Friday Briefing: The week of wealth and asset managers' profits

Annual and half-year results

Last year was anything but uneventful. We started with the UK economy officially entering a technical recession following two consecutive quarters of no growth, and talks of a ‘soft landing’ for the US economy were very much alive and kicking.

Markets were being dominated by US tech companies, something that is still pretty much the case more than a year on, with the Magnificent Seven comprising as much as 60% of the S&P 500 returns last year, and making up more than a third of the index in market cap terms. 2024 also saw the first rate cuts after years of monetary tightening, with the European Central Bank opening the dances in June 2024, while the Federal Reserve and Bank of England followed suit a few months later. Rathbones profits surge 73% while outflows rise following IW&I integration This week we have had a flurr...