The inflation divide: what should investors be doing? August 25, 2020 Currently, inflation is more of an annoyance than the economic tyrant of old. Given the unprecedented stimulus that the global economy has received since the coronavirus crisis hit, the debate is whether these “whatever it takes” financial packages will stoke a sustained period of rising prices. Inflation or deflation? The inflation debate is polarising opinion [...]
How working flexibly can give investors an edge August 24, 2020 | City Talk I’ve always said that the question of how you create a high performing investment culture is inextricably linked with the individuals involved and how they interact with each other. This is a people business and this view has been at the heart of how we approach investment matters at Schroders. As a leader of an [...]
Shuttered Woodford fund to pay out £183m to investors next week August 20, 2020 Investors trapped in the failed Woodford Equity Income will receive a £183m payout next week, following the sale of a number of assets. Link Fund Solutions agreed a £224m deal to sell 18 healthcare stocks, representing around half the remaining fund’s assets in June to Acacia Research. The firm then offloaded the bargain stocks just [...]
Mind the gap? Financing scale-ups takes sharper focus August 19, 2020 | City Talk ‘There is a risk… of a lost generation of innovative businesses unable to access the right capital to scale and go global’: so warns an analysis published this month entitled The Future of Growth Capital. The report – co-produced by Innovate Finance, the ScaleUp Institute and Deloitte, in collaboration with industry, investors and the recently [...]
Canada Group reports loss as subsidiary prepares for banking licence August 18, 2020 Canada Group has reported a loss of £9.7m as its subsidiary prepares to become a fully authorised bank. In July, Recognise Financial Services reached a major milestone in its journey towards becoming a bank when the Prudential Regulation Authority issued its Total Capital Requirement letter. The figures Canada Group [...]
Chris Smalling invests in UK plant-based meat business August 17, 2020 A startup that specialises in “hyper-realistic” plant-based food has secured investment from international footballer Chris Smalling in its latest funding round. THIS closed its £4m Seedrs crowdfunding campaign on Friday, which was live for 2 and a half days before hitting its £4m target. THIS aims to mimic meat in taste, texture, appearance and smell [...]
Market shock: how did investors react to the impact of Covid-19? August 17, 2020 | City Talk Coronavirus brought a decade-long US bull market to an end and sparked a sudden stock market collapse. A surprising proportion of investors responded by taking on more risk. Faced by of one of the biggest economic shocks in history it is little surprise that the vast majority of investors reacted by changing their portfolios. What [...]
Schroders becomes first major City firm to make home working permanent August 16, 2020 Fund manager Schroders will allow thousands of its employees to continue working from home even after the pandemic, marking a huge shift in the way the City works. The FTSE-100 listed firm is the first major City institution to tell staff they will not be required to return to the office five days a week. [...]
Why investors should pay attention to sugar August 14, 2020 | City Talk Government action to promote healthy eating, especially in light of the spread of Covid-19, and ongoing changes in consumer tastes will continue to create headwinds for the food and beverage industry, and increasingly for food retailers and hospitality companies too. We’ve known for decades that obesity puts people at greater risk of serious and life-threatening [...]
Forecasting the US election: should investors prepare for a new president? August 13, 2020 | City Talk Our analysis shows that the US presidential race may be closer than it first appears, but investors should at least be questioning what a Biden win will mean for markets and policy. When it comes to forecasting the US election, on the face of it both macro modelling and polls point to a comfortable win [...]