How climate change claimed its first corporate casualty and the lesson for income investors March 8, 2019 | City Talk The last few decades have seen the perception gain ground in markets that a combination of cash generation and state backing makes utility companies pretty much shockproof as income-yielding investments. The fate of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), which last week filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, should serve as a stark reminder no [...]
Should the rich be taxed more? March 8, 2019 | City Talk Compared with other developed countries, the UK has a very high level of income inequality, something which many of us feel uncomfortable about. According to the Equality Trust, UK households in the bottom 10 per cent of the population have, on average, a disposable (or net) income of £9,644, with the top 10 per cent [...]
Barclays, HSBC, JP Morgan back Wealthiher initiative to help women with wealth March 8, 2019 Some of the City’s biggest firms and major international banks have thrown their weight behind an initiative to help women grow and protect their wealth. Read more: Women-led startups win under 10 per cent of VC funding Wealthiher will showcase the rise in women’s wealth, and highlight the different needs that wealthy women have. The [...]
Fund outflows continue for fourth month as investors remain cautious March 7, 2019 Net fund outflows continued in January, becoming fourth consecutive month of losses as investors remained cautious. Outflows hit £859m in January as investor appetite was dampened by continued Brexit uncertainty and trade tensions. Read more: Net retail sales plummet as investor confidence knocked by uncertainty Europe and UK equity funds saw net retail outflows of £450m and [...]
Gresham House assets under management soar by 250 per cent March 7, 2019 Specialist asset management firm Gresham House trebled its assets under management (AUM) in 2018 following a string of acquisitions. Shares were up more than three per cent on the news that AUM had soared 250 per cent in the year to the end of December last year, rising from £649m to £2.3bn. Read more: Gresham [...]
What you should make of Woodford’s unquoted asset sale March 7, 2019 | City Talk By Jemma Jackson from interactive investor. Here’s our take on Woodford Equity Income Fund’s sale of unquoted stock to Woodford Patient Capital. On Friday, we heard that the Woodford Equity Income (WEIF) has sold some of the portfolio’s individual unquoted stocks to Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) in exchange for shares in WPCT. Dzmitry Lipski, [...]
DEBATE: In light of this week’s Access to Cash Review, is the UK ready to go cashless? March 7, 2019 In light of this week’s Access to Cash Review, is the UK ready to go cashless? Abhijit Deb, head of banking and financial services (UK&I) at Cognizant, says YES. From contactless card technology to smartphone payments, we have seen innovations draw much of the public away from cash to new methods. Convenience is obviously a big [...]
Schroders profits fall 15 per cent on weak investor sentiment March 7, 2019 Schroders saw profit drop 15 per cent last year as the asset management giant was hit by weaker investor sentiment due to political and economic uncertainty. The figures Profit before tax fell 15 per cent to £649.9m from £760.2m in the 12 months to the end of December last year. Read more: Schroders and Lloyds [...]
How savers can use an Innovative Finance Isa to reap the rewards from the property market March 6, 2019 "If things go wrong (and they can), then a property-backed Isa at least means that there is a tangible asset that can be sold to recover your money,” says Frazer Fearnhead, chief executive and founder of property peer-to-peer lending platform, The House Crowd. “While it’s not a guarantee, it does mean that the secured property [...]
How to use an Isa to invest in peer-to-peer loans March 6, 2019 Since peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms began to enter the market in 2005, savers have used the services to hand out more than £10bn to borrowers. Aside from providing a significant boost to the UK economy, P2P offers attractive interest rates to lenders by cutting the banking sector from the borrowing process. The Innovative Finance Isa [...]