Big banks plug $18m into Soho fintech Fidel September 25, 2019 The venture capital arms of Royal Bank of Canada and Citi have supported an $18m (£16.3m) funding round for Soho-headquartered fintech firm Fidel. The series A round was led by Nyca Partners and QED Investors, which have previously backed the likes of Zopa, Clearscore and Acorns. Transferwise founder Taavet Hinrikus and Commerce VC also supported [...]
Adventure capital: Young firms offer strong returns, so why aren’t pensions invested? September 25, 2019 Are you taking on enough risk? Because a common concern among money experts is that pension savers, particularly those who won’t reach retirement age for decades, are not. If you have opted for your pension provider’s default fund, it’s highly likely that you will be invested in companies that are well-established, but only give you [...]
Death of a sales tradition: Tomorrow’s sellers can’t rely on the gift of the gab September 25, 2019 Over the course of the last decade, the art of selling has undergone a radical transformation. A key factor in this has been a shift in the buyer-seller dynamic. Buyers are changing substantially faster than sellers, with younger generations increasingly self-educating – a CSO Insights study found that 70 per cent of them now fully [...]
In such volatile times, the safest assets aren’t necessarily what investors think September 25, 2019 Given the climate of intense uncertainty, the FTSE index remains remarkably resilient. It currently sits almost bang in the middle of the 7,000-7,600 range, where it has been since the beginning of January 2017. Brexit does not seem to trouble share prices. Nor do the threats by John McDonnell, Labour’s shadow chancellor, to carry out [...]
Why as an investor I’m looking through Brexit fears September 24, 2019 | City Talk Following the twists and turns in Westminster of the past few weeks I expect many more market participants will simply place UK equities in the “too difficult” basket. Anecdotal stories of overseas investors selling their last UK stocks could start doing the rounds again. Brexit and political uncertainty have been a drag on UK equities, [...]
Seven steps to quitting your job and creating the life you want September 24, 2019 As summer becomes a distant memory and the commute gets more crowded, you might be daydreaming about leaving your job forever. At this time of year, lots of people are secretly tempted to quit office life to create a “be your own boss” career that suits their personality and the life they want. However, while [...]
Small but mighty: SME export champions deserve to be heard September 24, 2019 Anyone watching the news earlier this month may have spotted figures showing the UK trade deficit narrowing by £14.9bn to £2.9bn in the three months to July. This is of course a promising sign of the UK’s future trading position. Yet these figures miss a big part of the story: the role of the UK’s [...]
Investment managers urged to tackle ‘class ceiling’ in finance September 24, 2019 An industry body is calling on investment managers to promote social mobility in their recruitment and retention practices in an attempt to make the industry more representative of people from different classes and socioeconomic backgrounds. In a report published today, the Investment Association (IA) outlines steps employers can take to improve their recruitment processes. These [...]
Frozen Woodford fund falls 13 per cent since since June September 23, 2019 Neil Woodford’s frozen flagship Equity Income Fund (EIF) substantially underperformed its industry benchmark in September and will remain under lock and key as expected, the firm managing the suspension said. The fund has dropped 12.83 per cent since its suspension on 3 June, while the benchmark FTSE All Share total return rose 4.29 per cent, [...]
Miton’s assets under management jump despite fund outflows September 23, 2019 Miton Group has reported an increase in assets under management (AGM) for the first half despite slipping back to net outflows, which the asset manager blamed on political uncertainty related to Brexit. The company reported an eight per cent increase in AUM, which were £4.7bn at the end of the first half. Read more: Hargreaves [...]
