Steven Fine

We're proud to announce a key milestone in the first close of our Digital Infrastructure Fund and associated co-investments, with total commitments at first close of c.€600m, including a cornerstone investment from L&G*. Infrastructure, across both debt and equity, is a key tenet of our expanding Private Markets platform and a global investment opportunity. As early investors in digital infrastructure, we've built strategic partnerships and deployed capital into assets that are essential to economic resilience and long-term productivity. https://lnkd.in/g643H8JT For professional clients and qualified investors only. Capital at risk. *Source: L&G internal data as at 8th Sept 2025.

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It's not difficult to fix the UK... The chart below show the ONS's latest data on the total UK net worth, at the end of June, over £13 trillion. Private and Public. After liabilities. Bloody strong! In comparison annual GDP is £2.8 trillion. Public sector debt, as we know a similar amount. Most of this net worth is in the private sector, which is very robust and under-levered. All the Government and UK Institutions (regulators, managers, unions, courts, inquiries etc..) need to do is get a bit out of the way and let the private sector do its thing, and exploit it's entrepreneurialism, very strong balance sheet and cash reserves to deliver. And getting out the way means Government spending as a % of GDP to fall, tax reforms to be focused on incentivising the private sector to grow and the public sector to be more productive, and any UK institution (public and private) that regulates, or taxes, or legislates, or supervises to be incentivised to reduce the friction of what they do by 25% (i.e. surgeons in the NHS to have 25% less paperwork). Vamos! It's not rocket science.

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In my recent piece for The Telegraph, I explored the shifting narrative for UK Plc from vulnerability to opportunism. For months, the rhetoric has been that UK equities are undervalued, trading at persistent discounts to net asset value, vulnerable to overseas takeovers or looking for greener pastures overseas. These concerns haven't vanished overnight, but it feels like the script is changing. You only have to look at recent transactions in the market to see this. In a short run, we've had the Assura plc–Primary Health Properties PLC (PHP) and Unite Students-Empiric Student Property plc agreed mergers. Not to mention Coats' acquisition of US-based insole maker Ortholite, and Hammerson's purchase of the remaining stake in the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham. These are all shining examples of strategic M&A deals, backed by long-term, supportive shareholders - and crucially, they keep capital in the UK. Add in £60bn of buybacks and a surge of US investment into UK equities, and it feels like the momentum is slowly building. So, it begs the question: where are our pension funds? Their huge underweighting to UK equities remains a structural flaw, and while the Mansion House Accord is a step forward, we can't underestimate the role of domestic institutional capital in maintaining - and building - this momentum. And we should also rethink ISAs. Currently, we're using taxpayers’ money to subsidise the interest earned on cash saved in ISAs, and yet they consistently deliver poorer returns relative to the market. For cash ISA’s why not redirect the same tax break to ease the burden of mortgage interest payments? It would support the housing market and benefit both the current and future generations. While the issues in the UK market are by no means resolved, after a long period of drift, it feels like our listed companies are starting to get their mojo back. The tide hasn't fully turned, but the current is shifting. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/drhsPFug #London #UKEquities #CapitalMarkets #Investment

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Intelliflo has been acquired by Carlyle group, a PE firm that also owns UK wealth management firm, Argentis Group. Congratulations to Nick Eatock and the team. Excited to see what this new round of investment will bring. intelliflo is pretty dominant in the UK wealth market. My colleague Chanelle Paynter (Née. Pattinson) is working on our next Adviser Reviews report. An early peak at results suggests: 💥 Inteliflo continues to dominate the back office market in the UK with over 40% market share. 👎 Reviews for the back office system are down year on year on most metrics. Most interesting for me: reviews for 'integration with other tech' are down despite efforts to integrate with SS&C's Hubwise platform (Wealthlink). 📊 Efforts to break into cash flow modelling have been difficult. Market share remains down around 10%. With a strong market share, little competition from back office providers and ambitious plans around AI (integrated meeting notes/ suitability reports) and better data analytics, Intelliflo has an opportunity to make a really positive impact on UK advice firms.

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Active management was never meant to be easy. We can’t all outperform and behavioural traps lie around every corner. Tactical asset allocation, in particular, is often set up to fail, with a small number of big decisions, made infrequently by a committee of senior people with limited individual accountability. I wrote a short piece on how - and how not - to design a top down investment process. Credits to C. Northcote Parkinson and Daniel Kahneman. Who votes we break for lunch? https://lnkd.in/eRMRq-PU

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“An IPO could value Shawbrook at as much as 2 billion pounds ($2.69 billion” “The bank's private equity owners had previously explored a number of deals with rival lenders over the past two years, including Metro Bank and Co-op Bank” Good news for London, but the truth is that many UK companies are still choosing to list on foreign exchanges to achieve higher valuations. https://lnkd.in/epZFrS_H #Shawbrook #exitstrategy #IPO #exitlaunchpad

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I'm delighted to share this whitepaper which I recently wrote to examine the growing trend of direct investing by family offices, particularly through partnerships with independent sponsors. As family offices seek to bypass the fee drag and limited control of traditional private equity funds, direct investing is increasingly being seen as a compelling alternative. In this paper, I explore the mechanics of independent sponsor transactions, the pros and cons for family offices, some global trends, and key legal and governance considerations. Hopefully, by better understanding these dynamics, family offices will be able to make informed decisions to adjust their investment strategies and achieve their goals. Please share this post with anyone in your network who might benefit. Cheers! https://lnkd.in/g4z4nq48

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For UK Professional Investors only. Capital at risk. Happy to be featured in Financial News discussing the future of long-term asset funds (LTAFs) and their potential role in the UK wealth market. Many thanks to David Ricketts for the thoughtful write-up. At Aviva Investors, we’ve long believed in the value of LTAFs for corporate defined contribution schemes, but there’s growing interest in how these funds might support wealth clients too. We’re actively exploring how to tailor LTAFs to suit wealth managers, including the right balance between private and liquid markets, and thoughtful liquidity design. With the tools already in place, we’re well positioned to move quickly as demand becomes clearer. Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/45geen1 #LTAFs #AvivaInvestors

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News flash: David Fiszel’s Honeycomb is returning client cash David Fiszel, the ex-SAC/Point72 portfolio manager, is winding down much of his hedge fund Honeycomb Asset Management. In a letter to investors, Fiszel said he’s feeling cautious after the market’s recent highs and isn’t optimistic about near-term opportunities. Honeycomb currently manages around $550 million in regulatory AUM (including leverage). While performance this year has been modestly positive, that comes after two strong years of back-to-back 18% gains. The firm has taken a much more selective stance lately, with significantly lower gross and net exposure. Last month, Honeycomb liquidated most of its public equity portfolio and expects to return the bulk of investor capital by September. Fiszel has deep roots in the hedge fund world. He started at SAC Capital (now Point72) in 2000 as a TMT specialist, left in 2004 to launch Rhombus Capital, then returned to SAC in 2007. He eventually left again in 2015 to start Honeycomb. Going forward, the firm will continue managing client capital tied up in longer-duration private investments. Fiszel will remain personally invested alongside his LPs and plans to share select opportunities with investors as they come up. Source: Hema Parmar, Bloomberg

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