Latest news with #wealthmanager
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Mediobanca says next week's vote needed for investors to have a choice
MILAN, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Mediobanca ( opens new tab defended on Wednesday its move to bring forward to next week a shareholder decision on its bid for Banca Generali ( opens new tab, saying that an early vote was needed for investors to pick the best option for the bank. Mediobanca announced its plan to buy Banca Generali in April and create Italy's second largest wealth manager, as it sought to thwart a takeover bid from state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( opens new tab. The merchant bank postponed the shareholder vote for the Banca Generali bid at the last minute in June in the face of possible defeat. It initially moved it to September 25, before bringing it forward to August 21. Mediobanca has pitched the Banca Generali bid as an alternative to Monte dei Paschi's (MPS) proposed acquisition, though MPS says the two are not mutually exclusive. It said its board had believed it necessary to have shareholders decide between the Banca Generali deal, which it said offered a unique opportunity, and the MPS proposal which was "financially and strategically wholly inadequate". To pay for Banca Generali, Mediobanca would tender its 13% stake in the private bank's majority owner, insurer Generali ( opens new tab. Generali would receive its own shares back as payment, a proposal it said this month it was open to considering, together with a distribution accord Mediobanca wants Generali to strike with the new merged entity. On Monday, Italy's Caltagirone group, a leading Mediobanca shareholder, said the vote would hand a "blank check" to the bank's board because details on key terms of the accord were missing. Mediobanca said it simply wants the current accord between Generali and Banca Generali to be widened to include the new merged company and its duration extended. "It's clearly evident that the core of the agreement to be signed with Assicurazioni Generali would reflect the existing one which Gruppo Caltagirone, as a shareholder in Assicurazioni Generali, is surely acquainted with," Mediobanca said.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Mediobanca Rebuffs Caltagirone's Criticism of Banca Generali Bid
Mediobanca SpA rejected criticism from a key investor, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, about its takeover bid for a local wealth manager, Banca Generali, escalating tensions with the billionaire. The Italian bank said in a statement on Wednesday that it has proposed to expand existing agreements between Banca Generali and its majority owner, Assicurazioni Generali SpA, if it buys the unit, rebuffing Caltagirone's criticism that relevant details remain undisclosed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Over 3.6 million UK investors to pay dividend tax
A growing number of investors are being caught by the dividend tax net, with fresh figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) revealing that 3.67 million individuals are expected to pay the tax in the 2024/25 financial year, a record high. It is nearly double the number recorded just two years earlier in 2022/23, following a raft of cuts to the dividend tax-free allowance. The figures, obtained by wealth manager Quilter through a Freedom of Information request, lay bare the impact of recent reductions to the dividend tax-free allowance. The threshold has been cut twice in two years, dropping from £2,000 to £1,000 in April 2023 and then halving again to just £500 in April 2024. Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks mixed as traders brace for Trump-Putin meet and US-China trade deadline HMRC's latest modelling shows that the number of individuals paying dividend tax, which had remained relatively stable in previous years, surged from 1.9 million in 2022/23 to an estimated 3.08 million in 2023/24. The total is projected to rise again to 3.665 million in 2024/25. Initial estimates by HMRC suggested that 635,000 new individuals would become liable for dividend tax in 2023/24, followed by an additional 1.115 million in 2024/25. However, updated figures using more recent income data shows a revised distribution — 865,000 in 2023/24 and a further 480,000 in 2024/25, still amounting to more than 1.3 million newly affected taxpayers over two years. The reduction of the allowance to £500 is forecast to raise £450m in taxes in 2024/25, climbing to £810m the following year, £860m in 2026/27, and £940m in 2027/28, according to HMRC projections. The current tax rates are 8.75% for basic rate taxpayers, 33.75% for higher rate taxpayers, and 39.35% for additional rate taxpayers. While dividend tax has traditionally been associated with higher earners, HMRC's own data hints at the growing role played by basic rate taxpayers. Around 2.15 million such individuals are expected to have taxable dividend income in 2024/25, with approximately 1.11 million owing tax, many for the first time. Rachael Griffin, tax and financial planning expert at Quilter, said the figures reveal a quiet but significant shift in who is being taxed on dividends. 'These figures show just how quietly but effectively the tax net is expanding. What was once a niche tax affecting a relatively small group of higher earners and business owners is now impacting millions of everyday investors, many of whom are basic rate taxpayers,' Griffin said. Read more: Trending tickers: Nvidia, Tesla, SoftBank, Bitmine and Ørsted 'More than 1.1 million basic rate individuals were expected to owe dividend tax in 2024/25. For many, this will have come as a surprise, especially if they hold only modest investments outside ISAs or pensions.' While HMRC has confirmed that many affected individuals may not need to register for self-assessment, with tax collected through PAYE or via simple assessment, it acknowledged that some will still need to file a return to settle their liabilities. However, the department said it is unable to quantify how many additional self-assessment returns have resulted from the policy change. Griffin warned that the tax system's growing complexity could deter new investors, particularly at a time when market participation is becoming increasingly important for long-term financial planning. "The government has made clear that it expects to raise hundreds of millions in additional revenue from these changes, and the figures show it is well on track to do so. But the cost isn't just financial, the complexity of compliance is growing, particularly for those unfamiliar with the tax system. This policy seems at odds with Labour's desire to get more people investing,' she said. 'As interest rates start to fall and the appeal of cash wanes, more people will look to investing as a way to grow their money. But the tax environment is becoming harder to navigate. Making full use of ISAs, pensions and other tax-efficient wrappers has never been more important, especially for those supplementing their income or planning to pass on wealth to the next generation." Read more: Could a crackdown on ultra-fast fashion damage the UK economy? What having children later in life means for your money Rachel Reeves is under pressure to balance the books. This chart shows the scale of UK debtError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
14-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Singapore, London Are Costliest Cities for Luxury Spending
Singapore is the most expensive city in the world for spending on luxury goods for the third year running, while London edged out Hong Kong to take the second spot. They were followed by Monaco and Zurich, while Shanghai — which topped the list in 2022 — dropped two spots to sixth, according to an annual report by Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group Ltd.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Switzerland sentences former Pictet employee for money laundering
ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss Attorney General's Office has handed a former wealth manager at Pictet Bank a six-month suspended prison sentence and fined the private bank for money laundering, the government said on Tuesday. Pictet was sentenced to pay 2 million Swiss francs ($2.46 million) for failing to take all reasonable and necessary measures to prevent transfers from the account of a Brazilian public official aimed at concealing their criminal origin. "We confirm that this matter, which involves several financial institutions, has been resolved for Pictet," Pictet said in a statement. "It represents neither an admission of guilt nor an acceptance of liability on the part of Pictet and is not related to its asset management, asset servicing or alternative assets entities," the private bank added. The payments were made between June 2010 and May 2013 from an account held in the name of an offshore firm whose beneficial owner was an employee of Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras, the Swiss government said in a statement. The former Pictet manager approved transfers to accounts in Switzerland and abroad totaling more than $4.1 million, the Swiss government said. ($1 = 0.8126 Swiss francs) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
