Robots, AI and digital disruption are coming to the hedge fund industry October 20, 2016 The robots are coming. And the hedge fund industry appears to be accepting it. “There’s a very strong business case for replacing humans with algorithms in a lot of areas of the business,” said one respondent in a survey of more than 100 hedge fund leaders and executives. Some 58 per cent of those interviewed [...]
The Brexit rally is less fragile than it looks October 19, 2016 The performance of UK shares has generally confounded most strategists. Since the vote to leave the EU in June, UK savers have enjoyed returns of close to 15 per cent. While the weakness of sterling has eaten most of those returns for overseas investors, we are in a much better place than many were predicting in [...]
Leeds wealth manager aims to take revenues north with London firm takeover October 18, 2016 Leeds-based wealth management company the Private Office (TPO) has acquired a London financial planning firm. The cash and equity deal for PQR Financial Planning will strengthen TPO’s London presence and create a platform for further growth, the firm said. The combined business, which also includes TPO sister company SavingsChampion.co.uk, will have a turnover of £8.5m. [...]
Discretionary fund managers are expecting “choppy waters” after Brexit vote October 18, 2016 Discretionary fund managers (DFM) are anticipating “choppy waters” after the Brexit vote, a new study has found. Seven in 10 believe the UK’s Leave vote poses a threat to investments, while 55 per cent cited weak global GDP growth and 52 per cent geopolitical uncertainty. The findings were based on a CoreData Research study conducted in [...]
Green bonds could be a good solution to raise sustainable funding for long-term investments October 18, 2016 In a world with too little growth and where most central banks continually miss their inflation targets, there is an acceptance that stimulus measures are not working as hoped. It has been left to the central banks and monetary policy to generate a wealth effect and discourage saving in a bid to promote investment and economic [...]
How to break into hard-to-access funds October 18, 2016 Now more than ever, portfolio diversification is critical. Recent market upheaval following the Brexit vote has begged the question: how diverse should a portfolio be? What should this look like in practice? And given that funds tend to be the most straightforward way for individuals to invest, what alternatives are there to mainstream quoted equity [...]
Electra Private Equity shares up as it announces investment shake-up plans October 14, 2016 Electra Private Equity's share price jumped two per cent this morning after it announced plans for a company shake-up. Under the scheme, the private equity firm will move from having a listed investment trust to a "corporate" structure from next year. It also plans to launch a £200m return of capital to investors in the fourth quarter [...]
Fund managers join fight for more female FTSE 350 board members October 12, 2016 Jupiter, Old Mutual and Legal & General are among the fund managers to have made commitments to vote against board appointments at companies which do not have enough female executives. And the 30% Club, which is campaigning for FTSE 350 boards to be 30 per cent made up of women by 2020, has called on more investment companies to follow suit. Read [...]
Investors more worried about lower for longer interest rates than Brexit vote October 12, 2016 Rock bottom interest rates appear to have given people more headaches about where to stash their cash than the Brexit vote. Paul Abberley, chief executive at investment manager Charles Stanley, told Morning Wire clients seemed generally more concerned about the "near zero interest rate" than they did about the Brexit vote, adding the lower for longer policy [...]
Interactive Investor announces takeover deal to create UK’s second largest online broker October 12, 2016 Interactive Investor has agreed a takeover deal for TD Bank’s European direct investing business to form the UK’s second largest online broker. The transaction, which will create a firm with 300,000 customer relationships and assets under administration of £18bn, is being financed by JC Flowers & Co funds. Read more: Star manager Woodford invests £21m in brokers AJ Bell [...]