Wealth manager St James’s Place reports strong end to 2016, despite political surprises January 26, 2017 FTSE 100-listed wealth manager St James’s Place reported a net inflow of funds of £2.1bn in the last quarter, despite challenging market conditions. The figures In the three months to 31 December 2016, St James’s Place said its group funds under management total reached £75.3bn, up 28 per cent over the year. Read more: Wealth [...]
Now Microsoft’s pledged to train the UK in digital skills for free January 26, 2017 Microsoft is the latest tech giant to make a pledge to help train the UK in digital skills, following hot on the heels of Google and Amazon. It will offer free digital literacy training online for everyone in the UK and specifically target 30,000 UK public servants to improve their knowledge. It will also aim to [...]
Self-employed people work less and make more than salaried workers January 26, 2017 Despite the fact many entrepreneurs say they work double-digit hours most days, a new study suggests the self-employed have a better time of it than most. According to an Intuit study of 5,010 UK self-employed workers they generate mean annual revenues of £32,623 – £5,000 above the average UK salary according to the Office for [...]
A capricious digital economy requires agile management January 26, 2017 In a digital-led economy, if your company isn’t “agile,” it isn’t set up for success. Today, winning companies are those which can bring their products to market quickly, pivoting to technological developments and shifts in customer expectation as they evolve. Agile is a collaborative approach to product development which focuses on launching early and refining [...]
Professionals with working class backgrounds are being hit by a class earnings penalty, warns government’s social mobility tsar January 26, 2017 Professionals from working class backgrounds are being punished by a "class pay gap", according to new research from the government's Social Mobility Commission. They are paid an average of 17 per cent less (£6,800) each year, than colleagues from more affluent backgrounds. The report, compiled by academics from the LSE and UCL using data from the [...]
City Moves for 26 January 2017 – who’s switching jobs? January 26, 2017 Today's City Moves cover a challenger bank, one of the best-known social media management platforms and a law firm. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Hampshire Trust Bank Chris Forsyth has been appointed as chief operating officer at Hampshire Trust Bank. In his executive role at the specialist challenger bank, which focuses on [...]
Venture capitalists must embrace crowdfunding: It’s where the future lies January 26, 2017 Maybe you’re just not ready for venture capital”, said William H Draper to a potential partner. It was 1959, and the now-legendary VC was trying to persuade a firm to invest in his new fund. Set up as a limited partnership, it was different to any other investment opportunity then on the market. General William [...]
With over £9.2bn cashed in since April 2015, have pension freedoms been an unequivocal success? January 26, 2017 Ros Altmann, the former minister of state for pensions, says Yes. Pension freedoms could be the most popular pension reform ever. Suddenly, instead of having to lock into inflexible, potentially unsuitable insurance company annuities, you can choose how and when to use your fund. The average amount withdrawn was just around £5,000. If that’s all [...]
Government to consult on ways to make sure new mothers have “sufficient protection” from redundancy January 26, 2017 The government has pledged to protect working mothers from redundancy in its response to a report on maternity discrimination. A report carried out by the Women and Equalities Select Committee last year, found the number of new mothers forced to leave their jobs had almost doubled to 54,000 since 2005. It recommended protections similar to [...]
Is blockchain a “new operating system for the planet”? Barclays vice chairman Jeremy Wilson thinks so January 25, 2017 Blockchain has the potential to become “a new operating system for the planet” in a generation’s time, while mainstream commercial use is likely to happen within the next decade, one of Barclays’ top executives believes. “I don’t think I’ve heard it mentioned as anything other than a significant opportunity,” said its corporate banking vice-chairman Jeremy Wilson. [...]
