Has WeWork destroyed SoftBank’s credibility? November 13, 2019 | Sponsored By John Colley at Warwick Business School Why is Japanese investment firm SoftBank investing a further $8 billion into WeWork, even though the office rental company is now valued at just $8 billion, and buying out founder Adam Neumann at a further cost of $1.7 billion? Forgetting SoftBank’s previous sunk investments in WeWork – which [...]
Is Mark Barnett repeating Neil Woodford’s mistakes? November 13, 2019 A little over a year ago, many would have argued that following in the footsteps of Neil Woodford was a positive move. Now, after the recent scandal around the infamous fund manager and the collapse of his investment empire, most people would likely argue the complete opposite. Trust has been shaken, and investors are understandably [...]
The rising abuse of short-selling tactics could have severe consequences on healthy businesses November 12, 2019 Share prices have always been subject to manipulation. The “pump and dump” phenomenon in penny shares has been such a common risk that many people avoid buying such volatile stocks to this day. Layers of legislation and regulation have been designed and policed to prevent companies and brokers from this kind of activity — broadly [...]
Woodford protege Mark Barnett reassures investors after fund rating downgrades November 9, 2019 Invesco’s top fund manager in the UK Mark Barnett has apologised to investors after a fund rating agency raised concerns over the performance and liquidity of his investments. Barnett, who previously worked under Neil Woodford before he left to start is own business six years ago, has defended the performance of his funds after consultants [...]
Woodford protege Mark Barnett hit by Morningstar downgrades on two funds November 7, 2019 Two Invesco funds run by a protege of disgraced stockpicker Neil Woodford have been hit by Morningstar downgrades over their exposure to smaller and illiquid companies. The financial research firm downgraded Invesco’s High Income and Income funds – which are both managed by Mark Bartnett – to a “neutral” rating. Read more: Cautious investors drag [...]
Cautious investors drag equity funds to record quarterly outflows November 7, 2019 Cautious savers snubbed equities in September amid ongoing global uncertainty, driving the funds to their highest quarterly outflows on record. Equity funds saw £1.7bn of outflows in September, the fourth consecutive month of outflows. This takes equities’ total net retail outflows for the third quarter to a record £4.6bn, according to figures from the Investment [...]
Founder Masayoshi Son calls Softbank’s staggering loss ‘a mess’ November 6, 2019 Softbank founder Masayoshi Son has called the Japanese company’s disappointing results “a mess” and admitted a “problem” with his judgement, after the tech investment giant swung to an operating loss for the first time in 14 years. The group reported a $6.4bn quarterly loss this morning, driven by soured bets on tech prospects including Wework [...]
Investment managers lobby politicians for strong EU ties post-Brexit November 6, 2019 UK fund managers have called on the next government to protect cross-border investment arrangements and secure close alignment with EU rules post-Brexit. Entering the fray of general election campaigning, the Investment Association (IA) also warned against a no-deal Brexit, calling it “the worst possible outcome for UK investment managers”. Read more: Investors urge FTSE 350 [...]
Investors urge FTSE 350 firms to link executive pay to performance November 5, 2019 Listed companies must make a clearer link between pay and performance and justify executive remuneration levels to avoid shareholder dissent, the Investment Association (IA) has said. The IA has written to all FTSE 350 firms outlining the standards it expects their remuneration policies to meet ahead of the 2020 annual general meeting (AGM) season, when [...]
Saudi Aramco IPO: The pros and cons November 5, 2019 Saudi Aramco is the mother of all oil companies, and the most profitable business in the world. Last year, its net income stood at $111bn, dwarfing the earnings of other oil giants. So the announcement on Sunday that the state-owned Saudi Arabian company will finally go public is massive news for investors, and marks the [...]
