Increase in long-term sovereign bond yields prompts concerns over potential market punishments for governments with worsening fiscal positions, threatening wider financial stability. Rising long-dated sovereign borrowing costs are reviving fears that bond markets could eventually punish governments for worsening fiscal positions, with potential knock-on effects for credit and equities. According…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a proposal to broaden retail access to private assets and reform fee structures, marking a significant shift in market regulation aimed at increasing diversification for everyday investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a proposal that could open private markets…
Affluent households are increasingly investing in unlisted company shares to utilise business relief, amid new inheritance tax limits and pension reforms, raising questions about risk and liquidity. Wealthier households are shifting money into business relief investments as they try to soften the impact of forthcoming inheritance tax changes, according to…
Accel has quickly closed a new $550 million India fund amid increased global VC interest in the country’s growing startup scene, emphasising opportunities beyond artificial intelligence to consumer internet, fintech, and deep tech sectors. Accel has closed a new $550 million India fund, less than two years after its previous…
The 2026 iCapital Global Advisor Survey reveals a surge in advisers expanding alternative allocations despite subdued economic confidence, signalling a shift towards integrating these assets into core portfolios and facing operational challenges. Financial advisers are becoming more willing to add to alternative investments, even as their confidence in the wider…
The US SEC has announced new guidelines requiring activist funds to disclose the identities of limited partners in certain campaigns, marking a significant shift towards greater transparency in activist investing. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to tighten disclosure rules for activist investment vehicles, taking the unusual step…
Goldman Sachs highlights the 30-year Treasury yield as the key near-term market risk, driven by inflation fears, government borrowing, and fiscal stability worries, with far-reaching consequences for investors and the economy. Goldman Sachs has identified long-dated interest rates as the key near-term market risk, arguing that the 30-year Treasury yield…
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Aviva Investors, Schroders, and Legal & General Investment Management are pioneering live tokenised funds in the UK, signalling a significant shift towards digital fund distribution and collateral use in the asset management industry. Tokenisation is moving from theory into live distribution strategies among the U.K.’s largest fund houses, with Aviva Investors and Schroders both having taken fresh steps this summer and Legal & General Investment Management already offering tokenised access to its liquidity range. Aviva Investors said on 29 July that it had launched a tokenised share class for its US Dollar Liquidity Fund, the firm’s first tokenised fund product.…
OpenAI has completed a approximately $7 billion buyback of its private shares, reinforcing its valuation and demonstrating growing market confidence in its artificial intelligence platform. OpenAI has deepened the sense that its private shares now behave like a tradable asset, after completing a roughly $7 billion employee buyback that valued the company at about $852 billion, according to reports from Bloomberg and CNBC. The tender offer allowed current and former staff to sell vested shares back to the company, turning paper wealth into cash without waiting for a public listing. It was not a fund-raising round and did not bring…
Shares in Jio Financial Services and other key companies surged amid strategic partnerships, index inclusions, and significant order wins, reflecting a dynamic shift in Indian market sentiment and sectoral growth prospects. Shares in Jio Financial Services, Groww, Laurus Labs and Bharti Airtel were set to be in the spotlight on Wednesday after a flurry of corporate and index-related announcements, while Diamond Power Infrastructure, Texmaco Rail & Engineering, Krystal Integrated Services and Vascon Engineers also reported fresh orders and acquisitions. Jio Financial Services said Bank of America will buy a 49.9 per cent stake in its lending subsidiary, Jio Credit, in…
Bank of America’s latest client flow data reveal hedge funds engaging in their most substantial weekly US stock buying spree since 2008, signalling a discernible shift towards greater risk appetite amid market volatility. Bank of America’s latest client flow data point to a sharp resurgence in risk appetite among hedge funds, with the group logging its largest weekly purchases of US equities since the firm’s records began in 2008. According to the bank, hedge fund clients were net buyers of American stocks for a sixth straight week, even as institutional and retail investors trimmed exposure for a second consecutive week.…
