City watchdog calls on internet giants to do more in fight against financial crime ‘epidemic’ September 5, 2019 The chair of the Financial Conduct Authority has called on internet giants to play a greater role in tackling financial crime which he said had reached “epidemic proportions” in the UK. Charles Randell told the Cambridge Economic Crime Symposium on Wednesday night that “financial crime, specifically fraud against individuals, has reached epidemic proportions”. Randell said [...]
Political uncertainty spooks investors as UK equity outflows increase September 5, 2019 Cautious investors pulled £1.2bn from UK equity funds in July, with outflows increasing amid heightened political turmoil. UK equity funds experienced net outflows of £1.2bn, a significant increase on the £744m of outflows reported for June, according to figures from the Investment Association (IA). The funds have consistently seen new outflows over the past year, [...]
Ten things every investor needs to know about offshore wind power September 5, 2019 | City Talk The solar and onshore wind industries have long been areas of focus for climate change investors, but offshore wind has always lagged behind because of its higher cost. However, that is set to change, with substantial growth likely in the sector over the coming years, as offshore wind approaches cost competitiveness with conventional electricity generation. [...]
Premier Asset Management merges with Miton to form £11.5bn asset manager September 4, 2019 Premier Asset Management has agreed a merger with Miton, creating a group with £11.5bn assets under management. An announcement by the two companies said the new business, which will be known as Premier Miton Group, would be “well positioned for future growth”. The new group would have been the fifth largest contributor to net UK [...]
UK private equity deal values double during strong first half September 4, 2019 UK companies led European private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) activity during the first half of 2019, with the value of PE buyouts more than doubling. Overall PE buyout and related deal values for UK firms climbed to €23.3bn (£21.2bn) during the first half, an increase of 124 per cent on the €10.4bn seen [...]
Five sustainable investing myths September 2, 2019 | City Talk Given the dramatic rise in popularity of sustainable investing, it’s perhaps no surprise that a few misconceptions have come along for the ride. Sustainable investing – sometimes known as “ESG” investing because it considers environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities – has become increasingly important. Last year our employer Schroders found two-thirds of investors [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown drops Burford Capital after Muddy Waters short attack August 30, 2019 Hargreaves Lansdown has sold its holdings in Burford capital following a short attack on the litigation funding firm by US short-seller Muddy Waters earlier this month. The investment supermarket has dropped Burford from its Select UK Growth, Select UK Income and Select Global funds, said fund manager Steve Clayton in a statement on Hargreaves’ website. [...]
Poor broker performance reviews leaving fund managers in the dark August 30, 2019 Fund managers may not know how much money they are spending with brokers thanks to a failure to properly review the relationships, a new study has found. Despite the majority having procedures to review broker relationships in place, only 11 per cent of fund managers actually assess how all their brokers are performing, according to [...]
Investing ‘IQ test’ reveals the traits that could limit returns August 29, 2019 | City Talk Investors globally suffer from an ambiguity bias which can prevent them from taking risks with their investments and potentially lower their returns, Schroders investIQ test found. All investors have behavioural biases such as ambiguity aversion or impulsivity which can affect the way they invest. By understanding these biases, investors may be able to improve their [...]
Does Hargreaves Lansdown’s strategy cause too much money to pour into too few funds? August 28, 2019 Given that diversification is one of the most important principles of investing, we should question why the UK’s largest investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown doesn’t seem to be following this basic idea. This became apparent in the wake of the scandal around Britain’s most famous fund manager, as £1.6bn was funnelled into Neil Woodford’s still-suspended fund [...]