Asset management

SocGen’s BNP envy carries a cost

22 Nov 2022

Future CEO Slawomir Krupa is merging his stock research and trading unit with U.S. peer AllianceBernstein, aping his French rival’s capital markets drive. But the $20 bln bank will lack the scale of U.S. rivals, and growing in low-return businesses won’t help a lagging valuation.

Credit Suisse’s fuzzy Apollo deal better than none

15 Nov 2022

Boss Ulrich Körner is offloading $55 bln of assets in a securitised product unit, chiefly to the U.S. behemoth. Credit Suisse did not reveal the price, and it will pay Apollo to manage the remaining assets. But at least Körner avoided selling at a discount amid tricky markets.

How Credit Suisse’s turnaround could work

10 Nov 2022

CEO Ulrich Körner is raising $4 bln of fresh equity and shrinking the Zurich-based group’s trading business to put it on a steadier footing. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate the merits of the plan and what’s at stake if it fails.

Abrdn’s battered model may yet start to shine

4 Nov 2022

The British group meshes staid fund management with technology platforms for savers and wealth managers. The latter are growing and benefitting from higher interest rates. CEO Stephen Bird’s turnaround has a long way to go, but an undemanding valuation leaves plenty of upside.

Credit Suisse puts “first” back into First Boston

3 Nov 2022

There’s no historical precedent for a global bank carving out and listing its underwriting and M&A unit. The spinoff’s revenue-sharing joint ventures will only partly smooth an awkward relationship with its Swiss parent. Future boss Michael Klein gets credit for novelty, though.

UK tech flops expose perils of IPO forecasts

2 Nov 2022

E-commerce group Made.com has all but collapsed little more than a year after issuing sunny targets in an 800 mln pound float. Stock market duds Deliveroo and Funding Circle had optimistic guidance. When initial public offerings restart, investors should ignore the projections.

Credit Suisse begins perilous ride to right place

27 Oct 2022

CEO Ulrich Körner will raise $4 bln of capital to finance redundancies and a halving of the investment bank. After several botched strategies, Credit Suisse is now pointing in the correct direction. But ongoing heavy losses, and low 2025 targets, imply a messy few years ahead.

UK unveils overdue sieve for ESG alphabet soup

25 Oct 2022

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has sketched out rules classifying environmental, social and governance funds. The approach differs from Europe’s framework, adding to fund managers’ burden. Yet it may also be tougher and more consumer friendly, making greenwashing harder.

Blackstone black box is buyout shops’ hot product

21 Oct 2022

The asset manager marked its private equity assets down 0.3% this quarter – far less than public-market declines. For clients who piled $44.8 bln into its funds, that disconnect has appeal. For the industry, it's a balancing act until the real valuation test of M&A returns.

If Credit Suisse loves its bankers, set them free

21 Oct 2022

The Swiss bank may bring outside investors into its dealmaking unit, to insulate it from parental turmoil. The business could be worth up to $6 bln, valued in line with boutique advisory shops. Yet the best way to hit such a price tag is for Credit Suisse to cut it loose.

Capital Calls: Philip Morris/Swedish Match

20 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Marlboro maker has raised its already pricey $16 bln offer for the Swedish seller of nicotine pouches.

Credit Suisse legal tab is wildcard for investors

17 Oct 2022

The bank settled an old mortgage case without having to set more money aside. But the bill for future litigation, up to $1.6 bln on its own estimates, will erode earnings. The risk for investors in a looming rights issue is that further nasties bog down the bank’s restructuring.

Westinghouse deal will overpower immediate fallout

12 Oct 2022

Brookfield Renewable and uranium miner Cameco are teaming up to buy the company for $7.9 bln. Servicing and decommissioning nuclear plants generates steady cash flow, but the market reaction was toxic. There’s plenty of upside in Eastern Europe and the energy transition, however.

Capital Calls: Peloton races tough economic cycle

6 Oct 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $2.9 bln fitness company is laying off staff for the fourth time this year in a turnaround bid for survival.

Mutual funds’ private bets could use more daylight

14 Sep 2022

The tech stock rout has done little to dent money managers like Fidelity or T. Rowe Price’s zeal for unlisted companies. In some cases, such holdings have performed better than public shares. Yet illiquid stocks bring fresh risks, and disclosure on how they are valued is patchy.

Capital Calls: SoftBank

14 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The $62 bln conglomerate may be considering a third instantiation of its Vision Fund.

Capital Calls: Oil vs. ESG

13 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: The price of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen 30% since mid-summer, and over 10% in two weeks. If it stays below $100 a barrel, oil companies will start to become worse investments. That could help solve backlash to ESG investing.

Capital Calls: SPACs’ long shadows

12 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: While electric-vehicle startup Nikola is moving beyond its founder, both it and its SPAC-partner peers are mired in supply chain challenges, slipping deadlines and tumbling share price performance.

Capital Calls: UBS fintech U-turn, UK housebuilder

5 Sep 2022

Concise views on global finance: CEO Ralph Hamers cancels the $1.4 bln acquisition of robo-adviser Wealthfront; Countryside Partnerships accepts a 1.3 bln pound offer from UK rival Vistry just three months after rejecting a higher bid.

Intel makes chips look almost like infrastructure

23 Aug 2022

Brookfield is putting up half the cost of two $30 bln Arizona plants, at a rate somewhere between what Intel pays for equity and debt. Yet chips are riskier than traditional infrastructure, suggesting Intel is giving up more than its partner to make the deal work financially.