Invesco has sealed a deal to acquire OppenheimerFunds as the firrm looks to break into the top 10 global investment managers. The deal will see OppenheimerFunds parent Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company sell the asset manager to Invesco, with MassMutual taking a 15.5 per cent stake in Invesco in return. Invesco will manage $1.2trn (£920bn) […]
Economic relationships change, meaning that predictions can often prove wrong Much of Europe has enjoyed an unusually warm summer. But as the nights draw in and leaves turn brown, winter is somewhere around the corner. Like summers, economic expansions do not last forever. As the US expansion approaches its 10th birthday, investors may wonder how […]
A deeper look into how to make sustainable investing possible through the use of passive funds Sustainable investing has become a hot topic as more and more investors are looking to align their investments with their values. The market share of European equity funds that consider environmental, social and governance factors has almost doubled to […]
For a while now, talking heads have been banging the drum about a dollar liquidity squeeze. Effectively, as the US Federal Reserve tightens rates, the better returns suck money out of higher-risk markets back to the “safe haven” of the US. But we believe most developing markets are less susceptible to this risk than in […]
People are increasingly aware of responsible investing but questions remain over the returns As we move from the industrial age to the information age, society’s attitude towards protecting the planet has changed considerably. The results of the damage being done to the environment, in the form of more frequent and more intense natural disasters, are […]
This month marks the 10-year anniversary of the start of the global financial crisis in 2008. While it began with the sub-prime mortgage market disasters of the previous year, the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers was what sparked the full global crash, according to most commentators. To commemorate the past decade and how it […]
Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs has moved into retail finance in the UK as it launches a new savings bank. The bank is opening its doors to less affluent consumers with an online access account that can be opened with a minimum £1 deposit. The Times reports that the new savings bank, named Marcus after […]
Marmite and President Trump both sharply divide opinion, but you can ignore Marmite if you’d rather not put the glutinous, salty, black yeast extract on your teatime toast. As an investor you simply cannot ignore Donald Trump. Without wanting to give a running commentary of recent events, Trump’s actions continue to have an impact. The […]
As we enter year nine of the “great recovery”, there is talk about good economic numbers amid rising levels of political risk. But just how is the world so much riskier now than in periods around, say, the Cuban Missile Crisis or the remilitarisation of the Rhineland? Not all political risks are alike, nor do […]
High market volatility in February resulted in more retail investors using multi-asset fund managers and pushing net sales up to £1bn, new figures show. Data from the Investment Association tracking net retail fund sales in February show investors avoided both bond and equity funds with £235m and £136m outflows, respectively. In early February the US […]
London-based fund firm Beaufort Securities has been charged with money laundering and securities fraud by the US Department of Justice, the FCA has revealed. In a statement this afternoon, the FCA said that it had been cooperating with the US agency over its investigations into six separate individuals. The indictment from the DOJ alleges that […]
Fidelity Investments has reported profits of £3.8bn in 2017, even as investors pulled £34bn out of its equity funds. The investment group said operating income had jumped 54 per cent from 2016 in a year which saw global stock markets reach record highs. Fidelity said improved performance from its fund managers had helped boost […]