Gosling Grouse: Back to the 1980s

GOSLING'S GROUSE

With L&G taking full control of Cofunds, and Cazenove Capital to join forces with Schroders, the industry consolidation continues. Anyone feel we are going back to the 1980s in some way?

Back then we had the ludicrous overpriced acquisition by life companies of estate agency as the great distribution scramble started. Ironically, 30 years later, some of those same estate agencies look likely to float on the stock market, having been through three decades of change – some of it not altogether good. Cofunds and Cazenove are a different proposition to the buying and selling of estate agencies, but the deals serve as a reminder that retail financial services is fundamentally about manufacturing and distribution. Cazenove and Schroders together makes good sense. Largely co...