Asset management

Buffett’s exit risks shrinking Berkshire’s vistas

5 May 2025

Decades-long 20% stock gains secured the Sage of Omaha’s legacy. Successor Greg Abel inherits $348 bln of cash, but a tougher world. Cookie-cutter ideas aren’t sufficient, as buyout shops ape a trademark tactic and everything from climate to AI pressures key holdings.

Macquarie gives masterclass in following the money

22 Apr 2025

Boss Shemara Wikramanayake’s $1.8 bln disposal of a margin-challenged asset management operation she helped build is refreshingly dispassionate. Nomura’s purchase of the US and European public market units makes sense, so long as the “Sell America” Trump trade doesn’t accelerate.

Buyout barons are finance now, for good and ill

17 Apr 2025

Tariff tumult cut $50 bln of value from Blackstone, Apollo, KKR and Carlyle. They traded like banks and insurers, rather than the portfolio companies they invest in and lend to. It’s a sign that private markets are part of mainstream finance, and prone to the same investor fears.

Barclays’ Brookfield schmuck insurance may flop

17 Apr 2025

The $53 bln bank will give the private-capital group 10% of its payments business in return for help growing it, and may sell Brookfield another 70% over time. It seems designed to avoid seller’s remorse. Investors may end up wishing for a simpler arrangement.

Market turmoil rewrites the lessons of investing

8 Apr 2025

From the crisis of 2008 to the pandemic to Trump’s tariffs, governments and central banks have influenced asset prices. In this episode of The Big View podcast Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS’s wealth management unit, talks about the stark message for investors.

Larry Fink shows his momentum-trade stripes

31 Mar 2025

The BlackRock CEO’s latest missive details how the $12 trln fund manager goes with the flow. Stakeholder capitalism and climate are out; private markets and digital tokens are in. Febrile politics explain such shifts, but the shaky Panama ports deal exposes the extra volatility.

ECB bank snub is good for Orcel, bad for M&A bulls

26 Mar 2025

The supervisor has queried Banco BPM’s use of the ‘Danish Compromise’ in its swoop on fund group Anima. That’s bad for the acquirer. But it’s good for UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel, who wants to buy BPM – and for those who want M&A to be based on logic, not capital arbitrage.

What investment firms can teach us about AI

25 Mar 2025

Though artificial intelligence seems new, fund managers have used it to spot patterns for years. In this episode of The Big View podcast, Gary Collier, chief technology officer of Man Group, talks about the surprising lessons he’s learned and debunks some common AI tropes.

Prudential’s India listing may prove short-sighted

25 Mar 2025

The insurer might seek a $12 bln valuation for its local asset management unit. Returning proceeds to shareholders could boost Pru's stock, which trades at a discount to AIA. But a sale would be a partial retreat from a fast-growing market while giants like BlackRock pile in.

India’s banks face a new credibility test

12 Mar 2025

Shares in IndusInd, the country's fifth-largest private lender, fell 27% after it reported a derivatives lapse that will hit earnings. Cascading issues from management churn to bad loans seem to set it apart. But the latest mess will inspire heightened scrutiny of its peers too.

The debit and credit of the private lending boom

11 Mar 2025

Loans supplied by funds have swelled to some $2 trln, disrupting regular banks. In this episode of The Big View podcast, Huw van Steenis of Oliver Wyman explores the drivers of the industry’s rapid growth, how much bigger it could get, and what risks it might be storing up.

China’s new financial captain faces tough mission

11 Mar 2025

Beijing has given sovereign fund Central Huijin control of key players in previous market bailouts. The state giant now oversees firms with more than $27 trln in assets. That better equips it for complex tasks such as defusing local government debt and reflating stock prices.

Abrdn finds its missing vowels but not value

4 Mar 2025

New CEO Jason Windsor is renaming the $4.2 bln fund group Aberdeen and pledging to boost profit. Both steps are welcome but come amidst tricky markets and growing competition from index funds. Small wonder he is getting little credit for yet another turnaround from shareholders.

A Chinese Morgan Stanley is worth an M&A shot

3 Mar 2025

CICC may merge with Galaxy, per Reuters. They denied it, but a tie-up would combine a retail broker and an investment bank, as CICC’s Wall Street co-founder did with Dean Witter. It has more logic than earlier state-led deals, though being a global player would remain a stretch.

City of London rent surge is boon for Canary Wharf

28 Feb 2025

Office rents in central London are approaching twice those further east, thanks to a post-Covid rush to newer buildings in prime locations. But businesses are also being priced out. With more demand and less supply, Brookfield and Qatar-owned Canary Wharf may see an influx.

Fracturing world muddies Bill Winters’ options

21 Feb 2025

The CEO of $35 bln Standard Chartered has had a mostly underwhelming decade at the bank. Recent departures at the top make it hard to bow out. And a global trade war may benefit the emerging markets lender, enticing him to stay. But the fallout could upend his progress, too.

Imperialist ways flow from Oval Office to C-suites

20 Feb 2025

Money managers like BlackRock, which oversees some $12 trln, are grappling with SEC guidance that makes it trickier to pressure companies. It befits Donald Trump’s war on climate and diversity initiatives. The chilling effect will be broader, though, further boosting CEOs’ power.

New HSBC CEO leaves growth question on backburner

19 Feb 2025

Georges Elhedery announced $1.5 bln of cost cuts that should help keep the $200 bln bank fairly lean. The bigger problem is HSBC’s revenue, which risks stagnating as rivals expand. The implication is that growth is out of the new CEO’s hands, making a valuation boost unlikely.

EQT’s new boss has a private-credit hole to fill

17 Feb 2025

Per Franzén will replace CEO of six years Christian Sinding at the $40 bln Swedish buyout firm. EQT’s valuation premium to rivals has shrivelled, partly because fixed-income shops like Ares have soared. Franzén, who lacks a private-credit unit, may want to think about buying one.

Buyout firms’ equity-debt double act is creaking

14 Feb 2025

Groups such as Blackstone and Apollo spent trillions of dollars buying companies when interest rates were low. They also provided loans to buyouts. As borrowing costs have risen, tensions between the two are mounting. Private credit’s future growth will depend on other borrowers.