Author: Lily Harper

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Private equity myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.James Gorman, the former chief executive of Morgan Stanley, is to join General Atlantic as a strategic adviser as the US-based private equity group prepares a highly anticipated initial public offering. Gorman’s appointment will put one of Wall Street’s most connected financiers who led the revival of Morgan Stanley after the 2008 financial crisis into a crucial role at General Atlantic as it plots a rapid expansion. Gorman will advise General Atlantic’s leadership, including chief executive Bill Ford, on strategy, growth plans…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Exchange traded funds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Latest news on ETFsVisit our ETF Hub to find out more and to explore our in-depth data and comparison toolsThailand has approved the sale of leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds to retail investors starting this month.The regulatory nod to issue the complex index-tracking products is in line with Thailand’s efforts to strengthen its ETF sector and expand its capital markets.The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission has said that asset managers can now launch leveraged and inverse ETFs with a maximum…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Private credit is “not a bubble”, Apollo Global Management president Jim Zelter has said, adding that he did not think adverse economic conditions would trigger “massive losses” in a sector that has witnessed rapid growth in recent years.Speaking at HSBC’s investment conference in Hong Kong on Thursday, Zelter was asked how private credit would perform in an economic downturn.“The biggest question I get from everybody around the globe is, is private credit a bubble?” said Zelter. “And I would say it’s not…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK’s state-backed pension scheme said its plans to invest 30 per cent of its portfolio in private markets by 2030 was “not a guarantee”, arguing it would not compromise on value to meet the target.  The National Employment Savings Trust plans to increase its private market exposure from a current level of about £8bn to £30bn over the next five years, following a government push for more investment in UK infrastructure. But chief investment officer Liz Fernando said the aim was ambitious…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A flurry of new exchange traded funds is widening retail access to the fast-growing markets for private credit and equity, sparking concerns that these assets are a poor fit for small-scale investors and could prove tough to sell during a crisis.A private credit ETF launched last month by State Street will hold up to 35 per cent of its portfolio in private debt deals originated by Apollo Global Management. Fixed-income specialist BondBloxx, meanwhile, has applied for regulatory approval for an ETF that…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.HSBC fired investment bankers on the day they were due to learn their bonus figures and gave no bonuses to many it let go, in a sign of how the bank is taking a more ruthless approach to costs under new chief executive Georges Elhedery. The London-based lender told staff in its UK investment banking business last month that they were losing their jobs, having said in January it would shut its mergers and acquisitions advisory work and its equity capital markets business…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Wall Street bankers are getting jam tomorrow, and jam yesterday, but not much jam today. Jefferies Financial Group confirmed on Wednesday what most executives and investors already sensed: the profit picnic they expected this year was taking longer than anticipated.Jefferies is an oddity among financial firms. Its fiscal year starts on December 1, so its quarterly earnings appear a month before rivals, which generally begin their year in January instead. Since Jefferies chief Rich Handler is among Wall Street’s longest-tenured CEOs, such…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.US investment bank Jefferies reported lower revenues for the start of 2025 than forecast, the latest sign that a much-anticipated surge in dealmaking under Donald Trump’s new administration has failed to materialise.Jefferies on Wednesday said its revenues in the quarter to February 28 dropped 8 per cent from a year earlier to $1.6bn, missing Wall Street expectations in a Visible Alpha poll of $1.9bn. Net income of $128mn was also shy of forecasts of $213mn. The disappointing results stemmed partly from lower…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.NatWest has paid an undisclosed sum to Reform leader Nigel Farage to settle a long-running dispute with the politician over his “debanking” from its prestigious private bank Coutts.“NatWest Group and Nigel Farage MP are pleased to confirm that they have resolved and settled their dispute and the Bank has apologised to Mr Farage. The terms of settlement are confidential,” the bank and Farage said in a joint statement on Wednesday.The settlement included damages paid to Farage, according to people familiar with the…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.When activist investor Oasis Management called for change at Japanese consumer goods giant Kao — proposing boardroom reform through the election of outside directors and long term incentives — the response was clear and decisive. Shareholders rejected every one of Oasis’s proposals at its latest annual general meeting, siding with management. It was a sobering reminder that even the strongest activist pushes often fail to overcome Japan’s corporate traditions.Yet while resistance remains strong, the momentum behind activist investing has been accelerating. The…