Investment managers lobby politicians for strong EU ties post-Brexit November 6, 2019 UK fund managers have called on the next government to protect cross-border investment arrangements and secure close alignment with EU rules post-Brexit. Entering the fray of general election campaigning, the Investment Association (IA) also warned against a no-deal Brexit, calling it “the worst possible outcome for UK investment managers”. Read more: Investors urge FTSE 350 [...]
Investors urge FTSE 350 firms to link executive pay to performance November 5, 2019 Listed companies must make a clearer link between pay and performance and justify executive remuneration levels to avoid shareholder dissent, the Investment Association (IA) has said. The IA has written to all FTSE 350 firms outlining the standards it expects their remuneration policies to meet ahead of the 2020 annual general meeting (AGM) season, when [...]
Saudi Aramco IPO: The pros and cons November 5, 2019 Saudi Aramco is the mother of all oil companies, and the most profitable business in the world. Last year, its net income stood at $111bn, dwarfing the earnings of other oil giants. So the announcement on Sunday that the state-owned Saudi Arabian company will finally go public is massive news for investors, and marks the [...]
Does WeWork spell the end of the unicorns? November 4, 2019 | Sponsored WeWork has undergone a dramatic fall from grace recently. Just two months ago the office rental start-up was expecting to offer shares to the public at a total business valuation of $47 billion. This soon halved and then investors rapidly pulled their support for an initial public offering (IPO) above $12 billion. The IPO was [...]
What does disruption mean for investors? November 1, 2019 | City Talk In this short video, Alex Tedder discusses the opportunities that disruption and innovation bring for investors. We’re really excited about disruption because it’s something that’s taking place around us every day. With disruption you typically get innovation. And innovation creates tremendous growth opportunities for investors. That’s why we’re so excited right now. You only have [...]
Wework could be worth ‘zero’, says Bill Ackman October 30, 2019 Influential investor Bill Ackman said he thinks there is a risk of Softbank having to write off the entirety of its multi-billion-dollar investment in Wework. “I think WeWork has a pretty high probability of being a zero for the equity, as well as for the debt,” Ackman told the Robin Hood investor conference in New [...]
Suspended Woodford fund outperforms FTSE benchmark October 30, 2019 Former star fund manager Neil Woodford’s suspended Income Focus Fund has outperformed the FTSE all-share benchmark in the two weeks since it was frozen. In a letter to investors this morning, Link Fund Solutions – which is managing the suspension – revealed that the fund’s returns had grown 1.39 per cent, while its benchmark return [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen to offer nine months’ fully paid parental leave October 30, 2019 Investment company Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) is to offer all its employees nine months of fully-paid leave when they become parents, and one year’s total leave. SLA said the leave would be available to all new parents, irrespective of gender, family situation, or how long they have worked for the company. Read more: Martin Gilbert [...]
The death of yields in six charts October 30, 2019 | City Talk There has been a relentless downward move in global bond yields since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. This trend – underpinned by highly supportive central bank policies and stubbornly low inflation – has been a defining characteristic of the post-crisis world. Another defining trait of this period, and a landmark for financial markets, has been [...]
After the Woodford saga, here are four signs that your fund is in trouble October 29, 2019 The industry is still reeling from the news of the Woodford fund closure, with investors left in limbo as to when they will get their money back. But the saga has also brought two more general considerations into sharp focus: first, whether star fund managers are the answer at all, and second, what red flags [...]