Investment trust winners of 2016 November 29, 2016 Investment trusts focused on Asia are on course to deliver some of the best returns in 2016, according to data for trust sectors. Investment trusts are an alternative to more commonly held open-ended funds or unit trusts, offering some advantages. This is explained here: investment trust v open-ended funds Here, we look at the [...]
These are 2016’s top 100 influential leaders in fintech (part 1 of 4) December 7, 2016 It is no secret that the financial services industry continues to be transformed by the digital revolution. According to PWC, roughly 20% of financial services business is at risk of disruption to fintech companies by 2020. It follows that investment into the sector continues to rise. In 2015, funding of fintech businesses more than doubled [...]
Who’s afraid of the big, bad pensions deficit? Contrarian stock-pickers can find hidden value in companies with large holes in their defined benefit pension funds November 30, 2016 For some UK companies, having a large pension deficit is like a proverbial albatross around the neck – unsightly and foreboding. This can make the shares appear cheap on some measures. But valuing stocks with large schemes is difficult, due to the enhanced complexity of pension accounting. Actuaries and trustees make numerous assumptions regarding future [...]
Asset managers must adapt to serve investors in an age of disruption November 21, 2016 Today's investors and their advisers face a torrent of change from all quarters. Political, economic and regulatory turbulence is matched only by the speed at which technology is transforming business models, choices and decision-making. The low interest rate and low growth environment is creating real challenges for institutional and retail investors. These challenges form the central [...]
Can we get a witness? Ed Sheeran facing copyright suit over Marvin Gaye classic August 10, 2016 Ed Sheeran has been hit with a copyright suit in the US over claims his smash hit Thinking Out Loud rips off the Marvin Gaye classic Let's Get It On. The suit has been brought by descendants of the late Ed Townsend, who wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye and held the copyright. The lawsuit, filed yesterday US federal court [...]
Jenson Button for a day: Now anyone can drive a McLaren around Silverstone September 13, 2016 Showjumper; vet; Spice Girl: those were my childhood career ambitions. And yet here I am, strapped into a fluoro green McLaren 570S, touching 150mph on the Hangar Straight at Silverstone, fulfilling the dreams of small boys everywhere. In the passenger seat is instructor Elliott Cole, who has spent the day showing me the ropes – [...]
Donald Trump’s travel ban provokes top tech bosses from Apple, Google, Uber, Twitter, Facebook and more to speak out on immigration January 29, 2017 The high profile bosses of several of the United States' biggest technology companies have spoken out after Donald Trump issued an executive order banning people from seven majority Muslim countries entering the US. Google founder Sergey Brin, himself a migrant from the former Soviet Union, attended a protest at San Francisco airport in a personal capacity, he told reporters. [...]
Ryan Lochte and US swimmers robbed at gunpoint in Rio August 14, 2016 American six-time Olympic swimming champion Ryan Lochte was left shaken but unharmed after being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro in the early hours of Sunday morning. Lochte, who helped Team USA win gold in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay last week, was with colleagues Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen when their [...]
Ryan Lochte dunked as Speedo ditches sponsorship August 22, 2016 Swimwear giant Speedo has cancelled its sponsorship agreement with disgraced US swimmer Ryan Lochte. The 32-year old, who won a gold medal in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay in Rio, was embroiled in scandal after he claimed to have been mugged at gunpoint while out celebrating with fellow swimmers from Team USA. The claims quickly unravelled [...]
Elon Musk’s “next great idea” is to develop a vertical takeoff and landing electric plane after Tesla, SpaceX and Hyperloop February 5, 2016 Elon Musk has new big plans: After out-there projects like SpaceX’s reusable rocket and Hyperloop, the billionaire tech titan wants to turn his attention to electric aeroplanes. The technology is basically non-existent commercially today, but that could all be about to change. Speaking at a Hyperloop event in Texas, the Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur was [...]