UK pension funding deficits remain at nearly one-third of UK GDP, despite recovery of £50bn in November December 1, 2016 A £50bn improvement in the deficit of defined benefit pension funds in November 2016 failed to offset declines earlier in the year, leaving the total deficit at £580bn. The deficit is still over £100bn higher since the start of the year, according to PwC’s Skyval Index. Deficits have leapt since Spring after asset value growth failed to [...]
City veteran Sir John Beckwith launches new asset management business November 30, 2016 Sir John Beckwith’s Pacific Investments has announced the launch of a new asset management business. Pacific Asset Management (PAM) will initially have $250m (£201m) in assets under management (AUM). Pacific Investments has previously founded Liontrust Asset Management, River & Mercantile, Nevsky Capital, Thames River Capital and Europa Capital. These businesses currently manage more than $20bn [...]
Healthcare trust to float on Friday despite falling short of £200m target November 30, 2016 Bellevue Asset Management is set to float a new investment trust on the London Stock Exchange on Friday. BB Healthcare Trust missed its target of £200m, but will list on the main market this week after raising £150m. Paul Major, who will co-manage the fund with Dr Daniel Koller, played down the £200m target, saying the minimum [...]
Who’s afraid of the big, bad pensions deficit? Contrarian stock-pickers can find hidden value in companies with large holes in their defined benefit pension funds November 30, 2016 For some UK companies, having a large pension deficit is like a proverbial albatross around the neck – unsightly and foreboding. This can make the shares appear cheap on some measures. But valuing stocks with large schemes is difficult, due to the enhanced complexity of pension accounting. Actuaries and trustees make numerous assumptions regarding future [...]
Investment trust winners of 2016 November 29, 2016 | City Talk Investment trusts focused on Asia are on course to deliver some of the best returns in 2016, according to data for trust sectors. Investment trusts are an alternative to more commonly held open-ended funds or unit trusts, offering some advantages. This is explained here: investment trust v open-ended funds Here, we look at the [...]
It might not be our problem in the future: Southern rail’s owner cuts pension costs to reflect “limited responsibility” November 29, 2016 It's been a nightmare year for Southern rail. But its owner was given a boost today after revealing its profits will leap by 38 per cent, simply by changing the way it accounts for its railway pension costs. Go-Ahead shares were one of the top movers in the FTSE 250 this morning, up over three per cent, following [...]
A vote for No in the Italian referendum is unlikely to precipitate “Italeave”, but could worsen the situation facing the country’s beleaguered banks November 29, 2016 Since the European sovereign debt crisis, critics of the euro have asked how long the single currency can continue when the economies which use it are on such divergent trajectories. Now, after a third Greek bailout, a Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s presidential win breathing hope into eurosceptic parties across Europe, their prophesy may be [...]
Investors should give thanks for record highs – but prepare for Hard Trump November 28, 2016 Thanksgiving, a national holiday of reconciliation, took on greater significance in the US this year as families tried to put political differences aside and find common ground in their love of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. President-elect Donald Trump attempted to mend the wounds of a divisive election campaign on the eve of Thanksgiving by [...]
Baroness Ros Altmann: I still expect Sir Philip Green to sort BHS pension deficit November 28, 2016 Some people may have abandoned hope of the BHS pension deficit being plugged, but a former pensions minister has revealed she still has faith in Sir Philip Green being true to his word. Baroness Ros Altmann has said that, although the retailer's collapse while it was running a pension deficit worth £571m had shaken people's trust in defined [...]
Meet the Edmond de Rothschild asset manager who launched a UK-focused fund just before the referendum (and doesn’t regret it) November 27, 2016 With the European Union referendum just two months away, April 2016 may have seemed like a bold time for a European asset manager to launch a new fund focusing exclusively on the UK – even if it looked like we were headed for a Remain vote. Shares in companies such as ITV, BT, and Marks [...]