The pros and cons of crowdfunding
People are divided about crowdfunding. While many investors and businesses see it as invaluable, it often comes with a number of caveats which shouldn’t be ignored. Equity and debt-based crowdfunding...
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Seven investment charts that caught our eye in June
Schroders Investment Communications team highlights charts they found interesting this month. Mid-year markets Schroders' team of economists put together a handy summary of how various asset classes...
View ArticleGuy Hands' Terra Firma planning a new £2.6bn fund
Private equity veteran Guy Hands is planning a new €3bn (£2.6bn) takeover fund after the addition of new executives, according to reports. Terra Firma Capital Partners, which Hands founded, will begin...
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How geopolitics trumps economics
Earlier this week I attended the "Athens Seminar", an economic and political round table discussion that has been hosted annually since 1979. I thought it would be of interest to share some of the main...
View ArticleThe UK has led the charge for a fairer worldwide tax landscape
With the UK’s place and influence in the world being much debated, it’s been easy to overlook one of the most significant international tax achievements of recent decades and the leading role the UK...
View ArticleThe billionth new £1 coin rolled through the Royal Mint’s production line
It may not seem long since we started using them, but the billionth new £1 coin has already passed through the Royal Mint’s production line. The 12-sided coin, which entered circulation in March, is...
View ArticleWhy value investors would respect Nelson Mandela but buy Seretse Khama
This month marks different anniversaries of the births of two of post-colonial Africa’s greatest leaders – Nelson Mandela and Seretse Kharma. Mandela, who was born on 18 July 1918, you will almost...
View ArticleThe strike saga is over: BMW workers accept fresh pensions offer
BMW workers in the UK have voted to accept the German car maker's revised pension offer in a long-running dispute, bringing an end to a spate of industrial action. Unite union said over 80 per cent of...
View ArticleThe landscape is shifting for those trading geopolitics
Nine years ago when I became a financial journalist, the world was embroiled in post-Lehman Brothers crisis. Financial markets were shaken, investors lost cash while major central banks scrambled to...
View ArticlePensions minister: 8m people have now auto-enrolled but rates need to rise
From zero to 8m in five years is an amazing achievement. That’s 8m people who have been enrolled into a workplace pension since 2012 thanks to automatic enrolment. This is nearly the same number of...
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Why interest rates predictions have suddenly shifted
Pressure is building for interest rates to be raised in the UK following a surge in inflation to a five-year high. Why are there fresh calls for rate rise? The Bank of England’s monetary policy...
View ArticleIt's true, pensions are actually popular...
The workplace pension has proved more popular than the government imagined, according to statistics revealed today by the Pensions Regulator (TPR). More than 8m people have signed up for a workplace...
View ArticleBreaking down emotional barriers to smart saving
We've all had those times when our emotions interfere with logic. When it comes to money, we can find ourselves worried – sometime irrationally – about investing, even though keeping your entire...
View ArticleHere's why the FCA could meddle with Osborne's pension freedoms legacy
Financial regulators are mulling an "intervention" into pension drawdowns after admitting the retirement income market has "changed substantially" since George Osborne introduced his landmark pension...
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20 years on, could the Asian financial crisis be repeated?
The Asian financial crisis of 1997 was a traumatic dislocation for financial markets that I experienced first hand, working as a fund manager for Schroders in Singapore. The fallout was shocking. The...
View ArticleGay man wins equal pensions rights in landmark ruling
The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark ruling giving the husband of a gay man the same pension rights as a wife would receive. John Walker, 66, challenged a Court of Appeal decision to support his...
View ArticleThe Pensions Regulator will be given powers to prevent BHS-style failings
The government today revealed plans to give the Pensions Regulator greater "proactive" powers to crack down on corporate pension scheme failings. The plans were outlined in a department for work and...
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Could Melbourne's house price boom derail its global city status?
The latest version of the Schroders Global Cities index was published last month. The index uses a number of factors to identify the most economically vibrant cities. Melbourne was ranked 8th. This...
View ArticleIs there a case for regulatory greater control over drawdown pensions?
DEBATE: Is there a case for regulatory greater control over the option of a drawdown pension? YES – Nitin Mehta, managing director of member value at the CFA Institute. Some pensioners with meagre...
View Article"Bugger the share price"... Field vows to get tough on pensions
The UK's pensions watchdog must put workers’ interests ahead of those of shareholders, the chair of the work and pensions select committee urged today. Frank Field, who has been re-elected as the chair...
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