The changes include: 5bps+ reduction at all tiers up to £1m; 15bps reduction between £500,000 and £750,000; simplified platform charging with one less tier; and removed product administration charge on wrap self-invested personal pension. The wrap platform charges which came into effect from 1 May 2024 are: Old charge New charge £0 – £250,000 0.35% 0.30% £250,000 – £500,000 0.25% 0.20% £500,000 – £750,000 0.10% £750,000 – £1m 0.15% £1m+ 0.10% abrdn has scheduled applying the pricing c…
Churchill Asset Management, a private capital provider and investment affiliate of Nuveen focusing on middle market private debt and private equity solutions, and Dawson Partners, an alternative asset manager focusing on structured private markets solutions, have closed a $425m transaction.
The transaction was solely financed by Dawson’s vehicles and secured unfunded capital intended to support the growth of Churchill’s middle-market GP-led secondaries and equity co-investment platforms, according to a press release.
Churchill launched its secondaries platform in 2022, and now manages over $1.5bn of committed capital.
Evercore acted as the exclusive financial advisor on the transaction.
China’s Suning Holdings could be on the verge of losing control of Italian Serie A giants FC Internazionale Milan with the deadline to repay close to €400m in debt to Oaktree Capital Management looming large, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The debt is due for repayment on 20 May but payment could be made as late as Tuesday 21 May, following Monday’s bank holiday in Luxembourg, where Suning’s holding companies — which took out the debt — are based.
After that deadline has passed, Oaktree has the right to take control of Inter by claiming the collateral pledged in the 2021 financing deal – Suning’s majority stake in the club.
Oaktree could yet agree a short-term extension of the loan at a higher interest rate, giving Suning more time to sell the club, which has just claimed its 20th Serie A title, and use the proceeds to repay the California-based asset manager.
Oaktree makes opportunistic investments through its credit, private equity, real assets and equities strategies, extending credit lines to companies which may not have access to traditional funding sources.
In the case of the original €275m loaned to Suning’s Grand Tower holding company, the 12% coupon came with a payment-in-kind option, meaning it could be repaid with cash or with additional debt, with Suning opting for the latter option, meaning it now owes close to €400m.
According to data and analytics platform Football Benchmark, Inter’s valuation last year was between €1.2bn and €1.3bn.
If Oaktree does take control of Inter, it will be following in the footsteps of Elliott Management. The latter firm took over Inter’s city rivals AC Milan in 2018, swapping debt for equity in the club after the previous owner defaulted on its liabilities.
During this special week of content on income, we’re highlighting five high-yield equity trackers for five different regions, with a positive Medalist Rating
The dividend trap is real.
If you are looking for funds that prioritise generating a regular income stream rather than focusing purely on growth, income funds might be the right choice for you. These are products designed for investors who want to regular, low-volatility dividends, regardless of market conditions.
But successful income investing depends on many factors, and not just on the selection of a portfolio of good dividend-paying companies.
When looking for periodic income, funds with exposure to the companies with the highest dividend yields can be tempting.
But what constitutes a good high-dividend strategy – especially in the passive universe? Today, income investors are increasingly attracted to exchange traded funds (ETFs) for access to certain markets. They’re easy to buy, transparent, and cheap.
How ETF Investors Can Avoid the Dividend Trap
One consideration is the cost of money.
After all, fixed income securities are not the only ones affected by changes in interest rates. High-dividend products, including popular ones such as ETFs, could also be sensitive to rate fluctuations as they compete with bonds on yield.
But regardless of interest rates, investors should be looking for funds with stable payouts and constant dividend growth anyway, rather than the highest yield. This is because stable and continuous growth in dividends suggests responsible corporate management.
Let’s look at an example.
A company paying a 1.5% dividend with a growth rate of 10% per year can generate more income in six years than a company paying 3% each year. This highlights the importance of understanding which index the ETF is replicating, and how it chooses its securities in order to avoid the so-called “dividend trap”. This occurs when a stock price and its dividend fall over time as a result of high payout ratios, corporate indebtedness, or other factors like the difference between profits and cash.
In general, dividend strategies balance their yield from current income with the portfolio’s ability to provide long-term capital growth. However, strategies may vary from fund to fund; some aim to maximise yield while others prefer a lower but stable long-term income.
