Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Thursday 6 January, 2022. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
Prosperis prospers
Last summer independent financial adviser Prosperis Ltd announced that it was lining up deals to target £300m assets under management.
It has now hit that goal with the acquisition of AJ Hird Ltd for an undisclosed fee.
AJ Hird, a Skipton (North Yorkshire) based financial services business, was established 20 years ago.
Equities outlook
Equities are an asset that are meant to be superior to all others in terms of return.
How will they fare in 2022? We spoke to a number of commentators for their considered views.
Ditch NI hikes
There are reports Jacob Rees-Mogg has urged Boris Johnson to reconsider the coming hike in national insurance contributions this April.
It is understood this arose during a cabinet debate on Wednesday (5 January) where he suggested the 1.25% increase should be ditched.
This comes in the context of increasing energy prices and wider concerns about inflation.
Quote Of The Day
A common taxonomy is central to ensuring investors understand, and can compare, the sustainability objectives of different products and services. However, it’s vital that the bar is not set too low, allowing in unsustainable activities and undermining trust in the standard.
– Kate Elliot, head of ethical, sustainable and impact research, Rathbone Greenbank Investments comments on ESG rules which are currently under consideration or action
Stat Attack
In the investment trust market, private equity firms dominated the performance tables following strong growth over the previous 12 months.
|
Ten best performing investment trusts 2021 |
|
|
Price Total Return 2021 (%) |
|
| Schiehallion |
103.1 |
| Geiger Counter |
91.3 |
| VietNam Holding |
81.8 |
| BMO Private Equity Trust |
66.2 |
| NB Private Equity Partners |
65.0 |
| SLF Realisation Fund |
61.6 |
| Tufton Oceanic Assets |
59.6 |
| Riverstone Energy |
56.6 |
| Ashoka India |
49.6 |
| Standard Life Private Equity |
49.0 |
Source: JP Morgan, Quilter Cheviot, as at 31/12/2021
In Other News
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) is calling for experts from the pensions sector to apply for roles on its policy board and policy committees.After appointing John Chilman, chief executive of Railpen, as the new policy board chair in October 2021, the PLSA is now looking to appoint four policy board members and is seeking senior and experienced pension experts from within the PLSA’s membership.
The vacancies have arisen due to a number of people coming to the end of their three-year terms and due to people changing jobs or roles.The deadline for applications is Monday 31 January 2022.
Broker firm Just Mortgages has doubled its number of area directors from 11 at the start of 2021, to 22 now. The rapid expansion has been essential to support the growing numbers in the self-employed team, which recently hit 400 brokers.
Each director is responsible for approximately 30 self-employed brokers, and by having smaller groups, means the director can spend more time with each broker.
Just Mortgages head of mortgages and protection for the self-employed division Ben Allkins said: “With the self-employed team expanding so quickly, it was essential we grew the number of area directors alongside. We’ve recently expanded our operations in Wales and Scotland, and brought in a number of experienced area directors to support in these areas.”
From Elsewhere
England’s farmers to be paid to rewild land (The Guardian)
Investors dash out of US tech stocks in powerful market rotation (The Financial Times)
The Fed Minutes that Shook the World (Bloomberg)
Did You See?
Mark Dampier is one of the most seasoned and interesting investment commentators in the UK.
So it is always worth hearing what he has to say on the subject and his latest column does what a good column should: make you think.
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