Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Friday 15 December 2023. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.
More control over proxy voting
Asset owners, led by London CIV Local Government Pension Scheme, have published an open letter “urgently” calling for increased adoption of pass-through voting by asset managers.
This move aims to empower investors to directly influence proxy votes in proportion to the assets under management (AUM) they have invested.
Social care reform delay
When American poet George Oppen wrote about clarity being a beautiful thing, he could have been referring to social care in the UK, says Amanda Newman Smith.
We were starting to make progress in 2021, when the government announced a programme of reforms for England, including a cap on care costs.
But these reforms have been put back until October 2025, after the next general election. Is the delay leaving people reluctant to make plans for care in later life, and how are advisers navigating this?
Quote Of The Day
Investors are chewing through an enormous amount of data from central banks in recent days, with the pause button for interest rates still the go-to.
– Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on the fact that the FTSE 100 remains unchanged as slew of economic decisions are digested
Stat Attack
As we head towards a new year and employees begin to think about their plans for 2024, new analysis has revealed that 1 in 101 (0.99%) job vacancies in the accounting and finance sector now require some level of experience of working with AI – the sixth highest proportion among all UK verticals.
| Sector | Vacancies requiring AI use | Total vacancies | Percentage of vacancies requiring AI use |
| Fashion | 442 | 9949 | 4.44% |
| Electronics | 380 | 13626 | 2.79% |
| Warehousing and distribution | 89 | 5608 | 1.59% |
| Food and beverages | 390 | 25577 | 1.52% |
| Automotive | 357 | 34833 | 1.02% |
| Accounting and finance | 588 | 54092 | 0.99% |
Source: Tank
In Other News
The Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment has appointed Emma Black as the new president of the CISI North East Committee.
She takes over from Peter Douglas.
Born in the North East, Black has lived around the UK and was raised in a family involved in professional sport.
She was educated at Durham University where she achieved her BA (Hons), MSc and PhD specialising in in Behavioural Finance and M&A.
She has lectured across undergraduate and post-graduate levels at Durham University, Newcastle University and Leeds University.
She was also deputy director of postgraduate programmes at Newcastle University, where she originally linked in the university to CISI.
Black helped to co-found a wealth management company called Tier One Capital and built a compare-the-market savings tool Cascade Cash Management which was spun out into a standalone vehicle in 2015.
She then co-founded a new bank – GB Bank – in 2017 that obtained its full banking licence in 2022.
Global private equity platform Moonfare has closed its first co-investments fund, Moonfare Co-investment Fund I (MCFI), at 116% of target raise in less than 12 months.
The close brings the sought-after benefits of co-investments within eligible individual investors’ reach, at minimums from EUR 50,000.
Moonfare founder and co-chief executive Steffen Pauls said: “Closing a first-time fund in this environment is a big accomplishment in itself.
“To have broadened access to such boutique investment opportunities is a significant step in our democratising mission.
“And achieving 16% above target in less than a year in current asset-raising conditions shows just how relevant we are to our investor base.”
Moonfare managing principal and head of co-investments Sanjay Gupta added: “This fund shows our dedication to helping eligible investors access valuable opportunities that might otherwise be beyond reach.
“Our fund’s strategy is driven by Moonfare’s strong relationships with top-tier private equity managers who sponsor its underlying investments.
“Furthermore, we are honoured by the trust that our 320 discrete investors have placed in us.”
German economy to barely grow next year as Berlin cuts spending – Bundesbank (Reuters)
China’s gloomy economic data paints ‘dire’ growth picture (Bloomberg)
Millions borrowing to pay essential bills at Christmas, charities warn (BBC News)
Did You See?
When individuals are offered personalised guidance rather than more generic guidance, the chance of them making a financial decision that leads to a better financial outcome increases “significantly”.
Over three quarters (76%) of individuals make decisions leading to a better financial outcome when offered ‘personalised’ guidance. When investors are offered guidance based on existing regulation, only 14% make a good financial decision.
This is according to research from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Thinks Insight and Strategy’s Behavioural Team.
