Top-performing investment teams: 10 ingredients to their secret sauce September 8, 2020 | City Talk What do top investment teams have in common? To answer this question, Focus Consulting Group (FCG) undertook research into the factors shared by high-performing investment teams. We developed a list of factors that contribute to fund performance, including: ‘Do you use quantitative filters?’ (to narrow your universe) and ‘Do you personally invest in your team’s [...]
Muppet money: Savers lose out on billions as they stash the cash September 8, 2020 UK savers could be wasting the opportunity to earn extra income on their savings as lockdown and recession fears push investors to save cash at a record pace. In the first six months of 2020, investors stashed away a record £77bn, meaning a staggering £1.5 trillion of cash is tucked away in savings accounts, according [...]
What could a Biden presidency mean for climate change investing? September 7, 2020 | City Talk Joe Biden in the White House, and potentially Democrats in control of the Senate too, could turbo-charge climate change as an investment theme. The US response to Covid-19 looks set to be the dominant election issue as we head towards the November polls. Myriad other issues also compete for voters’ attention, and climate change often [...]
Investors crave knowledge – but where do they find it? September 4, 2020 | City Talk A majority of investors want enough knowledge to make their own decisions – or to challenge the decisions made by their financial adviser. But they differ on where they look for this information. An overwhelming 97% of investors want some level of personal finance knowledge, according to the latest issue of Schroders’ Global Investor Study, [...]
Coronavirus: Is the pandemic the final nail in the coffin for property funds? September 2, 2020 As the economy starts to reopen after lockdown, the commercial property sector is looking to bounce back from what has been a difficult year. But the vast majority of the UK’s open-ended property funds remain suspended after they were closed as the coronavirus outbreak took hold. And a recent consultation from the Financial Conduct Authority [...]
Climate Progress Dashboard forecasts global warming of 3.9°C despite Covid-19 crisis September 2, 2020 | City Talk The latest update to our Climate Progress Dashboard suggests the current pace of change will result in temperatures rising by 3.9°C above pre-industrial levels. Global temperatures are on course to rise by 3.9°C, almost twice the Paris Agreement target, according to our analysis of indicators from the second quarter of the year. Huge reductions in [...]
AI and Big Data: Can they guide investors through the pandemic? September 1, 2020 | City Talk The defeat of the top human Go player by the AlphaGo artificial intelligence (AI) in 2017 revealed to the public the world of possibilities that AI scientists had been quietly exploring for years. Driverless cars, AI doctors, and robo-advisers, among other innovations, all seemed within reach. Amid such promise and possibility, Roy Amara’s famous law was [...]
Why digital infrastructure could emerge stronger from Covid-19 August 28, 2020 | City Talk The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to modernise digital infrastructure networks. We expect that this will create new investment opportunities. Surging online activity Whether we like it or not, the Covid-19 pandemic has cemented our addiction to fast and reliable internet access. While speaking to colleagues remotely, food shopping online or monitoring our ‘smart [...]
CVC and Advent team up in €1.3bn bid for Italy’s Serie A August 26, 2020 Private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and Advent International have reportedly joined forces in a €1.3bn (£1.17bn) offer for a minority stake in Italy’s Serie A football league. Last month Lega Serie A, the governing body of the league, placed a cap of 15 per cent on any potential private equity investment. CVC and Advent [...]
What does value investing have in common with Forrest Gump? August 26, 2020 | City Talk Gump is rewarded for his determination and resilience in the face of vicious storms in the 1994 film “Forrest Gump”. We believe returns could be bountiful for the genuinely long-term and patient value investor too. When I look at a chart like this, I think one of two things. Either it’s different this time for [...]