Reading week picks: Will these two books make me a better investor? October 18, 2018 | City Talk For one whole week this summer, the value investment team I lead at Schroders held its inaugural Reading Week – all heading to our respective homes to read books. To be very clear, great care was taken to ensure no portfolios were left unattended and we could always be contacted. Nor, just in case you [...]
Ex-Barclays wealth management boss says all banks will use artificial intelligence in next five years October 18, 2018 All banks will use artificial intelligence (AI) in the next five years, according to former Barclays wealth management boss Akshaya Bhargava, as institutions prepare for the $30 trillion (£28 trillion) "great wealth transfer" from baby boomers to millennials. Bhargava, who set up AI fintech platform Bridgeweave after leaving the British bank two years ago, said financial [...]
Proxy advisor Pirc warns shareholders against Ashmore Investments CEO taking ‘creeping control’ of the company October 17, 2018 Proxy firm Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) has advised shareholders to oppose a controversial Ashmore Investments' proposal over concerns that chief executive Mark Coombs could take "creeping control" of the company. The share buyback proposal, which will be voted on at the fund house's annual general meeting on Friday, could increase Coombs shareholding from 38.61 per cent [...]
Why city parents are sending their children to boarding schools outside the M25 October 17, 2018 Every Sunday evening, there is a quiet exodus of teenagers from capital to countryside. Fleets of shiny, branded minibuses collect their young passengers from affluent London suburbs and whisk them through the darkness to the green and pleasant lands beyond the M25. Boarding school will be their home – until Friday night or Saturday afternoon [...]
Crypto A.M. shines its spotlight on Sensify October 16, 2018 Sensify, a UK based company, has developed an Internet of Things software platform for connecting any type of IoT asset. The platform allows the customer to track, trace, monitor, verify and secure its assets in real time. Assets that can connect to the platform include RFID, sensors, telematics devices, inventory and machinery. The IoT market [...]
A Futurist’s Glimpse into AI, Blockchain and Investment October 16, 2018 | Sponsored I’m Benjamin Boyle, COO of Drive Markets, an institutional cryptocurrency exchange that offers a trading and issuer experience more in line with the capital and forex markets. I also own a controlling stake in Caipiteal, a company that uses data analysis to develop advanced investing strategies. When I was asked to write this piece, I [...]
Blackrock reports boosted earnings but ‘disappointing’ net flows October 16, 2018 Blackrock, the world's biggest asset management firm, has reported a rise in earnings in its third quarter results, but revealed net outflows of $3bn (£2.27bn). Assets under management were also up by 8 per cent from $5.97 trillion (£4.52 trillion) between July and September 2017 to $6.44bn trillion this year. Read more: Blackrock wins £30bn investment contract from [...]
Brexit: 23 answers to investors’ questions October 16, 2018 | City Talk The UK’s scheduled departure from the EU is fast approaching. Many observers are hopeful for an orderly withdrawal. But plenty of potential pitfalls between now and Brexit-day which could result in a chaotic divorce. The only near-certainty at present is that the UK will cease to be a full member of the EU on 29 [...]
Regulator warns payday lenders over risky loans October 15, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority has written to the bosses of payday lending firms, urging them to consider ‘affordability risk’ before making loans to financially vulnerable borrowers. In a ‘Dear CEO’ letter sent today, the FCA warned that lenders should “take prompt action” to ensure they maintain compliance with regulations that force them to assess customers’ [...]
Allianz artificial intelligence fund passes £880m mark October 15, 2018 Allianz Global Investors' artificial intelligence (AI) fund has passed the €1bn (£880m) assets under management mark 18 months after its launch. The Global Artificial Intelligence Fund, which was launched in March last year, invests in companies developing AI systems in a bid to benefit from rapid advancements in disruptive technology such as Big Data analysis, machine learning, self-driving cars [...]