Chief executive is the US’s most coveted job – while blogger is the “best” job May 19, 2016 City PM readers tend to be a distinguished lot, with many residing in the corner office. And now it appears you, dear reader, may also have the US's most coveted job – after a new ranking showed the most popular "dream job" is chief executive. The study, by US job search site CareerCast, most people [...]
Brexit worries are beginning to bite at Hargreaves Lansdown May 19, 2016 Investment giant Hargreaves Lansdown has said uncertainties over Brexit are hitting investors' confidence, as net inflows dipped. The figures Net inflows dipped to £2.3bn in the four months to the end of April, from £2.75bn in the same period last year. That said, assets under management rose to £60.3bn, from £58.8bn last year. And the number of active clients also rose, by 15 per [...]
What do Dyson, Google and other “super” entrepreneurs have in common? May 19, 2016 When the word “entrepreneurial” is mentioned, most people immediately think of small owner operator businesses. But the Marketing Agencies Association’s second annual Super Entrepreneur list looks to some of Britain’s biggest and best known companies to understand and explain their growing culture of entrepreneurialism. An expert panel ranked 200 of Britain’s biggest consumer-facing companies against entrepreneurial [...]
P2P lending: Why the Lending Club fiasco won’t send us all back to the dark ages May 19, 2016 You'd be forgiven for thinking, following last week’s news that Lending Club’s chief executive Renaud Laplanche was stepping down amid allegations around loan sales and misconduct, that this is the end of P2P lending as we know it. Commentators have been quick to discredit the P2P sector, with online lenders labelled “banks in disguise”, up [...]
Lending Club fiasco: This is the company helping P2P platforms grow up with integrity May 19, 2016 The resignation of US giant Lending Club’s chief executive last Monday sent a icy wave of unease through the P2P lending industry. Writing in City PM last week, AltFi’s Rupert Taylor commented: “the failures at Lending Club justified robust action because they related to a discipline that is central to what distinguishes P2P from conventional [...]
Workplace pensions: In praise of the humble master trust May 18, 2016 I woke up this weekend to a series of vaguely apocalyptic headlines about workplace pensions, master trusts in particular. And today none other than the country's most revered pensioner, Her Majesty The Queen, has opined on the topic. Being managing director of Smart Pension, a provider of workplace pensions via our own secure master trust, I must speak [...]
Pay by Fitbit? It could soon be a reality after this acquisition of assets from fintech startup Coin May 18, 2016 Fitbit has indicated a move into payments with the acquisition of technology from a Silicon Valley firm specialising in wearable payments, meaning users might in future be able to pay for things simply by swiping their Fitbit. The tech company has snapped up the assets of Coin, a startup in the fintech and wearables space which created a [...]
Foxtons shareholders just voted through a 19 per cent wage hike for its chief executive – despite a fall in share price May 18, 2016 More proof that 2016's so-called shareholder spring is more of a trickle of dissent? Foxtons shareholders have voted through a 19 per cent payrise for chief executive Nic Budden – despite the fact shares have plummeted in the last year. In a statement this afternoon, the estate agent, which focuses on properties in central London, said [...]
Crowdfunding platform named UK’s most active investor in private companies May 18, 2016 A crowdfunding platform has been named as the UK’s most active investor in private companies by a new report. In the first quarter of 2016, Seedrs made 37 investment deals. It was followed in second place by fellow crowdfunder, Crowdcube, which was involved in 30 deals. The Business Growth Fund was the next most active, [...]
Why Google’s Android Pay UK launch is far more exciting than Apple’s May 18, 2016 Less than a year after Apple Pay reached the UK, Android Pay has landed. Since last July only a lucky few – those who own an Apple Watch or one of the recent raft of iPhones (including the SE) – could pay for goods and services via their phones. This was merely the green shoots [...]
