London investors urged to shift assets as huge capital gains tax burden revealed January 21, 2025 Investors from London and the Home Counties will be the hardest hit by April’s hike to capital gains tax and should consider moving their assets into tax efficient vehicles, a leading accountancy firm has warned. Taxpayers in the capital are set to pay a combined £430m of additional capital gains tax (CGT) this year, accountants [...]
Reeves is in a fiscal trap and spending cuts are the only way out January 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ Budget created a vicious circle whereby higher taxes increased borrowing costs, squeezing the public purse and further and tempting the Chancellor into further tax rises to meet fiscal targets. There is another way, says Darwin Friend Rachel Reeves is trapped in a vicious fiscal circle of her own making. Her high-tax budget, billed [...]
VCT fundraising push continues as Baronsmead launches £50m raise January 13, 2025 Two Baronsmead venture capital trusts (VCTs) have launched a £50m funding drive today as a boom in fundraising for the vehicles continues. The VCTs, which are managed by Gresham House, are targeting a £30m share offer with an over-allotment option of £20m, meaning they are able to issue new shares if there is demand from [...]
Short-term vs. Long-term Crypto Investment Strategies [2024] January 13, 2025 If you are an existing or aspiring crypto investor, then the most important question you will have to ask yourself is whether to pursue short-term or long-term crypto investment strategies. This is because both investing approaches have significantly different outlooks on what is the “best” way to invest in crypto, and also have different risk [...]
Tax hikes on the cards as Rachel Reeves tries to save her fiscal rules January 13, 2025 “Public services now need to live within their means,” Rachel Reeves told a room full of business leaders at the CBI’s annual summit in November, “because I’m really clear, I’m not coming back with more borrowing or more taxes.” The Chancellor’s comments were designed to strike a reassuring tone to the private sector and settle [...]
Cum-ex: FCA fines broker over trading violations January 10, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined broker Arian Financial £288,962 over cum-ex trading violations, after it failed to ensure it had effective systems and controls against financial crime. Cum-ex trading, also known as dividend stripping, is a method of tax avoidance that allows firms to distribute profit as capital gains rather than dividends, allowing [...]
UK stock funds suffer worst year on record as investors pull nearly £10bn January 8, 2025 UK-focused stock funds suffered their worst year on record last year as investors yanked nearly £10bn from the market, new figures have shown. While equity vehicles globally raked in a record £27.2bn through 2024, UK funds haemorrhaged some £9.6bn in their most sluggish year ever relative to the performance of the wider market, according to [...]
Go further to revive the City of London, voters tell Starmer and Reeves January 8, 2025 Keir Starmer’s government must do more to support the City of London after a bruising year in which fresh IPOs have fallen off a cliff and scores of firms have been picked off by private buyers, a survey of voters has suggested. According to the first of a new monthly City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll, more [...]
2025 Predictions for Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and other tech leaders January 6, 2025 The Magnificent Seven group of leading tech companies: Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla, gained a combined 63 per cent in 2024, building on 2023’s strong performance. Deutsche Bank revealed the group generated more profit in 2024 than most national stock markets. However, JP Morgan has projected their contribution to S&P 500 earnings [...]
Unlocking assets and promoting inclusivity: Sports finance in 2025 January 3, 2025 Sports finance is poised to continue a profound and exciting transformation in 2025, writes DLA Piper’s Charlotte Lewis-Williams. In the post-pandemic era, one of the central characteristics around sports finance has been its rapid evolution towards implementation of diversified strategies. Innovative tactics, a greater focus on community engagement, unconventional ownership structures, the rise of alternative [...]