Net retail sales plummet as investor confidence knocked by political and economic uncertainty February 7, 2019 Investor confidence was knocked by a "perfect storm" of political and economic uncertainty last year sending net retail sales plummeting by 85 per cent. Brexit, US-China trade tensions, the slide in the Turkish Lira and the Italian budget crisis all impacted investor sentiment last year and saw sales drop to £7.2bn in 2018 in comparison to £48.5bn [...]
UK’s assets under management growth to outperform US and EU over next seven years February 6, 2019 The UK asset management industry is expected to outperform both Europe and the US over the next seven years despite Brexit, new research shows. Assets under management in the UK are forecast to grow 22 per cent by 2025, according to a survey by Bloomberg Intelligence and Simmons & Simmons. Read more: Janus Henderson Group's assets [...]
More than £197m lost to investment scams in 2018, Financial Conduct Authority warns February 6, 2019 More than £197m was lost to investment scams last year as more victims were targeted online, the City watchdog has warned. The most common scams that were reported last year involved investments in shares and bonds, and forex and cryptocurrencies, which accounted for 85 per cent of all suspected scams, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. Read [...]
The yield curve explained: is it predicting recession? February 6, 2019 | City Talk The yield curve has been a reliable predictor of US recessions over the last four decades. Each time the yield curve has inverted, the US economy has entered a downturn within 18 months. At the start of 2019, the curve is precipitously close to inverting again. The yield curve is the difference between the interest [...]
Stereotypes won’t close the gender funding gap February 6, 2019 The latest figures from the British Business Bank on venture capital funding do not make for comfortable reading. Female-led startups get just 1p for every £1 of VC investment, all-male teams receive £5bn of funding per year, and having a single woman on the team correlates with lower investment. “Shocking”, in the words of chief [...]
A Marie Kondo divorce: Lessons from Netflix’s new TV star February 6, 2019 A new year means a new selection of TV series to help us through the deep dark winter months. This year is no exception, and Netflix’s Tidying Up with Marie Kondo resonates with what are no doubt nationwide resolutions for self, home, and life improvement. It might be surprising to learn that many of the [...]
Best and worst performing income funds of 2018 revealed February 5, 2019 Investment firm Sanlam UK has revealed the biggest winners and losers in its annual study ranking income funds. The Troy Trojan Income Fund, run by Francis Brooke jumped 37 positions to take the top position, followed by the Axa Framlington Monthly Income Fund and the Miton UK Multi Cap Income Fund, it was announced today. [...]
Activist investor Edward Bramson makes fresh attempt to secure place on Barclays’ board February 5, 2019 Activist investor Edward Bramson has submitted a resolution to be appointed to Barclays’ board of directors at the banks annual general meeting (AGM) in May. Bramson, the chief executive of Sherborne Investors which holds more than five per cent of the bank's shares, has previously called for Barclays to downsize its investment banking division. Read more: Barclays [...]
What is the outlook for interest rates in 2019? February 5, 2019 | City Talk US Concern over the outlook for US interest rates was one of the dominant themes of 2018, especially as the year progressed. President Trump got involved in the debate, tweeting in December that it was “incredible” that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) was considering raising interest rates again. Despite the pressure from the president, the [...]
Janus Henderson Group’s assets under management fall in volatile market February 5, 2019 Assets under management (AUM) at Janus Henderson Group plummeted $50bn (£38.43bn) last quarter amid volatile markets. The company, which was formed through the 2017 merger of Henderson Group and Janus Capital Group, saw AUM fall 13 per cent from $378.1bn to $328.5bn in the three months to the end of December. Read more: Blackrock assets [...]