PIMFA, the trade association for wealth management, investment services and the investment and financial advice industry, has welcomed the introduction of a new Consumer Duty by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) but says that the new duty must be accompanied with greater clarity over any new regulatory expectations placed on firms and a reasonable assessment of firms’ ability to discharge their obligations under the duty.

Research from BullionVault reveals that private investors across the Western world last month showed the weakest interest in buying gold since before the Covid Crisis began.

Damian Handzy, Head of Research & Applied Analytics at Investment Metrics, comments that with global anticipation that central banks are likely to increase short-term rates and with the spectre of inflationary pressure on longer-term rates, can we expect Value to come up top and Growth to lose out? Not necessarily, he says. He and his team examined stock returns during several historical periods of rate increases in the US and UK to see what might happen this time around.

The UK’s younger generations are counting on the transition of wealth between generations to fund their financial goals, reveals new research from Fidelity International. 

AIM companies continue to contribute to economy, and have fared better during the pandemic than the FTSE 100, writes AIM, which celebrates the eighth birthday of AIM companies being able to be in an ISA.

A survey of members of the European investment community, including asset managers and private investors, on attitudes to ESG/impact-related topics and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), conducted by Berenberg WAM, the Wealth and Asset Management arm of Berenberg private bank, has revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the significance of the social aspects of ESG for investors. 

GenXFinancial, a US-based wealth management firm specialising in continuity, succession planning and facilitating growth for NextGen financial professionals, has announced its acquisition of Boston Partners Financial Group.

InvestorEQ, the powerful behavioural finance tool at the centre of Canada’s Pascal’s integrated digital wealth management platform, is now available as a standalone tool for financial advisers.

FactSet, a global provider of integrated financial information, analytical applications, and industry-leading service, and Smartplus, a leading Japanese wealth management and insurance platform, have announced the integration of FactSet’s Truvalue Labs ESG content into Smartplus’ platform for retail clients. 

iM Global Partner, a global asset management network, has made another alliance in its US expansion by entering a partnership with Richard Bernstein Advisors (RBA). The firm acquired a 45 per cent non-controlling stake in RBA as of July 28, 2021.