FTSE 100 Live: Stocks slump as oil rises; Reeves tax hikes trigger borrowing boost April 23, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. An extended ceasefire may have been announced in the Middle East, but its left markets with major appetite for further peace before investor sentiment recovers. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was trading back over the $100 mark on Thursday morning. [...]
Standard Life snaps up Aegon UK for £2bn to create savings giant April 15, 2026 Standard Life has snapped up the UK’s largest investment platform Aegon UK in a £2bn deal. The FTSE 100 giant – previously known as Phoenix Group – said the deal would create the UK’s top retirement savings and income business with near 16m customers and £480bn in assets under administration. Standard Life expects an annual [...]
Ex Titan Wealth chief executive is back to tackle the market once more March 18, 2026 The former chief executive of Titan Wealth has launched a new wealth management business in a bid to modernise the traditional market. Derek Miles, who is also the former chief executive of Aspira, launched Nine Edge Wealth on Wednesday with co-founder Kyle Augustin, who was previously chief executive at Fintel IQ. Jo Blake, also formerly [...]
Barclays set to cash in on market frenzy amid Middle East crisis March 5, 2026 Barclays and its UK banking peers could be set for a cash boost from the brewing crisis in the Middle East as investors quickly dump equities and fears of an inflation spike spread. FTSE 100 giant Barclays has been noted as uniquely shielded by analysts due to its mammoth market divisions. Jefferies analysts said the [...]
Blackstone’s private credit fund hands investors record redemptions March 3, 2026 The world’s largest alternative asset manager is allowing investors to pull a record amount of cash from its flagship private credit fund as anxiety continues to ripple through the trillion-dollar industry. Blackstone will permit investors to redeem 7.9 per cent of shares from the fund – the equivalent to a whopping $3.8bn. The financial giant [...]
Why Natwest splashed the cash for a slice of the wealth management pie February 10, 2026 Natwest has opened its wallet for its biggest deal since the financial crisis, as the bank revives its appetite for acquisitions after the remaining government-owned shares in the business were finally sold. But after the FTSE 100 firm watched its share price sink into the red on Monday, will there be a sense of buyer’s [...]
UK’s wealthiest financier Michael Platt’s hedge fund in high-stakes tax fight January 27, 2026 Hedge funder BlueCrest Capital Management, founded by the UK’s wealthiest financier, Michael Platt, will appeal at the highest court this week over a tax battle with HMRC. The case centres on the salaried members’ rules, which determine if limited liability partnerships (LLP) members are genuinely self-employed or ‘disguised employees’ for tax purposes. HMRC issued determinations [...]
Brits increasingly turning to ChatGPT for investment advice December 31, 2025 Far more UK savers are now turning to tools such as ChatGPT to help make investment decisions, new research shows. A survey of 1,000 adults by STRAT7 found that 55 per cent have used AI-powered platforms for financial guidance over the past year. On average, each user has invested around £2,350. City AM reported in [...]
First Equity sets sights on Northwest expansion December 22, 2025 Historic London-based stockbroker First Equity is set to expand into the Northwest of the UK with a fresh presence in Liverpool. The firm, an independent broking boutique dating back to the 1980s, offers investment services to companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, AIM, Aquis Exchange, and JP Jenkins Private Markets. Senior Investment Manager Neil Blankstone, [...]
AJ Bell: Revenue jumps as customer numbers surge December 4, 2025 Investment platform giant AJ Bell has reported a record financial performance after the group attracted thousands of new customers. Group revenue rose by 18 per cent over its financial year to the end of September to £317.8m, up from £269.4m the 12 months before. Profit before tax increased by 22 per cent to £137.8m, up [...]