Author: Lily Harper

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Attempts to merge European banks are becoming more common. Most recent deals, though, will require a major stakeholder to be dragged kicking and screaming — be it the target, a national government, or both — if they are to close. BPCE’s €6.4bn acquisition of Portuguese lender Novo Banco is that rare case: a bank tie-up that pleases almost everyone. French lender BPCE says buying Novo Banco from its private equity owner Lone Star is part of the broader project of “European banking consolidation”…

Welcome to FT Asset Management, our weekly newsletter on the movers and shakers behind a multitrillion-dollar global industry. This article is an on-site version of the newsletter. Subscribers can sign up here to get it delivered every Monday. Explore all of our newsletters here.Does the format, content and tone work for you? Let me know: harriet.agnew@ft.com In today’s newsletter:Hedge fund manager Ian Wace’s accidental adventureBlackRock’s plan to take on private capital giants Private market funds lag US stocks over short and long termThe tale of Tanera MòrIan Wace first saw the advertisement for the remote island of Tanera Mòr in…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.At a Barcelona economics conference last month, headlined “Europe: wake-up call?”, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took to the stage and urged the continent to “wake up once and for all . . . take control of its destiny, and move from words to action”.The EU — galvanised by US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies — is awash with talk of stimulating economies and boosting competitiveness. In particular, last year’s influential report on European competitiveness by former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has been…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Management consulting myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The Financial Times is now compiling its ninth annual ranking of the UK’s Leading Management Consultants, in conjunction with its research partner, Statista.The industry is facing an uncertain time. Many public sector clients are cutting back as the government grapples with its finances, while private sector clients are dealing with an uncertain economic environment. Consultants are also at the front line of the corporate shift to AI. This has the potential to increase demand from clients and improve their own productivity in…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.JPMorgan’s European chief is planning to relocate from London to New York, while keeping his role running the bank’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business. Filippo Gori, who is also JPMorgan’s co-head of global banking, moved to the UK from Hong Kong last year after being promoted to the dual role. But the Italian banker is now in the process of leaving for New York, people familiar with the situation told the Financial Times. One of the people said Gori would spend…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK house prices myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Asking prices for UK homes fell in June, bucking the trend for rises at this time of year, according to data that showed the biggest declines in London and the south of England where more properties were put up for sale. Average new seller asking prices dropped 0.3 per cent to £378,240 between May and June, Rightmove said on Monday, after a 0.6 per cent increase between April and May.Prices have risen by an average of 0.4 per cent in June…

With mergers and acquisitions activity at a two-decade low, and the market for initial public offerings showing renewed strength in the US but weakness elsewhere, finance graduates face a job market this summer that is lean and uneven.For students in masters in finance programmes, the slowdown in investment banking has pushed many to broaden their search beyond legacy roles. Experts say advisory hiring has cooled, and competition for places at bulge-bracket banks is intensifying.Lee Thacker, a partner at London-based executive search firm Silvermine Partners, takes a bearish view. “Junior roles for grads . . . are extraordinarily quiet,” he says. “[We’re] seeing 5,000-plus applications…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Pensions industry myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.One of Australia’s largest pension funds is ahead of schedule with its plans to invest billions in the UK and Europe, citing attractive investment opportunities, while the US outlook has become more uncertain.Deanne Stewart, chief executive of Aware Super, which manages A$190bn ($124bn) for more than 1.1mn savers, said she saw a “really significant opportunity for Europe and the UK”, and while there were trade challenges with the US “if you have a look at what’s going on with capital flows . . . you can see…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The 22-year-old Wall Street graduate trainee: hot commodity, or tragic victim of artificial intelligence? At the moment, the answer is both.Earlier this week, Navid Mahmoodzadegan — incoming CEO of the boutique investment bank Moelis & Co. — intimated that AI tools could take on much of the grunt work currently done by human number crunchers and PowerPoint makers. Adopted smartly, he said, AI could rationalise “the size of our pyramid”.That sounds at odds with private equity’s frenzied recruitment of junior bankers. The…

Ever wondered if you can afford to take early retirement? Traditionally, you might have engaged a financial adviser to help explore your options. This week, I’ve been talking to one reader who’s been using ChatGPT instead. Unlike the 12mn Britons estimated to be in the “advice gap”, 58-year-old Jim can afford to pay for regulated financial advice. With a £2mn defined contribution pension entirely invested in global equities, he has a further £850,000 in liquid assets (primarily fixed income) plus a £2.5mn home. He turned to generative AI out of curiosity, but the results surprised him so much, he shared…