Blog
We’ve given some thought to the headwinds facing the UK and how they might affect the platform industry over the next five years.
The D2C market exploded during the pandemic and competition for consumer business is fierce. AJ Bell’s direct platform, YouInvest, has done rather well out of it, but keen to not stand still it’s now going head to head with trading apps and Vanguard with its new app, Dodl.
The future of Chinese construction giant, Evergrande, is in the news this week as it struggles to meet scheduled debt payments on its bonds. A deal restructuring Chinese bondholders and the intervention of China’s Central Bank was thought to have bought some breathing space.
The FCA has published details of its consumer investments strategy. The aim is to create an environment that will encourage more people to invest while increasing consumer protection, both from high-risk investments and from outright scams. Basically, reducing the risk of rotten apples.
True Potential is in the news again. The offer from Cinven (a UK-based Private Equity firm that has raised over £37bn in over 40 years of operations) has been accepted and the price tag being talked about is in the region of £2.4bn. That's a lot of money. But what's more they plan to grow the business over the next three years and IPO it at a market valuation of c£5.5bn.
News broke today that Embark has been bought by Lloyds (LBG) for £390m. The deal is for all parts of Embark’s businesses, including advised platform Advance, but excludes the Rowanmoor Sipp business, which will be retained by existing shareholders.
Our CEO, Bella Caridade-Ferreira, sat down with Abraham Okusanya to record a podcast for Retirementals. In this episode, they discuss the journey that led to the creation of Fundscape, future aims for Finscape, Fundscape's joint venture with Altus, and her approach to saving for retirement.
The FCA has launched a consultation called A new Consumer Duty. This post covers the reasons why the Regulator feels the new consultation is required, its areas of focus and explains why we believe all firms involved in the manufacture or supply of products and services to retail clients, should engage positively with the consultation, even if they do not have a direct relationship with the end customer.
Our CEO, Bella Caridade-Ferreira, sat down to take part in an industry podcast with Octo Members. Octo is the first app-based private community for UK financial services professionals, where advisers, fund managers, wealth managers and professional consultants can come together to share knowledge and best practices.
A lot has happened in the world of platforms this week — most of it in Scotland.