AJ Bell boosts management and appoints fourth woman to board August 18, 2021 Investment giant AJ Bell has shaken up its management to reflect its growth plans, adding two new leadership roles and the fourth woman to a board that has previously received criticism for its lack of progress on gender diversity. The investment platform, whose total assets under administration swelled to £70.4bn in the second quarter, today announced [...]
Strategic asset allocation or how I learned to stop worrying and love dispersion August 10, 2021 | City Talk For decades, strategic asset allocation has been considered the driving force behind investment portfolio returns. But the old adage that allocation determines 90 per cent of performance is rapidly becoming outdated. During 2020 and 2021, we have seen how the world of investing is shifting from one in which declining interest rates drive beta performance [...]
Sanne Group in advanced takeover talks with Apex after £1.49bn bid August 2, 2021 London’s Sanne Group is in advanced talks with fund servicer Apex Group on a possible cash takeover bid of up to £1.49bn. At 920 pence per share, the offer values the UK asset manager at around £1.49bn and represents a premium of 9 per cent on Sanne’s share closing price of 844.0 pence on Friday. [...]
Jupiter Fund Management’s assets break another record as outflows accelerate July 30, 2021 British fund manager Jupiter reported a rise in interim profit, record inflows and assets under management, offsetting a jump in outflows from the year earlier. Assets under management finished the six months to June 30 at £60.3bn on June 30, exceeding the £60bn mark for the first time and jumping 54 per cent from £39.2bn [...]
Global ETF boom continues with record inflows in first half of the year July 28, 2021 Global exchange traded funds (ETFs) attracted record inflows in the first six months of 2021, as investors poured in amid low interest rates, an equities rally and “cheap money” lending. Investors worldwide ploughed $639.8bn into ETFs between January and June, a half year record and more than double that of the same period last year, according [...]
Criminal Commission consider report alleging Tom Hayes was wrongfully convicted for Libor rigging July 26, 2021 An academic paper that claims Tom Hayes was wrongfully convicted for rigging Libor interest rates is under review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). It’s the latest development in an ongoing inquiry by the CCRC – the body responsible for investigating suspected miscarriages of justice – into the former trader’s case. The CCRC confirmed [...]
Regulation and investors’ demands push fund managers towards ESG July 20, 2021 Regulatory imperatives and investor demand are driving an increased focus on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles, according to a PwC report published today. The study found that three-quarters of the fund managers questioned – holding £15.5 trillion in assets – are being influenced by investors and policymakers to drive sustainability outcomes. Regulation 76 [...]
BlackRock flexes shareholder muscle and ups votes against company management July 20, 2021 The world’s largest asset manager has toughened its stance on corporate governance and increased its votes against board proposals and executive pay at large public companies worldwide. In its quarterly stewardship report published on Tuesday, BlackRock said it voted against management on 33 per cent of “say-on-pay” proposals in European companies in the year to [...]
Cairngorm Capital acquires robo-adviser and wealth manager to launch new digital firm July 15, 2021 Private equity firm Cairngorm Capital has acquired wealth manager Whitefoord and robo-adviser Munnypot to launch a new digital firm combining financial advice with investment management. The new firm, called Verso Wealth Management, will combine online investment service Munnypot’s digital platform technology with Whitefoord’s investment management and financial advice services to create an automated advice platform. [...]
Gresham House assets grow steadily as ESG appetite endures July 15, 2021 Gresham House reported steady growth in the first half of the year in a trading update this morning, as interest in ESG investment continued to push its assets under management higher. The asset manager reported a 19 per cent rise in AUM to £4.7bn, with organic growth of £457m driven by its real estate division, [...]