Weak results hit Schroders share price May 5, 2011 SHARES in British fund management powerhouse Schroders slumped over nine per cent yesterday, after it revealed weaker-than-anticipated profits. The blue-chip investment firm posted an 11 per cent increase in profits over the first three months of this year, after an unexpected loss on investments and a slowdown in retail fund flows. Pre-tax profit for the [...]
The man to take the place of St James’s founder May 5, 2011 CHARLES Gregson (pictured), the chairman of money broker ICAP, is to succeed St James’s Place founder Mike Wilson when he steps down later this year. City grandee Wilson will relinquish his post as chairman almost 20 years after he founded the fund manager alongside Lord Rothschild and Sir Mark Weinberg. He will become a “life [...]
Promotion for Henderson CIO May 5, 2011 ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN funds house Henderson has promoted its chief investment officer (CIO) David Jacob to its executive team, as part of a boardroom shake up. Managing director James Darkins was also promoted to become an executive director on the fund manager’s board. Meanwhile, asset management veteran Kevin Dolan will sit on the firm’s board as a [...]
Japan funds up despite quake May 5, 2011 JAPANESE hedge funds have posted steady gains over the first three months of this year, despite the turmoil suffered in the country following its massive earthquake and tsunami in March. The volatile quarter for Asian financial markets failed to dent Japan-focused hedge funds, which posted a capital increase of more than $4.6bn (£2.8bn) to approximately [...]
Zurich hit by Japan and NZ quake claims May 5, 2011 INSURER Zurich Financial Services has posted a 32 per cent drop in first-quarter profit from a year earlier, a bigger fall than analysts had expected, on big payouts from catastrophes in New Zealand and Japan. The disaster in Japan is one of the costliest natural catastrophes in the history of global insurers, having caused insured [...]
CapCo to spruce up Covent Garden site May 5, 2011 PROPERTY firm Capital & Counties (CapCo) has announced a £100m share placing, which it plans to spend on revamping and adding to its Covent Garden portfolio. The company, formed last year when Liberty International was broken up, is planning to sell 62.1m new shares, worth almost 10 per cent of its outstanding stock. CapCo’s buildings [...]
MEET THE ADVISERS May 5, 2011 ROTHSCHILD acted as CapCo’s financial adviser on the share placing, led by head of real estate Alex Midgen. Midgen recently advised Telereal on its acquisition of Trillium. He has also advised on several other capital raisings in real estate, including Grainger, Songbird Estates and Shaftesbury. In 2004 he advised Glenmorangie on its sale to LVMH. [...]
Rise in income at top PR firms May 5, 2011 PR FIRMS saw an astonishing rise in fee income last year. The top 150 UK PR agencies brought in a total of £839m in fee income, up from £814m in 2009, according to a survey by PRWeek. Bell Pottinger retained its position as the UK’s largest PR agency by fee income, with £68m, an addition [...]
Disasters take toll on Swiss Re as it posts first quarter losses May 5, 2011 SWISS RE has posted a first-quarter loss due to big claims from natural disasters in Japan, New Zealand and Australia, saying 2011 was likely to be one of the highest ever natural catastrophe claims. But the high disaster payouts, combined with low interest rates and other factors, meant prices for reinsuring property and casualty losses [...]
Rates held at 0.5pc by Bank of England May 5, 2011 ARCH hawk Andrew Sentance ended his term at the Bank of England yesterday unable to convince his colleagues to normalise interest rates. Historically low interest rates were kept on hold at 0.5 per cent for May, the monetary policy committee (MPC) announced. Today, coincidentally, marks 14 years since the Bank of England’s independence was announced [...]
