Saudi asset manager Sedco adds £137m of European property to portfolio October 9, 2018 Saudi asset management firm Sedco has invested £137.5m in European property, including two sites in the UK. The firm has acquired a £31.8m 25-acre distribution site in Yorkshire, which is occupied by Eddie Stobart, and a £35.2m office complex in Bracknell, Berkshire, which is currently leased by Vodafone. Read more: Property bosses cull delivery vans in bid to [...]
Crypto: Unchained but regulated October 9, 2018 | Sponsored Crypto is the Millennials’ Rock’n’Roll” says Stephen Castell, ”and Dr Joseph Muscat, the Malta Prime Minister, has emerged as the world’s top crypto rocker, bravely positioning his beautiful sun-kissed sandstone island country, Chair of the Commonwealth, and President of the Council of the EU, as the leader in regulating Blockchain applications, ICOs, cryptocurrency trading and, [...]
Sharing the spoils of global income markets October 9, 2018 | Sponsored Ben Lofthouse, Fund Manager of Henderson International Income Trust, shares his view of overseas income markets and the momentum behind global dividends growth It’s been a fascinating year so far with a lot of the trends around economic growth continuing, which has led to some changes in the global macroeconomic landscape. There have been some [...]
Sustainable investing is about making bigger profits, say the majority of investors October 9, 2018 | City Talk The majority of investors believe the main reason to invest sustainably is to make bigger profits, a major global study has found. The findings suggest investors increasingly believe that backing sustainable investments, those companies that are most focused on managing environmental, social and governance issues, will deliver better results rather than just be a choice [...]
Legal & General completes £2.4bn buy-out of folded telco’s pension scheme October 8, 2018 Insurer Legal & General has today finalised a £2.4bn buyout of the Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan, nearly a decade after its telecommunications sponsor collapsed, forcing it into the lifeboat. The deal will see the benefits of 15,500 pensioner members and 7,200 deferred members protected. It is the UK's joint second largest ever pensions buyout, matched [...]
Five charts that explain the case for emerging markets October 8, 2018 | City Talk Investors generally understand the importance of emerging markets in terms of their economic impact but, perhaps due to lack of knowledge, often struggle to know how best to reflect this in their portfolios. Those investors have ignored what are some of the world's best-performing financial markets since the turn of the millennium. What is more, [...]
Further outflows for UK funds as Brexit uncertainty continues October 4, 2018 UK-focused funds continued to experience outflows in August as investor confidence remained dented by Brexit uncertainty, taking the post-referendum total to £10.2bn so far. Net retail sales outflows were £217m in August compared to inflows of £4.6bn the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Investment Association. Read more: Investment Association boosts board gender diversity with shake [...]
Frank Field slams financial regulator over delay to pension advice fee decision October 4, 2018 Influential MP Frank Field has slammed the financial regulator for delaying a decision on whether to ban a model of charging for pensions advice which is believed to have driven mis-selling to thousands of retirees. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it sought views on whether to ban contingent charging – where a pension adviser [...]
Why the ethical finance industry is still behind the curve October 4, 2018 Ten years on since the financial crisis, there has already been a great deal of focus and contemplation on how financial services have changed over the past decade. For many consumers, banks are still distrusted, not helped by mis-selling scandals or paltry returns on savings accounts. There has been a notable shift in not only [...]
Terra Firma founder Guy Hands launches new special opportunities fund to buy Finnish modular building company October 4, 2018 Private equity tycoon Guy Hands has launched a new special opportunities fund that has invested in Finnish modular building company Parmaco. The deal, which comes after the £4bn refinancing and recapitalisation of Annington Homes in July last year, will see a Terra Firma led consortium acquire Parmaco from Finnish private equity group MB Funds. Read more: Guy Hands plotting £1.3bn sale of Italian solar [...]