Equity crowdfunding’s leading founders predict what’s in store for the sector in 2017 January 5, 2017 Equity crowdfunding will look even more grown up by Christmas 2017. More regulation is coming to the sector: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it’ll consult this year on new rules, in a bid to improve protection for retail investors and increase transparency around financial promotions. Read more: The FCA is cracking down on [...]
City Moves for 5 January 2017 | Who’s switching jobs January 5, 2017 Colliers International Global real estate advisor, Colliers International, has recruitedKaty Rogers to its EMEA corporate solutions team. Katy, the newly appointed senior portfolio manager, will be responsible for managing client relationships, maintaining real estate strategies and coordinate day-to-day management of real estate transactions. Katy joins Colliers with five years of account and property management experience [...]
Is your business ready to cheat Stephen Hawking’s AI prediction? January 5, 2017 Scientist Stephen Hawking: Artificial intelligence research crucial to the human race. Maybe so, but not this year. We are, however, going to witness another step change in the way we do business. Artificial intelligence (AI), big data and the internet of things will move along the hype curve and become everyday life. Game-changing bots will [...]
We won’t close the gender pay gap in the City until we face up to the pressures of having a family January 5, 2017 The Resolution Foundation’s report yesterday on the gender pay gap shows progress for young women graduates, but makes for depressing reading for women approaching their 30s. The pay gap for women in their 30s and 40s has hardly changed in a generation. The report concludes that having children has a “sharp and long-lasting” effect on [...]
£30bn in the pipeline: This is the year UK firms will cut pension schemes loose January 4, 2017 Britain's companies will shift sky-rocketing pension liabilities from their balance sheets this year, experts have predicted. With defined benefit pension schemes at record year-end levels, 2017 will be year to de-risk and UK plc is keen to take advantage of the improved affordability of shifting scheme risk to the insurance, according to Willis Towers Watson (WTW). Read more: As pension [...]
“Alexa, what’s an annuity?” Insurance company Aviva is using Amazon Echo January 4, 2017 "Alexa, what's an annuity?" Now your Amazon Echo can tell you the answer to burning questions about insurance and guide you through the unfamiliar jargon of the industry. The Insurance giant Aviva has developed a so-called skill (like an app for smartphones) for the voice activated speaker which proved a big hit for Amazon over Christmas. Read more: [...]
Clear out the corporate cobwebs and think like a startup January 4, 2017 There is a cultural shift impacting many organisations across the globe – the idea that corporates should create a “hacking” culture and attitude to innovation. In other words, they need to act like startups. Whether an established company with hundreds of employees and many years’ experience, or a much younger startup, workplace environment is incredibly [...]
Mastercard’s £700m Vocalink deal raises competition concerns with watchdog January 4, 2017 Mastercard's £700m deal for Vocalink has raised concerns over competition in the payments infrastructure business with the market watchdog. Owned by a collective of 18 banks, including Barclays, Santander, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, Vocalink provides the infrastructure for many payments in Britain such as Bacs and the Faster Payments Service as well as the Link ATM network. Concerns have [...]
The gender pay gap has halved in a generation (for this group of women) January 4, 2017 The gender pay gap has halved over the course of a generation, new figures have shown – but only for one group of women. A study by think tank The Resolution Foundation found the pay gap for millennial women in their 20s has fallen to five per cent. For baby boomers at the same age, the [...]
City Moves for 4 January 2017 | Who’s switching jobs January 4, 2017 Tp bennett Tp bennett has appointed Stephen Masterson as director for business development and marketing. Stephen will support the practice in consolidating its position across the sectors and in exploring new opportunities in the UK and internationally. Stephen joins from Perkins+Will, where he led the London office’s marketing and business development for over eight years. [...]
