Simon Cook Journalist Profile

Articles

The New York Times finally comes clean about Covid

1 month ago | thespectator.com | Bethany Mandel |Ben Domenech |Matt Ridley |Simon Cook

In June 2021, Jon Stewart appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and ridiculed people that dismissed the possibility of a lab leak origin for Covid. He quipped: “Oh my God! There’s been an outbreak of chocolatey goodness near Hershey, Pennsylvania. What do you think happened?
Inside Sarasin’s fight to remain competitive

1 month ago | citywire.com | Simon Cook |Chris Sloley |Dylan Lobo |Sophie Downes

Sarasin & Partners has gone through a notable 12 months of change. It is almost a year since the London-based investment boutique made sizable changes to its senior management roles. However, Sam Jeffries, who was named head of asset management in April 2024, believes it’s more stable than the reporting would suggest. Speaking to Citywire via video call, Jeffries said Sarasin began to evaluate its asset management capabilities about two years ago. Already have an account?
Henderson Opps to wind down after seeing off activist Saba

1 month ago | citywire.com | Simon Cook |Michelle McGagh |Himanshu Singh |Jennifer Hill

Shareholders have voted almost unanimously to wind down Henderson Opportunities (HOT) just weeks after rejecting activist investor Saba Capital’s bid to take control of the board. A total of 99.6% of votes were cast in favour of a ‘scheme of reconstruction’ that will see the £90m UK equity trust shuttered. Turnout was low, however, with just 19.4% of the share capital voting.
Henderson Opps heads for wind down after seeing off activist Saba

1 month ago | citywire.com | Simon Cook |Michelle McGagh |Himanshu Singh |Jennifer Hill

Shareholders have voted almost unanimously to wind down Henderson Opportunities (HOT) just weeks after rejecting activist investor Saba Capital’s bid to take control of the board. A total of 99.6% of votes were cast in favour of a ‘scheme of reconstruction’ that will see the £90m UK equity trust shuttered. Turnout was low, however, with just 19.4% of the share capital voting.
Schroders poaches from BlackRock for head of private assets solutions

1 month ago | citywire.com | Simon Cook |John Schaffer |Dylan Lobo |Sophie Downes

Schroders’ private markets arm has appointed Vikram Bhandari to the newly-created role of head and chief investment officer (CIO) of Schroders Capital Solutions. Bhandari joins after seven years at BlackRock where he was senior portfolio manager for its multi-alternatives private markets solutions business. The role saw him design and manage products for institutional investors, and those in the wealth space.
Exclusive: Polar Capital reinforces EM team after high profile exit

1 month ago | citywire.com | Simon Cook |Olivia Bybel |Joseph Eden |Ian Heath

Investment boutique Polar Capital has strengthened its Emerging Markets and Asia team with the appointment of Palvir Bahia, Citywire Selector can confirm. The new hire follows the departure of Naomi Waistell, who joined Carmignac at the start of the year. This exit saw Polar’s Emerging Market Stars fund, which has £2.5bn (€3.02bn) in assets, downgraded from silver to bronze by Morningstar.
Simon Evan-Cook: Time to come out of the turnover closet

1 month ago | citywire.com | Julian Bovill |Simon Cook |Himanshu Singh |Jack Gilbert

Peer pressure causes odd behaviour from fund managers, but one of its more bizarre symptoms is that it’s rendered many of them inactive. Given they’re called ‘active’ managers, this is ironic. That sounds like a dig - it isn’t. In this context, the word ‘active’ means being different to the benchmark, and it is this, not frenetic trading, that I expect from my chosen funds.