Further outflows for UK funds as Brexit uncertainty continues October 4, 2018 UK-focused funds continued to experience outflows in August as investor confidence remained dented by Brexit uncertainty, taking the post-referendum total to £10.2bn so far. Net retail sales outflows were £217m in August compared to inflows of £4.6bn the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Investment Association. Read more: Investment Association boosts board gender diversity with shake [...]
Why the ethical finance industry is still behind the curve October 4, 2018 Ten years on since the financial crisis, there has already been a great deal of focus and contemplation on how financial services have changed over the past decade. For many consumers, banks are still distrusted, not helped by mis-selling scandals or paltry returns on savings accounts. There has been a notable shift in not only [...]
Terra Firma founder Guy Hands launches new special opportunities fund to buy Finnish modular building company October 4, 2018 Private equity tycoon Guy Hands has launched a new special opportunities fund that has invested in Finnish modular building company Parmaco. The deal, which comes after the £4bn refinancing and recapitalisation of Annington Homes in July last year, will see a Terra Firma led consortium acquire Parmaco from Finnish private equity group MB Funds. Read more: Guy Hands plotting £1.3bn sale of Italian solar [...]
A guide to good money: How to invest ethically and sustainably October 3, 2018 Good Money Week is now upon us. Launched in 2005, this campaign has nudged sustainable, responsible, and ethical financial products into the spotlight. And it’s the investment industry where this trend has really gained traction, with terms like socially responsible investing (SRI) and “impact investing” coming to the fore. Indeed, it wasn’t long ago that [...]
London investment fund Fuel Ventures raises £20m for expansion into Middle East and China October 2, 2018 London early stage venture capital firm Fuel Ventures has raised £20m in its third fund since 2014. The fund plans to invest in one company a month going forward as the firm expands into China, Europe and the Middle East. Read more: Planet Organic prepares for expansion drive after fund takeover Fuel Ventures' portfolio of companies, which [...]
A third of non-investors say they would consider ethical investment funds October 2, 2018 A third of non-investors would consider putting their money into ethical funds, according to a new survey. More than half of Brits said they prefer to use ethical financial products and 64 per cent of those said they were prepared to pay extra for socially conscious services, research by online investment service Wealthify said. Read more: UBS launches [...]
Live for today, but plan for your future retirement – are you saving enough, and looking after your health? September 26, 2018 UK life expectancy has failed to improve for the first time since 1982, according to figures from the ONS released yesterday. However, life expectancy remains relatively high for both women and men, at 82.9 years and 79.2 years respectively. But how can we ensure that our later years will be happy, healthy and, ultimately, [...]
Gam investment director investigation sparked by whistleblower September 25, 2018 An investigation into former Gam Investments director Tim Haywood was sparked by concerns raised by a whistleblower. The Zurich-headquartered asset management firm launched an internal probe into Haywood's conduct in November last year, however the whistleblower went on to contact the Financial Conduct Authority four months later. Read more: Gam shares slide after Credit Suisse slash price target Haywood, [...]
Help Investors Cut to the Best Ventures September 25, 2018 In the ever-growing blockchain innovation space, there is a lot of noise that ICOs and other new ventures need to cut through, to get noticed by investors and users. This is mission critical. Even the best, most innovative, most promising, have to contend with a marketplace where the waters have been muddied by propaganda, some [...]
Tokenization: It isn’t New…but it is the Future September 25, 2018 As the Crypto winter maintains its steady grip on token prices and the ICO craze of 2017 has all but subsided, for now at least, many are wondering what to make of all these tokens that now float around in cyber space? In this article we look at the emergence of all these tokens in [...]