m&a

UK-listed energy stocks have rallied strongly in early trading as investors look for more M&A activity in light of Shell agreeing a £47bn takeover of BG Group.

Tavistock Investments has bought IFA Sutcliffe Solloway Financial Planning and its parent Cornerstone Asset Holdings.

Aberdeen Asset Management has made a £38.3m top-up payment to Lloyds Banking Group for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP), which it acquired last year.

National wealth manager Bellpenny has continued to expand its business with a further acquisition of an IFA with £40m in funds under management.

Towry has increased its offer for Ashcourt Rowan to £120m, a move which is understood to have been prompted by rival bidders circling the firm.

Following the unexpected poor performance of ‘event driven' strategies in 2014, Philippe Ferreira, head of research, managed account platform at Lyxor Asset Management, analyses what went wrong and they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes in 2015....

Standard Life has bought advice firm Pearson Jones from Skipton Building Society as it moves to capitalise on the demand for pensions advice.

Nick Train has a growing level of M&A activity in recent years has forced him to add non-benchmark holdings to his UK equity portfolios.

2014 was a great era for merger and acquisitions, but managers expecting another bonanza year should think again - M&A activity will likely be more subdued next year, says AXA Framlington's Jamie Forbes-Wilson.

The ‘curry effect’