In response to global equities falling significantly in value in the past week, following the widespread outbreak of coronavirus, Cult Wines has published a new statistical analysis showing that wine, as an asset class, provides diversification, reduces risk and enhances long term returns as part of a multi asset portfolio. 

Nucleus, the adviser built wrap platform, has agreed a strategic partnership with behavioural insights firm Be-IQ to support advisers and planners who want to use behavioural insight to better help clients navigate their financial planning decision-making.

By Allan Lane, Algo-Chain – With all eyes on the Middle East as the stand-off between Saudi Arabia and Russia for the dominance of the world's oil markets plays out, you could be forgiven if one of the biggest launches in the ETF space in many a year passed you by.

This week’s new ETF launches include two bond-focused iShares funds, one providing access to emerging markets corporate bonds and the other to US Corporate bonds. Elsewhere, First Trust listed a cloud computing UCITS ETF on the Italian Stock Exchange, while Exchange Traded Concepts partnered with Qraft Technologies to debut an AI-powered fund offering access to dividend-paying US companies…

BlackRock Cash Management has filed an amendment to the registration statement for the BlackRock Money Market Portfolio to convert it to the BlackRock Wealth Liquid Environmentally Aware Fund (WeLEAF), the first environmentally aware money market product dedicated to the US wealth market. 

Global consulting firm Sionic has expanded its portfolio of specialist financial services with the appointment of wealth specialist Shelley Doorey-Williams.

PCMA, a specialist in Non-Bank Private Client Lending, has launched ZENITH, a residential investor program for the mass affluent and high net worth markets in the purchase or refinance of residential investments units.

Finantix, a provider of technology to the wealth management, insurance and banking industries, has acquired InCube Group AG, a Zürich-based firm with an interdisciplinary team of Artificial Intelligence (AI) specialists, quant and software engineers and finance experts that provide data-driven, AI-enabled products and solutions to wealth management and insurance companies.

Ogier has appointed contentious trusts expert Damian Evans as partner in its Jersey Dispute Resolution team.

A range of comments has greeted the news on the Bank of England’s announcement of an unexpected interest rate cut of 50 basis points down to 0.25 per cent, driven by the effects of the coronavirus epidemic.