Author: Lily Harper

Shortly before my mother’s death, my brother, with whom I have a poor relationship, persuaded her to vary her will, meaning I’ve ended up with one-quarter of the estate instead of half. I need the full half for my retirement, but don’t have funds for a legal fight if my brother drags it out. What are my options?Candy Stockton, partner at JMW Solicitors Candy Stockton, partner in the private wealth team at JMW Solicitors in London, says first consider whether your mother’s final will is actually valid. Even if it is, there may be circumstances where you could make a…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Blackstone is joining forces with asset management companies Vanguard and Wellington Management in a “strategic alliance” aimed at creating hybrid public and private funds for wealthy individuals and retirees.The three groups said on Tuesday that they would work together to create blended products containing both public and unlisted assets, and funds with exposure to active and passive investments.While Blackstone, Vanguard and Wellington did not announce any specific products, stating that such details would be announced in the coming months, the three-way partnership…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Video: Jamie Dimon urges US to engage with ChinaDonald Trump’s trade war risks eroding the US’s credibility, Jamie Dimon warned, as the JPMorgan Chase chief executive urged Washington to “engage” with Beijing. Dimon said that the US remained “a haven” because of its prosperity, rule of law, and economic and military strength, but that America’s economic pre-eminence could come under threat from the president’s attempt to reshape global trade. “A lot of this uncertainty is challenging that a little bit. So you’re…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Pay for Grant Thornton’s UK partners rose to an average of almost £700,000 last year as the accounting firm struck a deal to be bought out by private equity group Cinven. Grant Thornton said on Tuesday that it had completed its transaction with Cinven, the most significant investment to date by a buyout group in the UK accounting sector. Staff were handed an “exceptional” bonus of £39mn on top of performance bonuses for the first time, while employees below partner grade will…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Hedge fund Elliott Management has built a position worth more than $1.5bn in technology group Hewlett Packard Enterprise, in its first activist campaign unveiled since President Donald Trump’s tariff policy upended markets. Elliott is yet to meet HPE’s management but it plans to engage with the hardware and software manufacturer in a bid to turn around its languishing performance, according to people familiar with the matter. Shares in HPE have fallen by about 30 per cent this year, after declining drastically earlier…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Bonuses at specialist investment firms in the EU have shot up since they were exempted from the bloc’s bonus cap rules three years ago, lifting variable pay for many top traders to more than €1mn, according to new data.The European Banking Authority, the EU’s banking regulator, said the average bonus for key staff at EU investment groups doing proprietary trading, underwriting or placement activities was €1.5mn in 2022 and €1.15mn in 2023, more than six-times their fixed pay.That is a big jump…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the US banks myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Wall Street’s biggest banks reaped almost $37bn in trading revenues in the first quarter of the year — their best performance in more than a decade — as Donald Trump’s administration unleashed a barrage of market-moving announcements. The combined performance by JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup marks a return to favour for a business that until 2020 had been a shadow of its pre-financial crisis form. Trump’s second term as US president has ushered in a…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.This article is the latest part of the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion CampaignEveryday Loans is getting a facelift. The subprime personal lending company that typically offers £3,000 loans last month rebranded as Evlo and the signs on its branches are being replaced. “This is a good business that has had some bumps and scrapes,” insists Jono Gillespie, chief executive.While Evlo has been repaired, much of the UK high-cost credit sector was written off in a regulatory and reputational crash. What was…

One scoop to start: Leda Braga’s Systematica Investments, one of the world’s best known computer-driven hedge funds, is suffering its worst ever losing streak in its flagship fund, as the market turmoil triggered by the trade war catches out many of the industry’s biggest names.And another thing: Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp helped give it “monopoly power”, the US Federal Trade Commission told a court on Monday at the start of a blockbuster trial that could force the $1.5tn tech giant’s break-up.Welcome to Due Diligence, your briefing on dealmaking, private equity and corporate finance. This article is an on-site…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldAmerica’s risky corporate borrowers have been shut out of the bond market since Donald Trump’s tariff blitz, in a freeze that is reverberating across Wall Street and which threatens a tentative rebound in dealmaking.Lowly-rated companies have failed to sell any debt in the $1.4tn US high-yield bond market since Trump unleashed market turmoil and raised fears of a US recession with the wave of tariffs he announced earlier this month.The freezing of the junk bond market threatens to hit private…