The private credit market is set to hit $1 trillion by 2020 October 4, 2017 The world’s private credit market, which focuses on providing debt to businesses, is set to hit $1 trillion (£754bn) by 2020, according to research from trade body the Alternative Credit Council (ACC). The industry currently manages around $600bn in assets, and has grown 14-fold since the turn of the millennium. Based on this growth rate, [...]
How to foster trust and create value in the investment industry September 20, 2017 The “Future State of the Investment Profession” study by CFA Institute explores evolving states of trust and their interdependence with demonstrating and creating value. To get a better understanding of what it means for investment professionals to provide value and how that relates to building trust and improving investor outcomes, we discussed these topics [...]
KPMG has been cleared of wrongdoing over its 2007 HBOS audit September 19, 2017 KPMG has been absolved of responsibility by the accounting watchdog over its auditing of HBOS in the run-up to the bank’s collapse in 2008, saying at the time there was no evidence market conditions would take such a dramatic turn. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said today after a detailed investigation, it had decided it [...]
Initiatives focused on ESG reporting are making progress, but there is more to do August 29, 2017 It is frequently acknowledged that investors should identify and analyse any environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors that could impact the value creation and risk profile of companies and integrate these factors into their investment process. Evidence supporting the relevance of this type of information for investors continues to grow — see, for example, [...]
How does ‘Purposeful Capitalism’ influence risk management? August 23, 2017 Purposeful Capitalism describes an evolution of capitalism wherein the investment industry becomes more professional, ethical, and client-centric. The scenario detailed in the Future State of the Investment Profession study examines ways in which organisations may evolve with greater focus placed on transforming culture; the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors; and their [...]
The gender retirement gap: Why women are more likely to fall into poverty in retirement August 14, 2017 “The retirement issue is the single largest issue we will be facing in the 21st century.” Diane Garnick told participants at the 2017 CFA Institute Wealth Management Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, USA that “when people do not save for retirement, they are in big trouble.” Advisers must be ready to address these concerns. “The big [...]
Ukraine’s central bank pulls plug on PwC bank audit rights over PrivatBank’s balance sheet hole July 20, 2017 The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) announced today that it had pulled the plug on PwC’s domestic bank auditing rights, after it had failed to identify a $5bn (£3.9bn) balance-sheet hole at the country’s largest lender in previous audits. It comes after last December’s state takeover of PrivatBank by the NBU, in a move aimed [...]
BT and Rolls-Royce investigations: Auditors are not there to find fraud, says accounting body boss July 13, 2017 Accounting investigations into audit sign-offs of two British stalwarts are not a sign the profession is in crisis, a senior figure at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said today. But Vernon Soare, the ICAEW’s chief operating officer, admitted there is an “expectation gap” over the role of the auditor. KPMG [...]
BorrowMyDoggy: The firm matching dogs with people who want to borrow them May 17, 2017 A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.” Not any more, thanks to Rikke Rosenlund, founder of BorrowMyDoggy. As we discovered at a recent Leap 100 breakfast, now a dog can just be for Christmas. Or even a weekend. Rosenlund came up with the idea for BorrowMyDoggy on a summer’s day in 2012, when [...]
WannaCry ransomware NHS cyber attack: A final warning for banks and fintech May 15, 2017 It was the most high profile cyber attack in some time, and one of the largest ever carried out. Governments, hospitals, companies and universities in over 150 countries were affected by the recent ‘WannaCry’ cyber attack, which affected more than 230,000 computers with ransomware and demanded bitcoin payments. Media coverage in the UK focused on [...]