Asset management

UK unveils overdue sieve for ESG alphabet soup

25 Oct 2022

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has sketched out rules classifying environmental, social and governance funds. The approach differs from Europe’s framework, adding to fund managers’ burden. Yet it may also be tougher and more consumer friendly, making greenwashing harder.

Blackstone black box is buyout shops’ hot product

21 Oct 2022

The asset manager marked its private equity assets down 0.3% this quarter – far less than public-market declines. For clients who piled $44.8 bln into its funds, that disconnect has appeal. For the industry, it's a balancing act until the real valuation test of M&A returns.

If Credit Suisse loves its bankers, set them free

21 Oct 2022

The Swiss bank may bring outside investors into its dealmaking unit, to insulate it from parental turmoil. The business could be worth up to $6 bln, valued in line with boutique advisory shops. Yet the best way to hit such a price tag is for Credit Suisse to cut it loose.

Capital Calls: Philip Morris/Swedish Match

20 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Marlboro maker has raised its already pricey $16 bln offer for the Swedish seller of nicotine pouches.

Credit Suisse legal tab is wildcard for investors

17 Oct 2022

The bank settled an old mortgage case without having to set more money aside. But the bill for future litigation, up to $1.6 bln on its own estimates, will erode earnings. The risk for investors in a looming rights issue is that further nasties bog down the bank’s restructuring.

Westinghouse deal will overpower immediate fallout

12 Oct 2022

Brookfield Renewable and uranium miner Cameco are teaming up to buy the company for $7.9 bln. Servicing and decommissioning nuclear plants generates steady cash flow, but the market reaction was toxic. There’s plenty of upside in Eastern Europe and the energy transition, however.

Capital Calls: Peloton races tough economic cycle

6 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $2.9 bln fitness company is laying off staff for the fourth time this year in a turnaround bid for survival.

Mutual funds’ private bets could use more daylight

14 Sep 2022

The tech stock rout has done little to dent money managers like Fidelity or T. Rowe Price’s zeal for unlisted companies. In some cases, such holdings have performed better than public shares. Yet illiquid stocks bring fresh risks, and disclosure on how they are valued is patchy.

Capital Calls: SoftBank

14 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $62 bln conglomerate may be considering a third instantiation of its Vision Fund.

Capital Calls: Oil vs. ESG

13 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The price of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen 30% since mid-summer, and over 10% in two weeks. If it stays below $100 a barrel, oil companies will start to become worse investments. That could help solve backlash to ESG investing.

Capital Calls: SPACs’ long shadows

12 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: While electric-vehicle startup Nikola is moving beyond its founder, both it and its SPAC-partner peers are mired in supply chain challenges, slipping deadlines and tumbling share price performance.

Capital Calls: UBS fintech U-turn, UK housebuilder

5 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: CEO Ralph Hamers cancels the $1.4 bln acquisition of robo-adviser Wealthfront; Countryside Partnerships accepts a 1.3 bln pound offer from UK rival Vistry just three months after rejecting a higher bid.

Intel makes chips look almost like infrastructure

23 Aug 2022

Brookfield is putting up half the cost of two $30 bln Arizona plants, at a rate somewhere between what Intel pays for equity and debt. Yet chips are riskier than traditional infrastructure, suggesting Intel is giving up more than its partner to make the deal work financially.

Cash buyers have whip hand in London office slump

17 Aug 2022

The value of the UK capital’s buildings could fall 12% in the next 18 months, Bank of America reckons. But private equity houses will struggle to swoop as high interest rates make debt-fuelled purchases uneconomic. Cash-rich pension funds will put a floor on price declines.

Capital Calls: Walmart whiplash

16 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The U.S. mega-retailer revised its profit forecast yet again, just weeks after sounding the alarm.

Capital Calls: Tech bros give Allbirds the boot

9 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The maker of popular nondescript sneakers with a purpose is getting tripped up on demand. Its stock price pounding may make it vulnerable to a takeover.

Banks’ private-credit fightback may underwhelm

4 Aug 2022

JPMorgan and Deutsche are trying new ways to fend off lenders like Ares, who are displacing them in funding buyouts. Holding onto loans for longer or launching funds mean lower returns and tough competition. Their best hope is that the booming $1.2 trln sector deflates by itself.

Capital Calls: Uber’s cash starts to flow

2 Aug 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $56 billion car-hailing service is growing rapidly and has started generating positive cash flow. It’s still overvalued, though.

Credit Suisse revamp risks being bad copy of UBS

27 Jul 2022

Like its rival in 2012, the $14 bln group is shrinking its trading businesses and cutting costs to focus on wealth management. Yet heavy losses and dicey markets will constrain new CEO Ulrich Koerner, who has never run an investment bank. A respectable valuation may take longer.

UBS’s growth dip cements discount to U.S. rivals

26 Jul 2022

Shares in Ralph Hamers’ $50 bln bank fell 6% after wealthy clients all but stopped investing new money in the second quarter. It’s a setback for his strategy, which rests on boosting revenue. Reversing the trend is key to earning a valuation multiple closer to Morgan Stanley’s.