Intel’s latest share sale, prompted by extraordinary investor appetite, aims to bolster its competitive edge in AI-focused semiconductor manufacturing amid escalating industry race. Intel has raised about $23 billion through a large common stock offering after strong investor demand prompted underwriters to exercise their over-allotment option in full, according to company filings and reports from Axios and Tom’s Hardware. The chipmaker agreed on 10 August to sell 210,526,315 shares at $95 each, a transaction that initially pointed to gross proceeds of roughly $20 billion before fees and expenses. A day later, the underwriters took up an option to buy an…
The US SEC has announced a new proposal to make electronic delivery of regulatory disclosures the default, aiming to streamline communications for market participants while preserving investor opt-out rights. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to overhaul how firms send regulatory disclosures, proposing a regime that would make…
OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX are preparing to go public with minimal transparency on their carbon footprints, raising concerns amid rising energy demands from AI and space technologies. Three of the world’s most highly valued private companies are edging towards public markets with remarkably little to say about their environmental footprint.…
The US and UK have issued a joint set of recommendations to deepen collaboration on digital assets and capital markets, aiming to foster coherence without imposing enforceable rules amid rapidly evolving tokenised markets. The United States and the United Kingdom have set out a joint blueprint for closer cooperation on…
A new study by Clearwater Analytics reveals asset managers worldwide are rapidly adopting AI despite significant concerns over data quality, governance, and regulatory risks, highlighting a gap between investment and effective implementation. Boise-based Clearwater Analytics says asset managers are racing to adopt artificial intelligence, but many still fear the technology…
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The South Korean government is set to make sustainability reporting compulsory for listed companies, introducing a phased regime that elevates ESG disclosures to a statutory requirement, with enforcement starting from 2027. South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party has moved to make sustainability reporting mandatory for listed companies, setting up a phased regime that would turn ESG disclosure from a stock exchange-led practice into a statutory obligation. The bill, introduced by policy chief Han Jeong-ae, is designed to give regulators the power to punish false or inadequate reporting and to strengthen investor confidence in company disclosures. (etoday.co.kr) According to the draft, larger…
A new survey reveals rising inflation, higher interest rates, and market volatility are prompting European infrastructure lenders to prioritise risk mitigation and shift focus towards more stable assets amid an increasingly cautious environment. Rising inflation and higher interest rates have emerged as the main pressure points for European infrastructure lenders, according to new research from Ocorian, as the sector also grapples with tighter spreads and a more cautious risk environment. In a survey of fund managers across the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and Sweden, 31 per cent said inflation and elevated borrowing costs were the biggest threat to hurdle…
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BlackRock signals a shift in investment strategies, urging advisers to move beyond traditional spreads and focus on mega forces like AI, geopolitical risks, and structural changes that are reshaping long-term portfolios. BlackRock is pressing advisers to rethink the way they build portfolios, arguing that a simple spread across shares and bonds is no longer enough in a market shaped by geopolitical tension, artificial intelligence and deeper structural change. At the Advisers Big Day Out in Wollongong, Tatiana Bernard, who leads BlackRock’s Australian model portfolio solutions, said investors need to separate short-term market swings from the longer-term forces that are redrawing…
CVC Capital Partners’ first-half 2026 performance highlights a 79% rise in asset realisations and strong fee income, although future earnings depend on operational growth and upcoming fund deployments. CVC Capital Partners said its first-half performance in 2026 was underpinned by a sharp increase in asset realisations, strong fundraising and continued growth across its more diversified platform, even as some of the benefits from that momentum will take time to show through in future earnings. The private equity group reported fee-paying assets under management of €153 billion, up 9% from a year earlier, with particularly strong expansion in credit, secondaries and…
