Hints at QE3 cause mixed reactions July 13, 2011 US stocks stopped a three-day slide, but ended well off the highs yesterday as investors took the suggestion of further Federal Reserve stimulus as a mixed blessing. The three major US stock indexes rose more than one percent at their peaks after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the Fed would consider additional measures to support [...]
Unleashing a new breed of value funds July 13, 2011 THE Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will help transform the financial services industry. This transformation will give investors the choice, advice and service they deserve at much better value. The overall cost of investing is likely to fall as a result of RDR. Indeed, we have already started to see significant changes in how much it [...]
Six things we will get more of when RDR is introduced July 13, 2011 WHETHER investors are aware of it or not, the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will shake up investing. Expect more regulation, professionalism, transparency, low-cost investments and investment trusts – but you should also assume we will get some unforeseen outcomes. 1. REGULATION Even though it is soon to be abolished, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is [...]
RDR must face up to the law of unintended consequences July 13, 2011 THE process of implementing the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) is gathering momentum. Over the next few months, expect it to leap into public consciousness. The impact for investors will be significant – but does RDR have staying power beyond the 31 December 2012 implementation deadline? Front and centre of RDR are three core aims: improving [...]
Hedge forex within your pension pot July 13, 2011 THE reasons for currency hedging with a portfolio are fairly straightforward. Any purchase of an international asset requires the equivalent investment in the foreign currency in which that asset is denominated. According to Mark Hogg, director of forex product development at RBC Dexia: “FX risk is an investment risk like any other and needs to [...]
Five tips for those on the partner track July 13, 2011 YOU’VE done all the hard work and managed to qualify as an accountant – congratulations. So what’s next? If you have decided to remain in the profession, many of you, quite rightly, will be aiming for the top and that coveted partnership. So how do you go about getting noticed by the powers that be [...]
CAREERS NEWS | IN BRIEF July 13, 2011 FINANCIAL SERVICES JOBS GETTING SCARCER… Financial services job opportunities in London rose 6 per cent month-on-month in June 2011, according to Morgan McKinley’s London Employment Monitor, released this week. But that increase looks less rosy when set against long-term trends. Compared to the same time last year, there was a 2 per cent decrease in [...]
Break out the vinyl with these audiophile decks July 13, 2011 ARBITERS of cool, quality and culture tend to be rather retro-obsessed at the moment – whatever is vintage and old-fashioned seems naturally imbued with classy excellence, whereas things that are shiny and new seem tacky and superficial. Which means that the old vinyl collection you haven’t dusted off for years should be stacked on your [...]
FOOTBALL’S NEW GAMING GENERATION July 13, 2011 REMEMBER when a schoolboy’s hopes of football stardom were fuelled by dreams of scoring the winner in a Wembley cup final, or perhaps the pride of donning their country’s colours at a World Cup? Well wise up, granddad, because we all know that tomorrow’s stars are just as likely to be chasing the trappings of [...]
Joining the technological revolution July 13, 2011 NEW IT inventions are always described as “revolutionary”. Why? Because they’re often bloody. Infuriating, that is. Back in 1789, radicals would post their manifestos in public places. Today’s equivalent platform for enlightening the masses would be an interactive billboard wherever the workers gather. All you would need is a tablet, be it an iPad, Android [...]
