MUFG likely to deny Softbank loan over Wework bailout November 21, 2019 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan’s largest bank, is reportedly likely to withhold additional loans from Softbank to finance the conglomerate’s $9.5bn (£7.3bn) rescue package for struggling office space firm Wework. Softbank has asked for around ¥300bn (£2.1bn) additional loans for Japan’s three megabanks – MUFG, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group – [...]
CMC Markets raises targets following profit surge November 21, 2019 Spreadbetter CMC Markets has reported a jump in net operating income for the first half and raised its full-year target as traders adapted to changes following a regulatory clampdown on high-risk bets. The figures CMC Markets said its net operating income rose 45 per cent for the six months to 30 September, hitting £102.3m. This [...]
Investors expect to take ‘10.3%’ a year from retirement savings November 20, 2019 | City Talk Investors believe they can make aggressive withdrawals from their retirement savings and not run out of money, according to the Schroders Global Investor Study 2019. Investors believe they will be able to withdraw, on average, 10.3 per cent a year from their retirement savings without running out of money, according to a new global study. [...]
Why passionate innovators make for better investors November 19, 2019 | City Talk What does it take to succeed in business and investing? Differentiation is among the key ingredients. You need to offer a product that differs from the competition in a way that clients recognise as added value. If you want to beat the market as an investor, the first thing you need to do is something [...]
Can you trust custom-made funds? November 19, 2019 Segregated mandates — possibly the most unsexy phrase you will come across all year. And yet, these boringly named contracts are becoming increasingly popular. When wealth management firms hire a fund manager to run a bespoke investment portfolio for their clients, this is known as a segregated mandate. Take, for example, St James’s Place (SJP), [...]
Private Equity firm 3i posts 10 per cent return November 14, 2019 Listed private equity firm 3i has reported an increased half-year return of 10 per cent, boosted by good trading performance across its portfolios. The company notched up a total return of £767m for the first six months of the year, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year’s figure. Read more: Cobham buyer Advent [...]
Has WeWork destroyed SoftBank’s credibility? November 13, 2019 | Sponsored By John Colley at Warwick Business School Why is Japanese investment firm SoftBank investing a further $8 billion into WeWork, even though the office rental company is now valued at just $8 billion, and buying out founder Adam Neumann at a further cost of $1.7 billion? Forgetting SoftBank’s previous sunk investments in WeWork – which [...]
Is Mark Barnett repeating Neil Woodford’s mistakes? November 13, 2019 A little over a year ago, many would have argued that following in the footsteps of Neil Woodford was a positive move. Now, after the recent scandal around the infamous fund manager and the collapse of his investment empire, most people would likely argue the complete opposite. Trust has been shaken, and investors are understandably [...]
The rising abuse of short-selling tactics could have severe consequences on healthy businesses November 12, 2019 Share prices have always been subject to manipulation. The “pump and dump” phenomenon in penny shares has been such a common risk that many people avoid buying such volatile stocks to this day. Layers of legislation and regulation have been designed and policed to prevent companies and brokers from this kind of activity — broadly [...]
Woodford protege Mark Barnett reassures investors after fund rating downgrades November 9, 2019 Invesco’s top fund manager in the UK Mark Barnett has apologised to investors after a fund rating agency raised concerns over the performance and liquidity of his investments. Barnett, who previously worked under Neil Woodford before he left to start is own business six years ago, has defended the performance of his funds after consultants [...]