Funding Circle: Finance chief quits small business lender January 27, 2020 The chief financial officer of small business lending platform Funding Circle is stepping down. Sean Glithero will leave the lender later this year, Funding Circle said. He will be replaced by Oliver White, who is currently chief financial officer of Provident Financial’s credit card unit, Vanquis Bank. Funding Circle’s platform, which has around 80,000 investors, [...]
Gresham House boosted by strong organic growth as investors look to real assets January 27, 2020 Alternative asset manager Gresham House said it was boosted by strong organic growth in 2019, with assets under management (AUM) rising over 20 per cent despite market volatility. In a trading update issued this morning, Gresham House’s said its AUM reached at least £2.75bn by the end of 2019. Trading and financial performance in the [...]
Philip Hammond joins fintech startup Oaknorth as adviser January 27, 2020 Former chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has joined small business lender Oaknorth as an adviser. Hammond will work with clients of the fintech startup and “senior policymakers around the world” on the issue of small and medium-sized firms’ access to loans. The ex-Treasury boss said: “I am delighted to be joining Oaknorth’s advisory board [...]
Take me to your leader: How to stop the spread of bad bosses January 27, 2020 Last week, the business and political elite gathered in Davos for the World Economic Forum. Certainly, these men and women have achieved positions of prominent power, but you might wonder — how many of them are actually trained and competent leaders? There is a concept in management called the Peter Principle, which argues that in [...]
The new Downing Street team can’t afford to ignore business January 27, 2020 Political wisdom has it that the first hundred days of any new government is its most vital opportunity to set its agenda. Not so with this government. Having just racked up its first 50 days, it risks accusations of being coy by its lack of public visibility and the paucity of new policy proclamations since [...]
£30bn pension pool slams financial system as ‘not fit for purpose’ on climate change January 27, 2020 A £30bn pool of pension funds is threatening to fire investment managers that fail to reduce their exposure to climate risk, condemning the financial system as “not fit for purpose” for addressing the issue. In a combative new policy launched today, the Brunel Pension Partnership is demanding companies in its portfolio take steps to align [...]
Bank heavyweights inject $80m into City fintech Currencycloud January 27, 2020 Cross-border payments startup Currencycloud has today revealed a fresh $80m (£61m) funding injection from a number of new investors. Visa, World Bank arm International Finance Corporation, BNP Paribas, Siam Commercial Bank and Softbank spinoff SBI Group all joined the series E round’s roster as fresh backers. Existing investors Sapphire Ventures, Notion Capital, Anthemis, Accomplice and [...]
UK active fund managers suffer bruising 2019 January 26, 2020 UK-domiciled investment funds suffered £17bn net outflows in 2019, with active managers enduring a particularly punishing year amid a series of industry scandals and stiff competition from passive tracker funds. Invesco, Aberdeen Asset Management and M&G topped a ranking of Britain’s worst selling fund houses for the year, according to figures from financial data provider [...]
Can active fund managers beat the index? January 24, 2020 | Sponsored Watch Job Curtis, Fund Manager of The City of London Investment Trust, field questions from an online audience of private investors in the latest episode of Trust TV.
Australian Dollar to GBP – Could this be one to watch? January 24, 2020 | City Talk Singapore Dollar Fears of the coronavirus which has been spreading from China have affected global market sentiment. This week in Singapore December consumer price inflation results beat expectations; with food, transport, communication, and education costs the highlights. Beating November’s 0.6 per cent and the prediction of 0.7 per cent, December’s 0.8 per cent result is in line with the Monetary Authority of Singapore [...]