It’s official: The Royal Mint says there’s been a major gold rush since the Bank of England’s interest rate cut August 12, 2016 There's been a gold rush on since the Bank of England's interest rate cut, it turns out – after the Royal Mint confirmed a huge uptick in the number of people buying gold. Chris Howard, the Royal Mint's director of bullion said today that its bullion trading site had experienced a 250 per cent increase [...]
Helena Morrissey moves from chief executive to chair of Newton Investment Management August 12, 2016 Helena Morrissey, one of the city's most influential figures, will move from chief executive to chair of Newton Investment Management as part of a leadership shake-up at the asset managers. Morrissey has been chief executive of the firm for 15 years, and will stay on as a non-executive chair of Newton's board. She will be replaced [...]
The Cambrian Explosion: What does the CMA report mean for alt fi? August 11, 2016 After a two-year investigation into retail and SME banking, this week the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) mandated the adoption of Open Banking by early 2018. Open Banking will be underpinned by secure authorised data gateways called application programming interfaces (APIs), the pipes of modern software technology. Just as our Android or Apple smartphones opened [...]
How small firms are increasingly turning away from traditional lenders for funding August 11, 2016 Small businesses are increasingly being drawn to direct lending platforms, a new report has suggested. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) report, commissioned by peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Funding Circle, found that direct lending to businesses at the beginning of 2016 was up 50 per cent year on year. Read more: Financing students: How [...]
The Loch Ness Monster of investments? Trade body says there is no evidence of hidden fund fees August 9, 2016 The investment managers’ trade body has published a report questioning the existence of hidden fees lurking in funds. The Investment Association today condemned “hidden-fees hysteria”. The IA research, carried out by Fitz Partners and published today, found that equity fund returns are 0.71 per cent above index returns each year, looking at data from between [...]
Meggitt share price leaps on news of second major investor increasing stake August 8, 2016 Activist investor Elliott Management increased its position in Meggitt this morning driving up the share price of the struggling engineer nearly nine per cent. Elliott is the second major investor in Meggitt shares over the last few days. Norges Bank took a three per cent stake on Friday and Elliott, who had already built up a considerable interest [...]
Superstar investor Neil Woodford accepts trust results will “disappoint” investors August 4, 2016 Neil Woodford has said he understands why some investors in Woodford Patient Capital Trust will be “disappointed” with its performance. The trust today reported that its net assets had fallen to £717.9m in the first half of 2016, down from £814.9m a year ago. Launched in April last year, Woodford raised a record £800m for [...]
Here’s how Philip Hammond can reassure small businesses and investors alike August 4, 2016 Philip Hammond was quick to rule out a post-Brexit Budget after being installed as the new chancellor. Number 11’s latest resident, who will wait instead until the Autumn Statement, has also stated that he will support the City, and wider business, as the UK exits the EU. The challenge, Hammond has observed, is to send “signals [...]
Fund manager warns investors UK dividends “likely to fall” August 3, 2016 The managers of the £655m Evenlode Income Fund have warned that UK dividends are "likely to fall over the next year or two". Hugh Yarrow and Ben Peters said that the referendum vote could make it more difficult for UK domestic sectors – such as banks, commercial properties, construction, house builders and retailers – to sustain [...]
How to help your kids handle money August 3, 2016 Getting the younger generation engaged with money matters is more crucial than ever. The lot of today’s young is radically different to their parent’s, and being financially literate is an increasingly important life skill. “Teaching proper money management is possibly one of the best gifts you can give your children. It could save them untold stress [...]