Kristen McGachey’s Post

The Financial Conduct Authority's ESG fund labels under SDR look set to be a damp squib. Industry experts are predicting low uptake for the badges, which include ‘improvers’, ‘impact’ and ‘mixed goals’, when asset managers can begin using them at the end of the month. "I would be very surprised if it’s anywhere near 100 [labelled funds] by July,” Neill Blanks, managing director of research at MainStreet Partners, told Financial News. #ESG #SDR #FCA #greenwashing https://lnkd.in/eES2sEVR

SurgoCap Partners is betting against abrdn. Mala Gaonkar’s flagship strategy initiated a 0.52% short position in the fund group on 1 July, according to data from Breakout Point, as it hunts for a new chief executive. #Abrdn #shortselling #hedgefunds #SurgoCap https://lnkd.in/eHTvz9C7

Redwheel is continuing its ESG push. The $17.6bn fund group has acquired sustainability specialist Ecofin, a move which adds $1.4bn to its own green business. #ESG #assetmanagement #sustainableinvesting https://lnkd.in/eYjfijzQ

New: Short-sellers circling Hargreaves Lansdown have made a hasty retreat as the fund supermarket continues to weigh a £5.4bn takeover bid Citadel, Marshall Wace and Millennium have closed out their short positions in the FTSE 250-listed platform, according to disclosures reported to the Financial Conduct Authority. BlackRock is currently the only firm betting against the stock. #HargreavesLansdown #hedgefunds #shortselling https://lnkd.in/emnumdw6

Who’s excited about the general election? The City’s ESG experts, that’s who. They say a regime change offers the opportunity to “reset” the UK’s green agenda after much backtracking under Rishi Sunak’s administration. Seb Beloe, partner and head of research at WHEB Asset Management, told Financial News, he questions whether any of the major parties are fully up to the task of tackling climate change. “[But] it is clear that Labour sees the future competitiveness of the UK as inextricably linked to the net zero agenda. “This alone makes the prospect of a Labour government enormously more appealing than a continuation of the previous Conservative administration.” Matthew Evans, UK sustainable equities portfolio manager at Ninety One, said: “[We want] a consistent approach and one that will not be ever changing. The word ‘stability’ is being used a lot, but it is so important to encourage long term investment.” #generalelection #assetmanagement #ESG https://lnkd.in/egrWdDxK

Exclusive: 7IM has suffered more key departures from its investment team after being taken over by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, including head of investment strategy Terence Moll. #wealthmanagement https://lnkd.in/e-yh2y6M

Thanks to RBC BlueBay Asset Management's Polina Kurdyavko for chatting with me about her unconventional path to the City. When she couldn't get a job in her home country of Russia, Polina moved to the US in the mid-1990s with no money or connections, eventually taking a job as a dishwasher in California. She hopped around doing a variety of jobs — working at a travel agency, as an interpreter and research assistant — all the while completing her degree in finance at a Russian university. It's a level of multi-tasking I don't think I could master! #womeninfinance #assetmanagement #emergingmarkets https://lnkd.in/eYAk2X5v

Gresham House has more than doubled its stake in wealth firm Brooks Macdonald over the past two months to £42m. It comes at a time of rampant consolidation in the industry, particularly among mid-sized players, and as private equity giants are swooping on firms with historically cheap price tags. #wealthmanagement #assetmanagement #privateequity https://lnkd.in/eng_YXgX