This means investors need to conduct due diligence to determine which strategy best suits them.
Which ETFs Should I Consider for Income?
Below we list five income ETFs highlighted by our team of
Principal Asset Management, the $545bn global investment business of Principal Financial Group, has appointed Mansi Patel as Senior Managing Director to oversee its newly launched private infrastructure debt investment team.
In her new role, Patel will oversee growth, operations and strategy of the team. She is based in New York and reports to Todd Everett, Global Head of Private Markets.
According to a press statement, the new segment will focus on “a diversified portfolio of private infrastructure debt, targeting thematic investments in globalisation, decarbonisation and electrification”.
Prior to joining Principal, Patel served in various roles at MetLife Investment Management, including as Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure Debt for the Americas and Asia Pacific.
After a long decline in investment covering seven consecutive quarters, global venture capital investment in crypto companies is on the up again, rising to $2.4bn in the first three months of 2024, according to new data from PitchBook.
A Reuters report cites new data from PitchBook in revealing that crypto venture capital flows peaked at $11.1bn in Q1 2022, before going into a long decline, on the back of a series of bankruptcies at major crypto firms during the year, with just $1.7bn invested in the last quarter of 2023.
Reuters quotes Robert Le, Senior Analyst at PitchBook: “The crypto industry is still in its early stages, and there is a lot of room for growth and innovation.
“Barring any major market downturns, we expect the volume and pace of investments to continue increasing throughout the year.”
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European private equity major EQT is in advanced talks with video game services company Keywords Studios over a potential acquisition of the company for £2.2bn, a deal Keywords has indicated it would be “minded’ to accept, according to a report by City AM.
EQT’s potential offer of £25.50 per share for the Dublin-based firm, which is listed on the AIM in London, represents a premium of around 73% to company’s stock price at the close of trading on Friday.
In a statement, Keywords revealed that its had previously received four unsolicited proposals from EQT in recent months, all of which its board rejected, but with the latest bid representing a “significant increase” from the Swedish private investment firm’s initial proposal, the board “would be minded to recommend” a firm offer to shareholders.
Under UK takeover rules, EQT now has until 17:00 on 15 June to either make a firm offer for Keywords or walk away from the proposed acquisition.
Keywords, a provider of outsourcing services to the video games and film industries, has seen its shares weighed down in recent times by fears over AI’s threat to the sector, with its stock closing 55% down on its September 2021 peak on Friday at £14.70.
Airline fares from the U.S. have broadly fallen over the past year, according to the consumer price index. But there are still cities and regions where average prices have gotten more expensive, like flights to Tokyo, Canada, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. Consider being more flexible with travel plans and book well ahead to reduce spending on airfare. Avoiding checked-bag fees is another way to save. Coroimage | Moment | Getty Images
Americans traveling this summer have broadly seen prices fall for airline fares, a welcome trend after last year’s sticker shock.
But airfare remains more expensive in 2024 for some regions and destinations, largely for trips abroad, data shows.
For example, an average round-trip flight to Tokyo, Japan — one of the top hot spots for American tourists — costs $1,372 this summer, up 2% from 2023, according to travel site Hopper.
Flights to Canada, South America, and the Middle East and Africa regions are also up 6%, 2% and 1%, respectively, from summer 2023, Hopper found.
Of course, there’s significant variation among the cities and countries of such vast regions and continents.
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For example, while the price of a round-trip fare to Asia is flat from a year ago, those for certain destinations have soared: by 65% (to $3,196) for an average flight to Sakata, a coastal city in the northeast of Japan; by 42% (to $4,190) to Ipoh, among Malaysia’s biggest cities; and by 35% (to $4,092) to Udon Thani, in Thailand’s northeast, according to Hopper.
High prices to certain Asian cities impact many American tourists since the continent is their second-most frequented international travel destination, Hopper said.
Flights are also up for some major hubs in South America, according to Hopper: by 16% (to $955) to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; by 34% (to $667) to Lima, Peru; and by 13% (to $826) to Santiago, Chile, for example.
Average fares to Europe, the most popular trip abroad for Americans, are down 8% in summer 2024 versus a year ago, when they were at record highs. But they’re still elevated in some areas like Friedrichshafen and Memmingen, in southern Germany, and Bratislava, Slovakia. Fares
