Finance Monthly December 2019 Edition

9 www.finance-monthly.com NEWS - MONTHLY ROUND-UP News You Can’t Afford to Miss INVESTORS RALLY TO TRADITIONAL ASSETS AMIDST POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY Butterfield Mortgages Lim- ited (BML) recently com- missioned an independent survey of more than 1,100 UK-based investors (all with investments in excess of £10,000) to find out what asset classes currently make up their financial portfolios and what factors are influencing their invest- ment strategies in 2020. The research found that: • The most common as- sets investors hold are stocks and shares (53%), property (41%) and bonds (30%) o 20% of investors said they plan to increase the amount of money they have invested in real estate in 2020 o 61% of investors believe traditional assets like prop- erty are best positioned to deliver stable and secure returns during the current political uncertainty • Art and forex (both 19%), cryptocurrencies (17%) and classic cars (16%) were the least com- mon investments o 10% of those who have invested in cryptocurrency plan to reduce their amount of investment in this asset in the new year o 64% of investors do not think cryptocurrencies are a safe or reliable invest- ment • 43% have become more socially and environ- mentally conscious in their financial strategies • 42% are holding off making any major invest- ment decisions until Brexit has been resolved UK investors are turning to traditional assets as a result of the political uncer- tainty currently facing the country, new research from Butterfield Mortgages Lim- ited (BML) has found. The prime property mort- gage provider surveyed 1,100 UK-based investors, all of whom have assets in excess of £10,000, ex- cluding pensions, savings, SIPPs and properties they live in. The research revealed the most common assets investors hold are stocks and shares (53%), property (41%) and bonds (30%). On the other end of the spectrum, classic cars (16%), cryptocurrencies (17%), art and forex (both 19%) ranked as the least popular. Delving into the factors in- fluencing their investment decisions, 61% believe traditional assets like prop- erty are best positioned to deliver stable and secure returns during this current period of political uncer- tainty. One in five (20%) property investors are planning to invest in more real estate in 2020. When it comes to non- traditional asset classes, nearly two thirds (64%) of investors surveyed by BML do not think cryptocurren- cies are a safe or reliable investment. A tenth (10%) of those who have invested in cryptocurrency plan to reduce their amount of in- vestment in this asset in the new year. Looking into the factors influencing their financial plans for 2020, 43% of investors said they have become more socially and environmentally conscious and this will influence their financial strategy in 2020. Brexit is also playing on investors’ minds. Two fifths (42%) are holding off mak- ing any major investment decisions until Brexit has been resolved, though half (49%) are confident in the long-term performance of UK-based assets. This compares to 23% of in- vestors who are looking to assets based outside the UK for their investments in 2020 because of Brexit. SCHWAB TD AMERITRADE: STOCK DEAL OF THE CENTURY? GlobalData banking editor Douglas Blakey reports on a breaking deal with a huge wow factor. Make no mistake: if Schwab can pull off a deal for TD Ameritrade, then it has pulled off something of a coup. It is not just the deal of the year in this sec- tor it is the deal of many a year. The market is slightly stunned but loves the po- tential Schwab TD Ameri- trade tie up and well it might. Schwab’ share price is up by 7.5% since news of the possible deal broke. For its part, TD Ameritrade’s share price is up by 17%. Schwab already ranks first by market share in the dis- count brokerage market. Snapping up the number two player TD Ameritrade means that Schwab would tower over the sector. However, regulatory ap- proval for the proposed mega-deal is in no way guaranteed. But if Schwab can get over the regula- tory hurdles – and that is a big if – expect Schwab to boost its earnings per share. For starters that will come through better mon- etisaton of Ameritrade’s sweep deposits. Then there are the synergy cost savings. KBW suggests that an all- equity transaction could equate to 10%-15% EPS accretion for Schwab. And such a forecast may even be on the conservative side. Schwab has about $3.9trn in client assets and over 12 million active broker- age accounts. TD has about $1.3trn in assets and services 11 million cli- ent accounts. In addition, it provides custodian ser- vices for more than 6,000 independent advisers. Only privately held Fidel- ity, with about 30 million brokerage accounts, is in the same league.