It’s a scenario all too familiar. A Scottish fund manager is looking to increase its headcount and, as it’s a global marketplace, has put feelers out to other major financial centres for talent. When asked the question why, say, the UK’s premier fund managers might want to move north of the border from the behemoth that is the City of London, the answer is nearly always the same: “Well, the... Read more
By Paul Clarke 28 Aug 2008 - 1 comment
The indignity of it was too much for one politician to bear. Morgan Stanley, thinking of starting a Glasgow operation last year, was handed £6m by the government to make the move to Scotland. Then it turned out they would have set up here anyway. Fuming, Derek Brownlee MSP, Scottish Conservatives finance spokesman, spluttered: “You can only justify the use of taxpayers’ money to create jobs if they would not... Read more
By Paul Clarke 01 Jul 2008 - 1 comment
Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has become the first Scottish asset manager to set up an office in the Middle East. SWIP has chosen Saudi Arabia as its Gulf area of choice, and is thought to be taking the joint venture route with local firm Fawaz Alkohair. Other large asset managers, including BNP Paribas Asset Management, Prudential Asset Management, Schroders and Pictet Asset Management have also set up offices in... Read more
By Paul Clarke 03 Jun 2008 - 0 comments
As Scotland bids for independence from the rest of the UK, there’s the suggestion that its financial services sector could lose out. Global Financial Services Week (GFSW) looks to highlight Scotland’s importance as a financial centre, and the cabinet secretary for finance, John Swinney, took the opportunity to attempt to assuage fears that an independent Scotland could undermine the industry. He said: “We would have to take decisions about the way in... Read more
By Paul Clarke 30 May 2008 - 1 comment