Electra Private Equity shares up as it announces investment shake-up plans October 14, 2016 Electra Private Equity's share price jumped two per cent this morning after it announced plans for a company shake-up. Under the scheme, the private equity firm will move from having a listed investment trust to a "corporate" structure from next year. It also plans to launch a £200m return of capital to investors in the fourth quarter [...]
Fund managers join fight for more female FTSE 350 board members October 12, 2016 Jupiter, Old Mutual and Legal & General are among the fund managers to have made commitments to vote against board appointments at companies which do not have enough female executives. And the 30% Club, which is campaigning for FTSE 350 boards to be 30 per cent made up of women by 2020, has called on more investment companies to follow suit. Read [...]
Investors more worried about lower for longer interest rates than Brexit vote October 12, 2016 Rock bottom interest rates appear to have given people more headaches about where to stash their cash than the Brexit vote. Paul Abberley, chief executive at investment manager Charles Stanley, told City A.M. clients seemed generally more concerned about the "near zero interest rate" than they did about the Brexit vote, adding the lower for longer policy [...]
Interactive Investor announces takeover deal to create UK’s second largest online broker October 12, 2016 Interactive Investor has agreed a takeover deal for TD Bank’s European direct investing business to form the UK’s second largest online broker. The transaction, which will create a firm with 300,000 customer relationships and assets under administration of £18bn, is being financed by JC Flowers & Co funds. Read more: Star manager Woodford invests £21m in brokers AJ Bell [...]
Official statisticians reveal what Britons think will make them the most money for later years October 11, 2016 Britons think the best way to save for retirement is to invest in property rather than a pension scheme, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Although respondents to the ONS survey admitted that an employer pension scheme was a safer way to save, nearly half felt that investing in bricks and mortar was best way to [...]
Is the tumbling pound providing a correction, or are we losers now? October 11, 2016 A strong currency can be a sign of a country’s economic success. When a currency rises against another, those earning income in it have greater spending power. Equally, a weaker currency is considered by some to be a source of national embarrassment. Last week’s sterling crash was rather embarrassing for Britain – the pound fell 4.2 [...]
SME finance: Which is best and how can you ensure success? October 6, 2016 British small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) may be ambitious, but without financing, ambition is nothing more than a pipe dream. Whether it’s new equipment, a cash injection for a project, or simply extra working capital, businesses need money to ensure they can continue to grow. Clearly, there are different types of finance for different [...]
As the UK prepares to leave the EU, is it time for investors to get out of the UK? October 5, 2016 With the FTSE 100 reaching 7,120 yesterday, just undershooting its all-time high, this might seem like a strange time to ask whether investors should be ditching UK assets altogether. However, as the blue-chip index surged, DeVere Group founder Nigel Green warned that Brexit-related risk means that such a “precautionary measure” is increasingly likely from UK investors [...]
The number of millionaires increases by a quarter every three years but the nil-rate inheritance tax band remains static until 2021 October 4, 2016 The number of UK millionaires is growing at such a rate that Britain is on track to have nearly half a million of them by the end of the year. Analysis of HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) UK Personal Wealth Statistics indicates that the number of millionaires is growing by over a quarter every three years and may [...]
Why your investments might be promising something too good to be true October 4, 2016 Investors usually wouldn't turn their nose up at a bumper dividend payout, but research out today has warned many FTSE 100 companies might be promising more than they can deliver. Nearly half (48) of FTSE 100 firms have planned for dividends which are more than two times their forecast earnings for 2016, which AJ Bell [...]