US alternative asset management firm Ares to lend £1bn to Daisy Group for minority investor buyout February 26, 2019 US asset management firm Ares will invest more than £1bn in business telecoms firm Daisy Group to allow the firm's founder Matthew Riley to buy out a minority investor. The investment will also be used to refinance the company’s existing credit facilities, and will support the firm’s future growth plans. Read more: Daisy calls FTSE [...]
Blackrock chief executive Larry Fink calls UK ‘irresponsible’ over Brexit uncertainty February 25, 2019 Blackrock chief executive Larry Fink has slammed the UK as “irresponsible” due to the continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit. The boss of the world’s largest asset management fund told CNBC that a lack of understanding surrounding the UK’s future relationship with the EU has forced firms to take action in order to prepare. Read more: Businesses, [...]
Is this popular measure of stock market value giving a misleading “sell” signal? February 25, 2019 | City Talk One of the most widely watched measures of stock market value, the cyclically-adjusted price to earnings ratio (CAPE), has been giving off a screaming “sell” signal for the US market in the past few years. Last year it rose to a level not seen in its almost 140 year history, other than during the peak [...]
FCA hands £415k in fines to investment groups over float collusion February 21, 2019 The UK’s financial watchdog has slapped two investment management groups with fines for breaking competition rules by sharing information ahead of an initial public offering (IPO). The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Hargreave Hale £306,300 and River and Mercantile Asset Management (Raman) £108,600. It said the firms had shared “strategic information”, including their intentions on pricing [...]
The rubbish revolution: How to profit from plastic policy changes February 21, 2019 It is estimated that eight million tonnes of plastic packaging end up in the world’s oceans every year. The plastic problem has jettisoned into social consciousness over recent years, helped by TV programmes like Blue Planet and Plastic Ocean. Now our lives are littered with concerns about the impact of this material on the environment. [...]
Interserve’s rebel shareholder Coltrane ups stake in struggling outsourcer February 20, 2019 The rebellious shareholder trying to thwart outsourcing giant Interserve’s rescue deal has upped its stake in the firm, "putting its money where its mouth is" and piling more pressure on the contractor. Coltrane Asset Management, a 27.3 per cent stakeholder which previously owned only 17.5 per cent through shares and 9.8 through other financial instruments, launched [...]
Beyond the bottom line: UK asset managers aren’t ready for new stewardship rules – should we be worried? February 19, 2019 From questionable corporate incentives to excessive risk-taking, there were plenty of red flags that should have warned asset managers of the impending financial crisis in 2008. And yet, many turned a blind eye, ultimately choosing to risk people’s pension savings for the sake of short-term gains. Since then, codes of practice have been introduced around [...]
Should investors be more concerned about China’s slowdown? February 18, 2019 The rise of China has been astonishing and its growing influence on the world is one of the economic forces discussed in our inescapable investment truths for the decade ahead. But economies don’t grow in a straight line. China is facing a transition period. It is a country we monitor closely and we believe its [...]
Mark Kleinman: Aviva’s missed deadline ensures brickbats February 15, 2019 Viva Aviva? For such a stalwart of blue-chip boardrooms, Sir Adrian Montague suddenly can’t put a foot right. Four years after taking over the chairmanship of Aviva when John McFarlane scuttled off to Barclays, he’s ended up in a rather large pickle of his own making. Sacking Mark Wilson as the insurer’s chief executive last [...]
You can now trade London skyscrapers on a real estate stock exchange – here’s how it works February 12, 2019 Down the years, through booms and busts, investment in property has always meant one thing – buying buildings. And whether it be a corner shop or a skyscraper, the principle has always been the same – it’s the whole building that you buy. We take that for granted. Read more: Sharp rise in property values [...]