What is an asset class? January 2, 2020 | City Talk Today, diversification and alternative returns are our top portfolio concerns. Why? Because low interest rates may have driven valuations of stocks, bonds, and other asset classes to unsustainable heights, so we’re forever on the lookout for uncorrelated assets to incorporate into our portfolios. And of course, product providers are all too happy to accommodate us, [...]
Why investors may need to dig a little deeper in 2020 December 23, 2019 | City Talk Summing up the outlook for 2020, Schroders’ CIO thinks that superficially, overall market valuations look uninteresting. But dig a little deeper and there may be reasons for active investors to be enthusiastic about 2020. As we move into a new decade, we don’t think it’s time to party like it’s 1999, but it’s not a [...]
Aberdeen Standard Investments to take control of Woodford Income Focus fund December 20, 2019 Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) will take over Neil Woodford’s sole remaining fund it has been revealed today. Fund administrator Link Fund Solutions confirmed to investors this morning that the management of the £267m fund would be handed to ASI. Read more: Windup date for flagship Neil Woodford fund confirmed by administrators The management of the [...]
Farmland-focused investment trust eyes $300m UK float December 19, 2019 An investment trust focused on farmland has set out plans to float in London, aiming to be the UK’s first listed trust offering investors direct access to the asset. The Global Sustainable Farmland Income Trust is seeking to raise $300m from investors to purchase “a diverse portfolio” of farmland around the world. Read more: RBS [...]
Sun Life to buy Infrared Capital for £300m December 18, 2019 Canadian insurance giant Sun Life has announced it will buy a majority stake in London-based infrastructure and real estate investment manager Infrared Capital. Sun Life will buy an 80 per cent stake in Infrared Capital for £300m, with Infrared’s owners retaining the option to sell their remaining stakes to Sun Life four years after the [...]
Chief executive of digital wealth manager Nutmeg to quit December 18, 2019 Martin Stead, chief executive of Nutmeg, is stepping down early next year, the digital wealth manager has announced. Stead, who joined Nutmeg in 2015 and took over as chief executive a year later, is leaving the company to move overseas. He will be replaced by chief financial and operating officer Neil Alexander. Read more: Nutmeg [...]
Arrow Global shares rise following €838m fund raise December 18, 2019 Arrow Global shares have risen this morning after the debt recovery specialist announced it had raised €838m (£712m) for its first fund. Of the total capital commitments for the eight-year closed end fund, €628.5m was raised from third party investors. Read more: Arrow underlying profits fall due to rise in costs The fund is targeting [...]
Is the “Santa Rally” real? December 18, 2019 | City Talk Investors found their festive spirits dampened at the end of 2018. With concerns over the health of the global economy looming large, global stocks fell 13.7 per cent in the final quarter of the year, according to the MSCI World Index. It wasn’t a merry advent period, indeed it was the worst December for markets [...]
BoE: $5bn leaves Hong Kong funds amid protests December 17, 2019 Political unrest in Hong Kong has triggered traders to pull as much as $5bn (£3.8bn) of capital from the region since April, according to the Bank of England (BoE). The outflows account for nearly 1.25 per cent of Hong Kong’s GDP and began when protests broke out following the proposal of a controversial extradition bill [...]
SRI investing and Islamic finance: the same but different December 17, 2019 | City Talk Sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing and Islamic finance share similar origins and aspirations. Yet for the most part, these two modes of finance have existed as distinct approaches in parallel worlds. Common to both is an ethical underpinning that puts stewardship and societal value creation at the forefront of finance. CFA Institute has recently [...]