Aviva

Aviva has completed the sale of its US life and annuities business for £500m more than it originally announced.

Shares in asset managers Schroders and Henderson have fallen in morning trading while Aviva climbed following a set of half-year results from the groups.

PLATFORMS

Aviva has reported a profit after tax of £776m for the first half of this year, turning around a £624m loss for the half year 2012, but said its funds business has seen outflows.

Aviva Investors is soft-closing its US Equity Income fund in early October, just over two years after inception, and plans to launch a new fund to meet growing investor demand for the strategy.

Group works to reassure investors after key departures.

ON UK INCOME

Fund managers are facing pressure to buy high risk assets in order to meet their funds' targets in an environment of falling equity volatility.

EMD

Sanlam Private Investments (SPI) has reaffirmed its ‘sell' recommendation on Richard Wilmot's £2.1bn Newton Higher Income fund, arguing its recent overhaul has made the fund a less attractive option for income seekers.