How Long Is the Investment Learning Curve? March 2, 2017 | City Talk Mistakes and disappointments are not unusual in the investment world. On the contrary, it is investment successes that are rare. Persistent boom-and-bust economic cycles underline the numerous unavoidable challenges that investment decision makers face. Moreover, professional investors rarely have a complete understanding of their own miscalculations or those of others. From poor analyst forecast accuracy [...]
Man Group reports losses and lower performance fees March 1, 2017 Hedge fund Man Group disappointed investors with pre-tax losses of $272m for 2016 this morning, largely driven by accounting write downs at the company’s discretionary investments arm, GLG, and at FRM, Man’s fund of funds business. Performance fee revenues were down to $81m, compared to $302m in 2015, with declines across all divisions. The FTSE [...]
NCC chief exec Rob Cotton has stepped down after profit warnings March 1, 2017 Cyber security group NCC has announced chief exec Rob Cotton has stepped down today with immediate effect. The departure follows two recent profit warnings, and the group is now on the hunt for a new boss and a new chairman. Paul Mitchell, the current chairman, steps down at the end of May. The company recently appointed [...]
It’s official: Easyjet, Capita and Dixons Carphone could be leaving the FTSE 100 February 28, 2017 The London Stock Exchange has published the names of the companies likely to drop out of the FTSE tomorrow. As expected, budget airline Easyjet is hovering on the brink of demotion from the FTSE 100 into the FTSE 250, as well as Capita and Dixons Carphone. Easyjet has lost 40 per cent of its value over one year, [...]
Human Rights Issues and Your Portfolio February 28, 2017 | City Talk We would rather not think about human rights issues when it comes to asset allocation. In the developed world, we often treat human rights violations — modern-day slavery, child labour, etc. — as anachronisms, at least as far they concern us. Or we dismiss them as problems for someone else to deal with, whether activists, [...]
Alliance Trust investors clash over proposed buyback February 26, 2017 Investment fund Alliance Trust is convening a general meeting for shareholders this Tuesday to approve its plan for a £620m buyback deal with Elliott Management, the activist investor. It proposes that the buyback will take place in five tranches to enable the American hedge fund to cash in its investment. UK private investors’ association ShareSoc [...]
Warren Buffett’s annual letter: Star-spangled banners, Gekko, buybacks and insurers February 25, 2017 It's great being right. It's even better when being right makes you bucket loads of money. And for around half a century, Warren Buffett – the world's second wealthiest man – has made a name for himself in being both. Today he sent his annual letter to investors of his behemoth Berkshire Hathaway fund, offering a [...]
Why is private equity surviving the storm? February 24, 2017 First came Brexit, then came Trump and with several other European elections in the pipeline, who knows what’s next? For institutional investors looking to ply their trade in the face of such volatility and uncertainty, sentiment towards various asset classes is likely to chop and change. However, private equity is one asset class about which [...]
Coup de grace: Are investors misjudging Marine Le Pen’s chances of victory in France’s presidential election? February 21, 2017 "Fool me twice, shame on me,” goes the idiom. Caught out by shock victories for the Leave and Trump campaigns in 2016, investors are determined not to let political risk get the better of them a third time as the French presidential election approaches this spring. Since the beginning of the year, French government bonds [...]
Asset managers await City watchdog’s final industry report after closing comments on interim recommendations February 20, 2017 The City watchdog today closed the consultation on its interim asset management market study report and will release its final recommendations in the second quarter of this year. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its interim report in November, criticising weak price competition, transparency issues, conflicts of interests and sustained profitability of asset management companies. Read [...]