Asset management

Corona Capital: M&A boost, Purell

22 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and other banks collectively reaped billions in fees related to advice on transactions with the expectation the money will keep rolling in; hand sanitizer makers hope good habits linger.

Corona Capital: ESG investing, U.S. moves, P&G

20 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: ESG opens up investing opportunities; home values in U.S. resort towns rise faster than rural areas; and Procter & Gamble cleans up.

Corona Capital: Inflation, Poshmark

14 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Breakingviews panel predicts the end of the free-money era; and Poshmark’s IPO looks overdressed.

Corona Capital: Icahn, Productivity, Natixis

4 Jan 2021

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Carl Icahn sells half his Herbalife Nutrition stake; an ECB survey suggests Covid-19 will make big firms more productive, but that may not be all good news; and Natixis fast-tracks its overhaul.

Green investing’s killer app faces growing pains

7 Dec 2020

Sustainable finance types long for a single metric showing how well companies are aligned with net zero emission targets. The Holy Grail exists, but there are many different versions. A harmonised methodology ahead of next year’s Glasgow climate summit looks ambitious.

Fund firm merger-SPAC deal has hairy outline

4 Dec 2020

Dyal Capital, which buys stakes in asset managers, and Owl Rock, a direct lender, may merge and go public through a blank-check vehicle. It’s a complex triangular plan even without the parties' circular relationships. One question is whether there’s a sensible idea at the center.

Credit Suisse wins latest bank boss musical chairs

1 Dec 2020

The group hired Lloyds’ António Horta-Osório as its next chairman. Perennial CEO contender Jean Pierre Mustier will soon be up for grabs after leaving UniCredit. Passing around talent works for those who woo top names, but smacks of an industry struggling to bring in fresh blood.

The Exchange: Post-Covid, post-Trump mega-trends

24 Nov 2020

Supply chains may become more diverse or shorter, tech companies with few hard assets will continue to thrive, and the transition away from fossil fuels will present opportunities. Taimur Hyat, COO of $1.4 trln asset manager PGIM, looks to the future with Richard Beales.

Corona Capital: Brexit curveball, Sonos

19 Nov 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: a Covid-19 scare for European Brexit negotiators puts an already-optimistic deadline to the test; and wireless-speaker maker Sonos joins the list of companies profiting from consumers being stuck indoors.

The Exchange: Investing in a new macroeconomic era

17 Nov 2020

The U.S. faces a paradigm shift, as the era of monetary policy dominance ends and fiscal action becomes the major driver of growth. So argues Greg Jensen, co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates. He says this means rethinking one’s approach to asset classes.

Apollo would carry on just fine without Leon Black

28 Oct 2020

The 30-year-old investment shop is under intense scrutiny because of revelations about its co-founder’s dealings with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. At this stage, credit eclipses buyouts anyway. And the firm has deepened its bench enough to move forward without Black.

UK manager for the rich makes worthy activist prey

27 Oct 2020

PrimeStone Capital has called for an overhaul at high-end wealth group St James’s Place, citing low returns. The investor’s small stake means CEO Andrew Croft may dismiss the salvo. But bringing costs more in line with rivals could give his $7 bln firm’s grubby valuation a boost.

The Exchange: Private equity and the pandemic

21 Oct 2020

BC Partners is an alternative asset manager whose portfolio companies include PetSmart and Springer Nature. Partner Nikos Stathopoulos chats to Peter Thal Larsen about managing during Covid-19, new investment challenges, and why we need to get back to face-to-face meetings.

New UBS CEO faces a cost-cutting odyssey

20 Oct 2020

Ralph Hamers takes over a $44 billion bank with slim growth prospects and high expenses. With the easy savings already found, he’ll have to get creative. That means shedding subscale units, further shrinking investment banking, replacing bankers with robots, and potentially M&A.

Brookfield dabbles in insurance alchemy

19 Oct 2020

The Canadian fund giant is taking a 20% stake in Iowa-based American Equity, which has chosen the deal over a cash takeover offer. Brookfield gets a toehold in a growing business with investment needs that may match its offerings. American Equity's decision is harder to explain.

Corona Capital: Vaccine yields, Halliburton, Glovo

19 Oct 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Corporate bond investors are nearly as worried about a vaccine crimping the market as they are about inflation; oil services firms get three times unlucky; Delivery Hero acts like one despite investor skepticism.

Aramco pipeline spinoff plan is born of necessity

14 Oct 2020

The $1.9 trln oil giant is echoing Abu Dhabi-based peer ADNOC by discussing a part-sale of its distribution network with BlackRock and others. Aramco’s foreign investors’ dividend is safe. But financing state payouts and other activities requires the $10 bln it could raise.

Europe’s banks smother their fund offspring

8 Oct 2020

Asset management units at Deutsche, UBS and Natixis risk being squashed by low-cost U.S. giants like $90 bln BlackRock. M&A may help, but no banks want to sell one of the few businesses that’s resilient to low interest rates. It’s a recipe for stasis and continued low valuations.

Hedgie’s telco tilt sends louder market signal

8 Oct 2020

Asset manager Toscafund may bid for TalkTalk, valuing the UK operator at 2.1 bln pounds. At that price, CEO Martin Hughes could make a tidy return even assuming no revenue growth. With public investors wary of cash-guzzling telecom groups, the case for going private is strong.

Peltz puts the squeeze on middle-weight money men

2 Oct 2020

The activist’s fund Trian has taken big stakes in investment firms Invesco and Janus and wants to roll them up. Taking on powerhouses like BlackRock requires industry consolidation as low rates and fee pressure bite. Peltz may also benefit from good old-fashioned market timing.