Month: January 2020

Tech investors want companies to be able to raise cash through direct listings Silicon Valley bankers, lawyers and investors are pushing for the direct listing process used by Slack and Spotify when they joined the public markets to be expanded as a way for start-ups to raise money without undergoing a traditional initial public offering. Bankers at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and lawyers at Goodwin Procter and Latham & Watkins have held talks about... Read more

The Financial Conduct Authority warned bank cross-subsidies and deliberate undercharging may be undermining post Mifid II research competition. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)  has pledged to launch a sector-wide review of post-Mifid II research prices as it warned bank cross-subsidies and deliberate undercharging may be undermining competition. An initial multi-firm review of the impact of a wholesale shake-up of the research market found it had largely ‘steered the market towards the intended outcomes’, but it noted that... Read more

Bleak start to 2019 exacerbates industry’s downward trend since crisis Revenues at the world’s top investment banks plunged to a 13-year low in the first half of 2019 as geopolitical tensions, slowing growth and low interest rates compounded a structural decline that set in after the financial crisis. The 12 biggest US and European investment banks generated $76.8bn in revenue from their trading and advisory operations during the six-month period, down 11 per cent from... Read more

Interaction has replaced consumption. Engaging content is often impactful content—and a positive impact for investor relations (IR) is a positive result for the entire corporation. The IR webcast is the ideal opportunity to create content that engages your investors in your company’s story. Below, find four tips to help you create a more engaging IR webcast. Live Video Consumer behavior is pushing the expectations for live video. We often use FaceTime or other video technology in our... Read more

US supports unbundling and increased transparency, but debate remains over payment mechanism The internationalization of Mifid II continues apace, especially in the US, albeit with a regional slant, according to a leading expert on the issue.      ‘The roll-out of Mifid II as a de facto global standard continues – with the caveat that there are, of course, nuances in every market,’ Michael Hufton, ingage managing director, tells IR Magazine. ‘It is clearly gathering pace in the US:... Read more

Fidelity, T. Rowe, Wellington, others collaborating to meet corporate CEOs without bank handlers Wall Street’s role as matchmaker between big money managers and corporate executives is under threat. Five large investors overseeing more than $7 trillion are banding together to directly organize a series of meetings with company executives, according to people familiar with the matter. The first meeting, set for Boston next spring, will host the heads of consumer-staples companies. The existence of the... Read more

Sell Side Struggles to show it worth t’s been more than a year since the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II regulation forced asset managers with EU interests to unbundle research payments from the trading commissions they pay to brokerages. So far, what we’ve learned from the new transparent pricing model is that the availability of research significantly outweighs the buy side’s need for it. Look no further than BlackRock slashing its Europe, Middle East... Read more

New EU transparency rules have radically altered investor-company introductions In hindsight, an emerging markets conference put together by Deutsche Bank in New York in September 2017 was something of a high-water mark. Senior executives from companies from Montevideo to Moscow assembled at the elegant Lotte Palace hotel on Madison Avenue. Deutsche, the host, then paired them up in private rooms with asset managers who might want to buy the shares. This old Wall Street dating... Read more

Fund managers across America, nudged by the SEC, seek to replicate European rules The launch of Mifid II represented Europe’s biggest shake-up in the relationship between banks and investors in a generation. Now an unusual switch from US regulators may help elements of it to spread across the Atlantic. In March, Dalia Blass, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investment management division, took Wall Street by surprise, saying she would allow fund managers to... Read more