Freetrade revenue soars as platform launches share lending September 16, 2024 Revenue at investment platform Freetrade spiked 34 per cent in the first half of the year, bringing in £233m in new cash to the stock trading website. The group reported £2.5m in cost savings in its half-year results, moving it into profitability after losing £5.6m in adjusted operating profit during the first half of last [...]
Meet the fund managers: Schroder REIT and property investing September 16, 2024 In this weekly series, investment reporter Elliot Gulliver-Needham sits down with a fund manager for a Q&A. This week, we’re hearing from Nick Montgomery, manager of Schroder REIT. How does your fund stand out from others in the same market? Whilst the whole sector has been impacted by the higher rate backdrop, which has weighed [...]
Meet the fund managers: Euro bond hunting with conviction September 9, 2024 In this weekly series, investment reporter Elliot Gulliver-Needham sits down with a fund manager for a Q&A. This week, we’re hearing from Neil Mehta, manager of the RBC BlueBay Investment Grade Euro Aggregate Bond Fund. How does your fund stand out from others in the same market? We embrace a truly active mindset unlike many [...]
Almost 90 per cent of investment trusts are on a discount. When will it change? September 5, 2024 A significant 88 per cent of all investment trusts are now trading on a discount to their underlying assets, City A.M. can reveal. The gap between the share price of investment trusts and the price of their underlying assets has got so bad that 30 per cent of all trusts now trade on a discount [...]
Schroders set to promote CFO Richard Oldfield to CEO September 5, 2024 Schroders is set to promote its chief financial officer Richard Oldfield to CEO after Peter Harrison announced in April that he would be retiring. Oldfield, who joined Schroders last year from PwC, will be promoted to the top role next year, according to reports in the FT. Oldfield worked as PwC for over 20 years, [...]
Park Plaza Hotel owner refinances £150m in debt September 5, 2024 PPHE Hotel Group, the owners of Park Plaza Hotel and Holmes Hotel, has refinanced more than £150m in debt. The debt, which covers all six of its Dutch hotels, as well as debt from Holmes Hotel in London, comes from an existing loan with Aareal Bank. The original loan with Aareal was established in 2016, [...]
Ashmore: Mixed results as emerging market withdrawals remain sky-high September 5, 2024 Emerging markets investment manager Ashmore reported a 12 per cent drop in adjusted profit before tax for the year to 30 June 2024. The group reported an adjusted profit before tax of £105.4m, below expectations of £113m and 2023’s figure of £119.4m. Ashmore has experienced years of withdrawals from investors, and the trend has shown [...]
RM Funds poaches Brooks Macdonald fund mandate September 5, 2024 RM Funds, best known for its shareholding in embattled investment trust Home REIT, has won the mandate for the £146.6m Brooks Macdonald Defensive Capital fund. The Defensive Capital fund, which will be renamed as the RM Defence Capital fund, was launched in 2010. It is built as an all-weather return fund with low volatility through [...]
Investors brace for wave of share buybacks from UK companies September 4, 2024 The UK is on the cusp of a “regime change” in corporate attitudes towards share buybacks, Panmure Liberum analysts have said. Looking through financial statements, Panmure Liberum analysts Joachim Klement and Susana Cruz found that mentions of buybacks have risen 144 per cent over the last year for FTSE 100 companies, with a 79 per [...]
U-turn: British ISA dropped by Labour despite prior pledges September 4, 2024 The roll-out of a British ISA has been scrapped by the new government despite Labour insisting it had “no plans” to ditch the scheme in the run up to the election. The specialist stocks and shares ISA would have allowed savers to invest an extra £5,000 tax-free in UK equities, on top of the £20,000 [...]
