trend is continuing into 2021, as worldwide exchanges continue to flash the new ticker symbols of recently minted publicly traded companies. Intralinks’ [...]
SoftBank to pause investment in China as tech crackdown withers shares August 10, 2021 SoftBank will take a “wait and see” approach and pause its investments in Chinese tech startups until Beijing’s current regulatory crackdown on the sector calms, chief executive Masayoshi Son said on Tuesday. Son hoped the situation will be resolved and new rules for the sector would be introduced within “a year or two”, but still [...]