Classic cars, fine wine, coins and racehorses: One in six investors now has money in a “hobby” investment August 22, 2016 Call them sentimental, but more and more investors are turning their pastimes into profits, according to a new study from Lloyds Private Banking. One in six investors now cultivates a "hobby investment", spending on average £13,500 on a single item, though one in 10 is willing to splash out £50,000 on an individual item. The most popular [...]
Emerging markets funds hot, China not, for investors this summer August 22, 2016 Investors have turned away from China-only funds this summer, according to one online retail investment platform. But emerging markets funds have proved popular. Rplan.co.uk said that between 1 June and 15 August, it recorded a 75 per cent increase in flows to emerging markets funds compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, China-only funds experienced [...]
Foreign investments help shareholders as UK dividend growth lags August 22, 2016 The UK is lagging behind other developed markets in terms of dividends, a report out today has found. UK dividends fell 3.3 per cent on an underlying basis in the second quarter of 2016, according to the Henderson Global Dividend Index. In addition to the falling value of the pound, steep cuts from Standard Chartered, [...]
Bringing home the bacon: Three ways you can use alternative finance to invest in property August 18, 2016 Property crowdfunding and marketplace lending aren’t for everyone. The former can involve high fees, and you won’t know what your investment is worth without selling it – which can be hard if you’re buying a stake alongside numerous other people. There are risks even with the latter. The property market is very sensitive to the [...]
Small housebuilders are the answer to the housing crisis. Here’s how we can help them August 18, 2016 The housing crisis is one of the most important policy challenges we currently face. As the gap between supply and demand grows, the lives of hard-working families become harder. While there are obvious societal issues, the economy also suffers. In 2014, Bank of England governor Mark Carney admitted that the UK’s booming housing market had become [...]
Top investor in Panmure Gordon “fully committed” to UK stockbroker August 17, 2016 QInvest, Panmure Gordon’s biggest shareholder, has committed itself to the UK-based stockbroker after reports of interest from other investors. The Qatari investment bank yesterday revealed that, following the Brexit vote and other events around the world, it was “carefully reviewing and stress-testing” its portfolio. And City A.M. understands QInvest has received a number of informal approaches [...]
Investor confidence in UK bounces back to 2016 high after Brexit vote fall August 17, 2016 UK investor confidence is at its highest point this year, bouncing back from a post-referendum fall, new figures show. The Lloyds Bank Investor Sentiment Index, released today, showed all asset classes bar two – gold and cash – have experienced a rise in confidence since last month. Overall, positive sentiment is up 8.13 percentage points overall [...]
Make £££ interest on top current accounts this year August 17, 2016 Savers have been dealt a double whammy of blows this month. The Bank of England cut interest rates from their already-record low of 0.5 per cent down to a paltry 0.25 per cent, which is likely to have an impact on the already poor levels of interest paid on savings accounts. The 0.5 level was considered [...]
Direct Line abandons plan to offload part of its pension scheme August 16, 2016 Direct Line has abandoned the potential offload of part of its pension scheme, following the conclusion of an internal review. It was part of a defined benefit (DB) scheme — in which monthly payouts are linked to an employee's final salary — going back to when the insurer was wholly owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Direct Line [...]
Qatari bank with largest stake in UK broker Panmure Gordon to review portfolio after Brexit vote August 16, 2016 Qatari investment bank QInvest, the largest shareholder in UK-based stockbroker Panmure Gordon, will be “carefully reviewing and stress-testing” its portfolio after the Brexit vote. The company today reported revenue of $65.7m (£50.6m) for the first half of 2016 – up from $53.7m in the same period in 2015. The firm’s net profit, meanwhile, came in [...]