UBS analysts highlight July’s unusual market dynamics, noting a resilient US economy and a healthy sector rotation amid AI correction, suggesting a positive outlook for the remainder of 2023. UBS has said July was an unusually revealing month for Wall Street, arguing that the resilience of the broader US market despite a sharp sell-off in popular technology shares points to a constructive backdrop for equities in the second half of the year. Keith Parker, a UBS strategist, said the contrast between a flat S&P 500 and the steep drop in momentum stocks was rare by historical standards and should be…
Despite a cautious stance on Bitcoin’s long-term market share, Morgan Stanley highlights scarcity as a key driver for future returns amid increasing institutional adoption and market maturation. Morgan Stanley has taken a notably measured view of Bitcoin’s long-term prospects, arguing that the cryptocurrency still occupies only a small corner of the market it is trying to disrupt. In research published by the bank’s Global Investment Office, Bitcoin is assessed against a roughly $130 trillion pool made up of the global money supply and gold, the two assets it is seen as competing with most directly as a store of value.…
F&C Investment Trust reports a 12.8% total return in the first half of 2026, outperforming benchmarks amid market volatility and sector shifts, with a focus on emerging markets and private equity. F&C Investment Trust said it delivered a 12.8% total return for shareholders in the first half of 2026, edging past its 12.6% benchmark as global equity markets strengthened and a narrower share-price discount helped lift performance. According to the trust, net asset value total return was 12.4%, while the underlying portfolio gained 11.8%. (lse.co.uk) The trust’s discount to NAV narrowed to 6.6% by the end of June from 6.8%…
BlackRock has launched tokenised share classes for its European money market funds, marking its first on-chain fund access in the region and signalling a significant shift in market infrastructure. BlackRock has taken its tokenisation push further into Europe with the launch of share classes for a series of money market funds holding a combined $311 billion, marking the firm’s first on-chain fund access in the region. The new structure covers 12 tokenised share classes across six funds in the BlackRock Institutional Cash Series, spanning euro, sterling and US dollar strategies in both distributing and accumulating formats. According to BlackRock, the…
Pension savers face uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget as industry warns that any change to the tax-free lump sum could trigger a rush for withdrawals, undermining long-term retirement stability. Millions of pension savers are being left in limbo ahead of the Autumn Budget as pressure grows on the Government to rule out any move against the tax-free cash that sits at the heart of Britain’s retirement system. Pensions specialists have warned that ministers should end speculation now by confirming that the long-established right to take up to 25% of a pension pot tax free, subject to a cap of…
Robinhood’s UK subsidiary has been added to the FCA’s register of cryptoasset firms, marking a cautious but strategic step towards expanding its digital assets presence amidst evolving UK regulations. Robinhood has taken a significant step towards entering Britain’s cryptocurrency market after its UK subsidiary was added to the Financial Conduct Authority’s register of cryptoasset firms on 31 July 2026. The listing means Robinhood U.K. Ltd can carry out certain crypto-related activities under the UK’s existing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules, but its permission is narrow. According to the FCA register, the firm may arrange crypto trades, but it is…
Ripple has made strategic equity investments in UK firms Zilo and Licuido to enhance infrastructure for tokenised assets, aiming to tackle fragmentation and accelerate market adoption for digital securities and collateral workflows. Ripple has deepened its push into institutional tokenisation with equity investments in two UK firms, Zilo and Licuido, in a move designed to turn the XRP Ledger from a venue for issuing digital assets into a more complete market infrastructure for holding, financing and settling them. The two companies had already been working with Ripple commercially, but the new stakes formalise a relationship that the group says is…
The FCA has announced the final core rulebook for non-systemic UK stablecoin issuance, marking a significant step towards a mandatory cryptoasset regime set for October 2027, with new rules on backing, redemption, and disclosure. The Financial Conduct Authority has finalised the core rulebook for non-systemic UK stablecoin issuance, setting out how qualifying tokens must be backed, redeemed, safeguarded and disclosed as Britain moves towards a mandatory cryptoasset regime from 25 October 2027. The package, published on 30 June 2026, sits alongside the Bank of England’s parallel work on systemic stablecoins and is part of a wider framework that will require…