City Moves for 1 February 2017 – who’s switching jobs? February 1, 2017 Today's City Moves cover insurance, real estate law and a national tax and auditing outfit. Take a look at these movers and shakers: PWC Paul Delbridge has taken on the role of London market insurance leader at PWC. Paul is a partner with 30 years’ experience at the firm, including three years in New York, [...]
Why Tesco could be better off leaving Booker on the shelf February 1, 2017 The stock market’s initial reaction to takeover deals can often be a poor indicator of how those deals work out. Just look at the market’s sceptical response to Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos owner Home Retail Group as a recent example. Now we have another unexpected deal in the supermarket sector with Tesco bidding to take [...]
How to salvage a broken New Year’s resolution February 1, 2017 As we move into February, it is probably fair to assume that many of you will have already abandoned your New Year’s resolutions. You may even be giving yourself a hard time about this and be feeling completely demotivated or lacking in self-worth. The reality is that most of these resolutions were doomed from the [...]
How can we get ourselves to save more? Use behavioural economics February 1, 2017 It's a convenient excuse – we all vow to save more when we earn more. A new survey by YouGov for Zurich UK of British adults in work found that more than two fifths (42 per cent) said that earning more would encourage them to save more into a pension. Unfortunately, they rarely actually do [...]
Why active investing is staging a comeback in 2017 February 1, 2017 Fashions wax and wane in investing as much as in any other field. But one fashion that many commentators believe is much more than a passing fad is passive investing. So much so that some would extrapolate the explosive growth of passive funds in the last few years and predict the demise of active investing [...]
Exit the dragon: Moonpig founder Nick Jenkins rubbish tips, accurately exercising dogs and how to make a difference February 1, 2017 "My mental maths has certainly got loads better. They take your phone away so we have to do all the calculations in our heads, on the spot," says Nick Jenkins, the Dragons’ Den dragon, founder of Moonpig and businessman whose personal wealth stands at around £150m. Jenkins, who is leaving the BBC show at the end of [...]
Private equity assets reach a record of almost $2.5 trillion – double the size before the global financial crisis January 31, 2017 The global private equity industry has doubled in size since the global financial crisis to reach a record level of assets under management, according to a new report. The industry now manages $2.49 trillion in investor money, according to the latest figures from data provider Preqin. Assets under management have risen for eight consecutive years [...]
An early investor in UK fintech unicorn Transferwise has reduced its stake January 31, 2017 An early backer of one of the UK's most successful fintech startups has sold a minority stake in the unicorn-valued firm in a private secondary share trading deal. Seedcamp, which has also invested in eMoov and BorrowyDoggy, last year sold of some of its shares in Transferwise, the money transfer startup with a valuation of more [...]
Slow and steady? Pension deficits need not be closed as report reveals trustees need to refocus January 31, 2017 Spiralling pension deficits are distracting those empowered to manage schemes away from making sure members receive the correct payouts. Almost all pension trustees do not see paying members as a key strategic driver, with many getting bogged down in the detail and failing to see the bigger picture, according to a report by actuarial specialists [...]
Investors failed to keep calm and carry on in 2016, despite markets hitting new highs January 31, 2017 Investors were spooked by politics in 2016 and, despite markets like the FTSE 100 hitting record highs, fund sales were at their lowest since 2008, new figures show. Total net sales for 2016 were £13bn, according to the Investment Association, down from £22.4bn in 2015. Retail investors proved the most pessimistic, with sales totalling £4.7bn, down [...]
