Weekend exclusive: Despite record fine of £160m for JPMorgan, City managers still have WhatsApp ‘blind spot’ May 22, 2022 The majority of financial institutions fail to monitor their employee’s WhatsApp conversations, according to new research shared exclusively with City A.M. today. A new poll of almost 100 City players, including investment banks, brokers, and investment managers, found that just 14 per cent actively carry out effective supervision or surveillance over the world’s most popular [...]
Allianz told to pay $6bn after SEC charges three execs with fraud over Structured Alpha funds scandal May 17, 2022 The US financial watchdog has told German financial services behemoth Allianz to pay $6bn (£4.8bn) after charging three of its senior executives with fraud in relation to the $11bn collapse of the firm’s Structured Alpha funds. Allianz agreed to pay $1bn to the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) and a further $5bn to investors, [...]
Allianz sets aside an extra €1.9bn to cover costs of Structured Alpha funds scandal May 11, 2022 German asset manager Allianz has set aside another €1.9bn (£1.6bn) to cover the costs of lawsuits arising from the multi-billion-dollar collapse of its Structured Alpha funds. The extra sum brings Allianz’ total reserves to €5.6bn, after the Munich firm set aside €3.7bn to settle the lawsuits in February this year. The move comes as Allianz [...]
How technology is transforming and unlocking real-estate asset classes April 27, 2022 | City Talk The line between technology and real estate is blurring, bringing new opportunities and asset classes, particularly in residential, office and biotech, says Samantha Kempe, co-founder and chief investment officer of IMMO Capital. The sheer size of the real estate sector – the global figure reached a record $326.5 trillion (about £251.1 trillion) in 2021, according [...]
City investors pocket £36m: Wesleyan fund issues its largest-ever bonus as pandemic recovery kicks in April 13, 2022 Wesleyan, a specialist financial mutual for doctors, dentists and teachers, told City A.M. this morning it has distributed its largest ever bonus. The announcement came as it published its financial results for 2021. The society said it retained its financial strength over the year meaning it was in a position to distribute the mutual bonus of [...]
10m British pensions at BlackRock ‘helped’ Putin’s invasion of Ukraine via £1bn in oil energy dividends April 5, 2022 Fund manager BlackRock – which oversees 10 million British pensions – has helped Putin build his war chest by investing heavily in Russia’s biggest companies, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism told City A.M. this morning. While those investments have strengthened Putin, they have also generated a fortune for BlackRock’s clients, the group said. Since 2014, [...]
Tactical asset allocation: the flexibility advantage March 15, 2022 | City Talk Strategic asset allocation (SAA) determines long-run exposure to systematic risk factors. That said, current changes in monetary policy in many developed and emerging countries as well as the stage of the business cycle warrant tactical considerations. The tactical overlay strategy should generate added value by temporarily deviating from the weights assigned in the SAA process. [...]
Allianz to vote against executive pay policies that are not linked to ESG targets February 22, 2022 German asset manager Allianz Global Investors has said it will vote against major companies that fail to link their executive salaries to ESG metrics. The Munich headquartered multinational, which controls €2.4trn in assets, warned major UK and EU companies that it will vote down any remuneration policy that is not linked to ESG aims. Allianz’ [...]
Pandemic impact: The investment decisions of the City’s asset managers will never be the same again February 18, 2022 The global pandemic continues to significantly impact investment strategies among global asset managers, City A.M. has been told A poll of over 140 asset managers and owners representing more than $5 trillion in AUM showed more than a third of investors investment strategies will change this year in response to Covid. The study by Clearwater [...]
Liontrust faces shareholder rebellion over plans to hike executive salaries February 15, 2022 London-listed asset manager Liontrust is facing a shareholder rebellion over plans to hike the salaries of its C-Suite executives as Britain faces rampant inflation and a widespread cost-of-living crisis. A significant proportion of Liontrust’s shareholders are expected to vote against the asset manager’s new remuneration policy, at a specially convened general meeting tomorrow, Sky News’ [...]