What does the future hold for mutant equity crowdfunding? September 1, 2016 For the first time since the industry emerged in 2011, according to Beauhurst data, the number of successful equity crowdfunding campaigns fell in the first half of this year. It is therefore an appropriate moment to reassess what the sector’s future may look like. Equity crowdfunding platforms have a simple business model: they enable companies to raise [...]
Britain’s pension deficits grew by £100bn in August alone September 1, 2016 Britain's companies were urged to think of plugging pension holes as “part of the furniture” of financial planning after new research showed that deficits grew by a staggering £100bn during August. The PwC Skyval index, which covers 6,000 British defined benefit pension schemes, revealed that aggregate deficits had widened to £710bn by the end of August. [...]
Don’t overreact to vast pension scheme deficits: We need a new normal for how they’re measured September 1, 2016 Pension schemes are faced with serious challenges following the EU referendum result and the Bank of England’s recent stimulus package. Both events have driven down long-term gilt yields. As a result, for defined benefit pension schemes valuing their liabilities using gilt discount rates, deficits continue to grow. Our Skyval Index shows that deficits have increased [...]
Star fund manager Neil Woodford lambasts “frustratingly rife” short-termism in the City September 1, 2016 Legendary fund manager Neil Woodford has condemned “frustratingly rife” short-termism in the City, lending his support to a stinging criticism of executive pay levels and a failure of investors to hold management teams to account. The founder of Woodford Investment Management has bemoaned fund managers who “do not behave or think like owners, because they [...]
Experts welcome Treasury proposals to allow tax-free draw-downs to fund financial advice August 31, 2016 With millions of workers being automatically enrolled into a workplace pension the Treasury launched a consultation to ensure that they are adequately advised in preparation for retirement. The launch follows an announcement by the government in the March 2016 Budget to consult on recommendations by the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR). The FAMR proposals were to allow [...]
Pension or property: Which is the better option for your retirement? August 31, 2016 The Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane drew ire from the pensions industry for the second time this year, when he claimed that property was a better investment option for retirement than a pension in an interview with The Sunday Times this weekend. “It ought to be pensions but it’s almost certainly property,” Haldane said. [...]
European exchange-traded funds and products top $539bn in July August 30, 2016 Assets under management at Europe's exchange-traded funds and products were at all-time highs at the end of July after being boosted by strong inflows and market gains. Growing by $9.4bn (£7.2bn) in July, assets totalled $539bn and were spread across over two thousand different European-listed exchanged-traded funds (ETF) and products (ETP). ETFs are usually index-tracking instruments whose value is linked to the [...]
Emerging markets have enjoyed a real comeback, but as expectations of another Fed rate hike grow, can it last long? August 30, 2016 At the beginning of the year, things looked dismal for emerging markets. Investor optimism had soured over the previous three to four years, thanks to a cocktail of tumbling commodity prices, a strong dollar and a Chinese slowdown which had shaken confidence in the sustainability of their growth. Nine months later, and the mood has shifted [...]
Will September be a particularly cruel month for investors? August 30, 2016 David Buik, market commentator at Panmure Gordon, says Yes. As a committed Brexiteer, it is imperative to be eternally optimistic, particularly in the face of hysterical Remain financial forecasting which emanated from the establishment, encouraged by a slew of eminent economists. After Brexit, further quantitative easing and a rate cut were quickly introduced, which resulted in [...]
From Italy to Trump, why are investors so complacent about political risk? August 30, 2016 As Theresa May plotted with her Cabinet this weekend about the country’s plan for Brexit, doomsday-predictors should have every reason to be amazed at where asset prices sit today. Funnily enough, market-savvy Brexiteers I spoke to in the aftermath of the vote were surprised but sanguine, saying markets always overreact. Clearly in the short term [...]
