General Election 2015: Alliance Trust CEO Katherine Garrett-Cox wants a sustainable economy and flexible working April 16, 2015 ELECTION COUNTDOWN: 20 DAYS TO GO Every day until the final week of the election campaign, we ask a business leader to say what policies would entice them to vote for a particular party. KATHERINE GARRETT-COX: CEO, ALLIANCE TRUST ■ You commit to creating a healthy, sustainable economy which is so very [...]
Ex-director Tim Ingram piles pressure on Alliance Trust chief executive March 30, 2015 Alliance Trust’s board is failing to scrutinise the management, and non-executives who try to ask questions are eased out, ex-director Tim Ingram told Morning Wire yesterday. Ingram is backing activist investor Elliott Advisors’ bid to put three new directors on Alliance’s board, in the hope of shaking up the investment firm’s strategy. Ingram believes that [...]
Alliance Trust braced for more personal attacks March 29, 2015 The battle between Alliance Trust and activist investor Elliott Advisors is set to get more tense and bitter in the coming weeks, with both sides rallying supporters ahead of next month’s annual general meeting. Elliott wants to appoint three new directors to the investment group’s board, arguing the FTSE 250 firm needs more industry experience, [...]
Alliance Trust tells Elliott Advisors directors: You’re male, pale & stale March 19, 2015 Alliance Trust is preparing a campaign against the three industry veterans its biggest shareholder is trying to get voted on to the board, Morning Wire understands – arguing that the experienced bosses do not match the firm’s modern, creative model. Activist investor Elliott Advisors is engaged in a fierce battle of wills with the FTSE 100 [...]
On life, taxes and Osborne’s chance to beat a £20bn target March 18, 2015 If taxes are one of life’s few certainties, then taxes on banks are becoming just as predictable. Just when HSBC thought its lot could not get any tougher, up pops George Osborne with his bi-annual hike to the rate of the charge on lenders’ balance sheets. The chancellor’s final pre-General Election Budget included a commitment [...]
Alliance Trust bosses unnerved after activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors calls for a board shake-up March 16, 2015 A bitter row is erupting between FTSE 100 investment group Alliance Trust and its biggest shareholder, the activist hedge fund Elliott Advisors. Elliott is today pushing to add three new non-executives to the board of Alliance, in a move that will pile the pressure on the firm’s chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox. “They’re not calling for [...]
Alliance Trust cuts managers in savings drive October 29, 2014 Alliance Trust yesterday revealed it was cutting five fund managers as part of a plan to save £2m per year. The investment manager reported total shareholder returns of 2.1 per cent in the third quarter, putting it in the top half of the sector. The firm, headed by chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox, said the changes to [...]
Alliance Trust starts registering English companies ahead of Scotland vote March 7, 2014 Alliance Trust, the Dundee-based investment management group, has begun setting up registered companies in England, ahead of the Scottish referendum. The firm said it’s a precautionary measure when it comes to tax, financial regulation and what currency Scotland would use if independent – another knock for Alex Salmond. Chief executive Katherine Garrett-Cox said: The referendum [...]