UK pensions: Auto-enrolment gives savers a false sense of security, and mismatch between pension freedoms age and state pension age causes further confusion March 4, 2016 Those who think that paying the minimum into their pension pot under auto-enrolment is going to fund them a comfortable retirement are in for a nasty shock, as pension experts warn the savings contribution system is lulling people into a false sense of security. Portal Financial also today warned that some people could be confused by the [...]
Monitise’s share price soars more than 40 per cent as payments firm enters talks to sell off MyVoucherCodes arm Markco Media March 4, 2016 Monitise has confirmed it is in "very early stage discussions" around the possibility it will sell off part of its content business after the Aim-listed firm's share price soared more than 40 per cent this morning. Monitise, whose share price has tumbled 85 per cent in the last year after a series of bad results [...]
UK pensions and Waspi campaign: Why state pension age is going up and what we need to do to bring it down, be it a more productive workforce, immigration, building more houses or having more children March 4, 2016 The current Waspi campaign by women affected by changes to state pension age has brought the issue back into focus again. And it will really ignite in 2018 when male state pension age starts to increase above its current level of 65. It’s a common misconception that the national insurance we and our employers pay [...]
As the collapse of Powa shows, fintech can be a dangerous game because the UK’s capital structure is prohibitive to growth March 4, 2016 Another day, another failed fintech business. I don’t say this glibly as it is in my interests to be part of a thriving UK financial technology industry. I do however think that we need to analyse ‘sustainable’ fintech and concentrate on that arena. Companies like Powa Technologies, the payments group, stand out. Powa was at [...]
Budget 2016: George Osborne’s plan to create pension Isas could create “Northern Rock-style run on the pension system”, Hargreaves Lansdown March 4, 2016 George Osborne's plans to reform pension taxation by creating so-called pension Isas could cause a "Northern Rock-style run on the pension system" – and may end up costing investors billions of pounds. The plans are expected to be revealed as part of the chancellor's Budget on 16 March. It is thought they will see the current regime scrapped in [...]
Pension tax relief reform: A fairer flat rate system will drive up saving rates and prepare people for rising life expectancy March 4, 2016 I read a startling fact recently. The first person who is going to live to 150 years old is already alive today. Think about that for a moment. That is potentially 75-plus years in retirement. If that person is in this country, either the state is going to have to pick up the bill for [...]
Firms are failing millennials by ignoring their leadership development needs March 4, 2016 Research from Deloitte this week revealed some worrying trends in how UK businesses view their leadership pipeline. According to our annual human capital trends survey, leadership development needs to improve in many companies. Fifty-nine per cent of UK HR and business leaders say their organisations are not ready to meet their leadership needs. Only 13 [...]
Battersea panic stations: Investors flee luxury scheme as up to £2m is knocked off some asking prices March 4, 2016 More than 50 luxury flats on sale at London’s iconic Battersea Power Station have had their prices slashed since January, with some seeing discounts as large as 38 per cent in a sign that wealthy foreign investors are scrambling to desert the scheme. The news adds to fears that demand for prime homes in the capital is [...]
Mobile challenger bank Mondo reaches £1m crowdfunding target in 96 seconds, adding to £7m venture capital investment March 3, 2016 Mobile challenger bank Mondo today reached a crowdfunding target of £1m in 96 seconds. Some 1,861 people invested an average of £542 through Crowdcube today and will share 3.33 per cent equity in the challenger bank. Venture capital firm Passion Capital has already invested £7m in the bank – £2m in March last year and a [...]
Why Chinese equity crowdfunding is taking its lead from the UK – and what challenges the sector faces March 3, 2016 Despite a relatively slow start, the past two years have seen exponential growth in the Chinese equity crowdfunding sector, and there are indications that it could skyrocket in the 12 months to come. Chinese New Year on 8 February kicked off the Year of the Monkey, but will 2016 be a year of alternative finance [...]
