Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has filed an application to be approved as a futures provider, as it seeks to join the crowded digital assets derivatives market.

Coinbase said it had applied for membership with the National Futures Association, a top self-regulatory body in the US, as a futures commission merchant on 15 September.

The move...

Financial News is pleased to announce the shortlists for the Asset Management Awards 2021.

We will be releasing the names of the nominees in three to four categories each day until 17th September. All the shortlists can be found below and they will be updated every morning.

The winners will be announced via a live blog at 4pm BST on 21st October....

Big Four audit firm PwC UK has said that 14% of its staff come from working class backgrounds and tend to receive lower pay packets than their peers.

The firm said staff from a lower socio-economic background were paid a median 12.1% less than their colleagues, according to pay gap data based on parental occupation which the firm has published for the first time.

“Closing...

Rothschild & Co has elevated the UK's former top civil servant to its board, as the independent investment bank unveiled record results for its advisory unit this year.

Lord Mark Sedwill has been named as a member of Rothschild's supervisory board, the bank said in a statement, taking over from Anthony de Rothschild, the 44-year-old member of the banking family who will remain as a senior adviser to the group.

Lord...

Short-seller Carson Block, founder and chief investment officer of Muddy Waters Capital, spoke with Financial News in a Barron's Live event earlier this month. The influential investor discussed the wild ride in markets this year, and how he approaches conditions he says are hard for short-sellers.

Below is an excerpt from the interview. It has been edited for length and clarity.

On...

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has filed an application to be approved as a futures provider, as it seeks to join the crowded digital assets derivatives market.

Coinbase said it had applied for membership with the National Futures Association, a top self-regulatory body in the US, as a futures commission merchant on 15 September.

The move...

Financial News is pleased to announce the shortlists for the Asset Management Awards 2021.

We will be releasing the names of the nominees in three to four categories each day until 17th September. All the shortlists can be found below and they will be updated every morning.

The winners will be announced via a live blog at 4pm BST on 21st October....

Financial News is pleased to announce the shortlists for the Asset Management Awards 2021.

We will be releasing the names of the nominees in three to four categories each day until 17th September. All the shortlists can be found below and they will be updated every morning.

The winners will be announced via a live blog at 4pm BST on 21st October....

Big Four audit firm PwC UK has said that 14% of its staff come from working class backgrounds and tend to receive lower pay packets than their peers.

The firm said staff from a lower socio-economic background were paid a median 12.1% less than their colleagues, according to pay gap data based on parental occupation which the firm has published for the first time.

“Closing...

Rothschild & Co has elevated the UK's former top civil servant to its board, as the independent investment bank unveiled record results for its advisory unit this year.

Lord Mark Sedwill has been named as a member of Rothschild's supervisory board, the bank said in a statement, taking over from Anthony de Rothschild, the 44-year-old member of the banking family who will remain as a senior adviser to the group.

Lord...

Short-seller Carson Block, founder and chief investment officer of Muddy Waters Capital, spoke with Financial News in a Barron's Live event earlier this month. The influential investor discussed the wild ride in markets this year, and how he approaches conditions he says are hard for short-sellers.

Below is an excerpt from the interview. It has been edited for length and clarity.

On...

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has filed an application to be approved as a futures provider, as it seeks to join the crowded digital assets derivatives market.

Coinbase said it had applied for membership with the National Futures Association, a top self-regulatory body in the US, as a futures commission merchant on 15 September.

The move...

The City could go back to quiet streets and empty offices this winter if infections rise above manageable levels, the UK government warned.

Under Downing Street’s planning for a worst-case scenario, its strictest requirements to work from home and a national lockdown are being kept as a “last resort” to combat rising cases.

Its autumn and...

Two former employees of British fintech firm Wise have raised $10m to fund Europe’s answer to Robinhood, bringing on board an all-star cast of investors as their new company launches in the UK.

Lightyear, which offers stock trading alongside multi-currency banking accounts, said it has closed its first seed funding round at $10m with investment from early Monzo backer Eileen Burbidge, venture capitalists Mosaic Ventures, and Wise chief technology officer Harsh Sinha.

Wise...

As private equity firms continue to march into the UK wealth and asset management sectors, eyebrows are being raised at the FCA about where the market might end up.

According to Refinitiv data, the UK this year has already seen more than 400 PE deals across all sectors worth nearly $50bn – the highest first-half volume in more than two decades.

The...

Tariq Fancy was BlackRock’s sustainable investing CIO between 2018 and 2019, and had a unique vantage point into the world’s largest asset manager's approach to ESG investing.

However, he has gone on to become one of the ESG sector’s fiercest critics. Last month Fancy published an explosive three-part essay via online publishing platform Medium, in which he likened the booming sustainable investment sector to “selling the public a wheatgrass placebo as a solution to the onset of cancer.”

Financial...

A Goldman Sachs managing director who quit the bank after reportedly making millions trading cryptocurrency has re-emerged in a new role at a healthcare firm planning a London listing.

Aziz McMahon, who was head of emerging markets sales at Goldman in London, will be appointed as executive chairman of UK-based healthcare and pharmaceutical company SpectrumX, the firm said in a statement.

McMahon...

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has raised the prospect of Threadneedle Street creating its own digital currency amid fears it would be difficult to control coins created by the private sector.

As digital payments solutions continue to gain in popularity, many should be regulated given they are fulfilling the "essential public functions" of money, Bailey told a Bloomberg event on 14 September.

However,...

An assertion from Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson that the prime minister has “no plans” to reshuffle his top posts on 9 September, as much rumoured, has provided only small comfort to the City’s most senior lobbyists. 

Government affairs heads at the City’s largest banks and asset managers are growing increasingly anxious that the minister responsible for helping the UK’s financial services sector capitalise on Brexit is set to be promoted amidst the impending shake-up.

City...

Goldman Sachs named the co-head of its global financing group as its new chief financial officer, as Stephen Scherr steps down after 30 years at the US banking giant.

Denis Coleman will take over as CFO in January next year, the bank said in a statement, in the latest senior change at Goldman, which has named new leaders of the majority of its main business units over the past year. He will move to deputy CFO until that time.

“Denis...

Morgan Stanley is set to grow its debt capital markets and leveraged finance business as revenues in the sector have remained high throughout 2021, says chief operating officer Jonathan Pruzan.

The Wall Street bank, which has typically lagged US rivals in DCM, will "continue to grow" its debt advisory business, Pruzan told an industry conference on 14 September.

"The...

The former DWS employee who claims the German asset manager overstated its credentials on environmental, social and governance investing has warned others to “dial down the propaganda and rhetoric” or face potential mis-selling claims from investors.

Desiree Fixler, the asset manager’s former head of sustainability, alleged the firm misrepresented its ESG capabilities in its 2020 annual report. Her action triggered investigations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and German regulator BaFin.

“This...