Exclusive: City’s venture capital guru on Brexit, fundraising and impact investing March 17, 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 [...]
BoE’s Bailey apologises to investors amid criticism over LCF collapse March 15, 2021 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has apologised for his role in failing investors of collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance. His apology came amid rising pressure about his responsibility in a series of scandals during his role as head of the Financial Conduct Authority. On Monday morning, Bailey told BBC Radio 4 that [...]
Impact-Weighted Accounting: the missing ingredient? March 9, 2021 | City Talk Sustainable investment capital increasingly demands evidence that positive impact is produced alongside positive financial return. Once adopted by investors, transparent impact metrics will initiate a rotation in portfolios that moves them away from ‘impact negative’ and toward ‘impact positive’ investments. This impact-driven rotation should produce environmental, social and governance (ESG) Alpha for investors. Impact is [...]
No more fifty shades of green March 8, 2021 | Sponsored For quite some time now the term ‘fifty shades of green’ has been used to describe the investor challenge of wading through a sea of sustainable investment options, from dark green, to light green to just plain green-washing. The sustainable investment sector has grown exponentially in recent years, and while I very much welcome the [...]
Chasing “financial independence retire early” (FIRE): is it possible? March 8, 2021 | City Talk At what age are you planning to retire? For many the standard answer to this is “somewhere in my 60s or beyond”. Schroders analysis suggests that if you start saving for your retirement at age 20, you’ll need to save between 12% – 15% of your salary for 40 years to retire on 50% of your [...]
Should you look at Irish whiskey as an investment? March 5, 2021 With St Patrick’s Day on the not-too-distant horizon, thoughts inevitably turn to iconic festivities to be enjoyed. For many this involves toasting a taoscán of Irish whiskey. The day and drink are synonymous with each other. But this year maybe you should think about investing instead of drinking your whiskey? The Irish end their toasts [...]
Google launches $2m fund to help bridge funding gap for Black tech founders March 2, 2021 Google For Start Ups launches fund to tackle lack of black talent in tech
Exclusive: UK finance leaders want buoyant investment as we enter post-Covid world February 26, 2021 UK finance leaders are gearing up for a year of eager investment as Covid recovery prospects boost economic positivity, according to a report by procurement consultancy Proxima. The survey found that a combination of political change and post-Covid visions are underpinning an overwhelmingly positive outlook. So, what will the future bring for the UK’s wounded [...]
Wall Street tanks as tech stocks drag down market February 25, 2021 Wall Street has tanked today, with technology stocks in particularly dragging down the markets. The S&P 500 was down more than 2 per cent at one point, and retreating technology stocks dragged the Nasdaq down more than 3 per cent, as the benchmark 10-year note yields surged above 1.6 per cent to the highest in [...]
IG Group suspends leveraged bets in 900 shares February 23, 2021 IG Group is withdrawing leveraged share bets on hundreds of firms as the London-based company reacts to the day-trading trend gripping financial markets.