Half of all Brits would struggle to afford food if they lost £1,000 October 7, 2021 Around half of all Brits would struggle to pay for food if they lost less about £1,000, with one in three ending up in financial difficulty if this figure was £500, according to a new survey, shared with City A.M. this morning. Moreover, just over a quarter of people said their mental health would be [...]
‘Alpha-Flation’: A Private Market Syndrome September 28, 2021 | City Talk In private equity (PE), there are more ways to calculate the alpha of a portfolio or fund than any other asset class. And in no sector other than private markets does investing in the average fund seem to go so poorly. Should it be this way? Is the average private market fund a bad fund [...]
999 for banks: Lenders set to launch customer hotline to tackle fraud September 28, 2021 UK banks are preparing to launch an emergency hotline – dubbed the industry’s answer to 999 – later this week, in an effort to tackle surging levels of fraud. Customers who fear that they have been targeted by fraudsters imitating their bank, or other common guises such as HM Revenue & Customs or a parcel [...]
The ICAS public voice – tax administration post-covid September 27, 2021 | City Talk As we begin to emerge from Covid-19, a key strand of the public policy work undertaken by ICAS relates to tax administration. ICAS has a public interest remit, a duty to act not solely for its Members but for the wider good. From a public interest perspective, our role is to share insights, shaped and [...]
‘Triple-whammy’ of inflation, energy bills and tax rises to eat into household budgets September 26, 2021 Incoming budget pressures over the next six months could squeeze the budgets of many Brits. In fact, a “triple-whammy” may leave low income families more than £1,000 worse off annually, according to a think tank. Inflation, rising energy bills and the looming health and social care tax could leave households worse off even after increases [...]
‘Mule’ regret it: Cash-strapped Brits warned to avoid ‘easy money’ adverts September 23, 2021 Cash-strapped students and other people are being warned to watch out for money mule recruiters – as nearly a third say financial concerns would make them more likely to consider offers to make “easy money” – even if they appear suspect. Almost three in 10 students would even risk allowing someone else to use their [...]
Brexit-proof: City’s share of European investment management market larger than Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich combined September 23, 2021 The City of London’s share of the European investment management market is larger than the combined total of Paris, Frankfurt or Zurich. It is by far the largest investment management hub in Europe with a market share of 37 per cent, according to new data shared with City A.M. today. The City of London and [...]
Card payments made up four in every five pounds spent last year September 22, 2021 Debit or credit cards accounted for more than four in every five pounds spent in 2020, as the pandemic sped up cashless spending. Cashless payments made up 81 per cent of spending last year, a slight increase from 78 per cent in 2019, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). In its annual payments survey, [...]
State pension scandal: Human errors led to £1bn in underpayments for 134,000 Brits September 22, 2021 Repeated human errors led to more than £1bn-worth of state pensions being underpaid, the UK spending watchdog said this morning. Around 134,000 pensioners were underpaid, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said, adding it plans to pay an average of £8,900 to people affected, the National Audit Office (NAO) said. Most of those affected [...]
‘Quality losses’ matter more to investors than ‘quality gains’ September 21, 2021 | City Talk People dislike losses more than they like gains. Known as loss aversion, this phenomenon, or behavioural bias, serves as a cornerstone of prospect theory, developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky more than 40 years ago. A forthcoming paper, which I co-authored with Didem Kurt, Koen Pauwels and Shuba Srinivasan, applies this theory to product [...]