Celestine Wolfson

LinkedIn Update: A new development from Global Banking And Finance Review highlights activist investor Elliott Investment Management urging London Stock Exchange Group to conduct a full portfolio review and consider a 5 billion pound buyback. The discussions come as Elliott reportedly took a stake in LSEG and advocates for strategies to unlock value, including potential moves around Tradeweb Markets stake and broader portfolio optimization. While engagement has been constructive, the message centers on enhancing communication about AI's role in the business and pursuing value creation for shareholders. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dFtsYqcd https://lnkd.in/d8rGRPEf https://lnkd.in/dFtsYqcd

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Tidying up the garden for autumn is the perfect time for a pension podcasts (whilst waiting for the footie).   My takeaways from listening to PGIM's Josh Cohen talk about US DC alternative asset trends:   1/ Investing in alternative, illiquid, productive assets (or whatever they are currently called) is just what pension schemes do when they get big.   2/ Price sensitivity, often called price compression in the UK, is the key factor in asset allocations. Pension schemes will only invest in alternative assets that fit their pricing model.   3/ It's not just us Brits that love Australian supers. The Americans love them too as an inspiration for their workplace retirement system.   4/ Americans seem to like suing pension sponsors and trustees if they think they've messed up their investment strategy. Something I think would be hard in the UK.

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In the first of our Meet The Press series of interviews, Brickfield Recruitment sits down with Alice Murray, founder of THE LINE_ and one of the most respected editorial voices in Fund Finance market. Alice reflects on 15 years covering the evolution of #FundFinance, from the earliest debates around subscription lines and IRR optics, to the cutting-edge questions of #NAV leverage, bank capital treatment, and the future of data transparency in a trillion-dollar market. She shares insights on: The growing role of synthetic risk transfer and non-bank capital Why NAV facilities don’t overleverage as often as assumed The urgent need for better data and reporting in fund finance What's coming next: transparency, compliance, and credibility. This is a rare, thoughtful view from someone who’s helped shape the fund finance conversation for more than a decade. Our thanks to Alice for taking the time to talk to us!

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When markets become more volatile, questions around liquidity tend to surface quickly, particularly for securitised assets such as CLOs. Our Head of EMEA ETF Capital Markets, Andy Baker, joined ETF Stream and the Head of ETF Trading at RBC Capital Markets for a discussion on why CLO ETFs are often labelled as less liquid, and why that perception can miss how ETF liquidity works in practice. Watch the five minute discussion here: https://lnkd.in/e_f6H5vk #BrighterFutureTogether #CLOs #CapitalAtRisk #ForProfessionalsOnly #MarketingCommunication

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PIMCO’s Mike Cudzil and John Briggs of Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking spoke to me about the bond market’s view of tariff-related inflation following June data this week. It’s moderate so far, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. https://lnkd.in/eZrfkwxD

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Barclays has tapped former McKinsey & Company partner Sid Azad to run its mass affluent business as the UK bank continues its wealth push. https://lnkd.in/eXy2na7V

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Last night I went to an event ran by the team at Coform at LaunchDarkly's London office, focused on career pathways in the Solutions Engineering space - IC, manager, or even if it's for you. The discussion was pretty interesting to me, being a bit newer in this space. Key takeaways I found: - Stay curious. Not only this, but choosing what to build in a smarter way will set you apart. - Understanding your end user's end user. Becoming a trusted advisor is a lot easier if you understand the ultimate end goal of what you're building for - Discipline is still underrated. We know AI can do a huge amount of work, so doing what you said you would do (prepping, follow up, etc.) is still an edge, at least for a few more months..... Separately, it was awesome going into a room and seeing so many of the logos we've worked with at Kernel 🚀 Cheers to Edward Kandel and team for hosting, nice one. (feat. one of my favourite views in London walking over London Bridge)

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Pleasure to announce FE fundinfo's second acquisition of the quarter with the acquisition of Finscape, a leading provider of fund-flow intelligence to asset managers, from Equisoft. This acquisition marks an important milestone for the business as we strengthen the inter-connectivity between our distribution network and asset management clients, providing granular insights into UK retail fund flows. Thank you to all parties involved in supporting us on this transaction. Bella Caridade-Ferreira & Guy Edsall welcome to the FE fundinfo family.

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Following Ocorian’s recent roundtable at the House of Lords, my colleagues Colm O’Brien and Anatoly Sorin, CFA reflect on the key themes shaping private credit today. They share insights on regional growth across Europe, the challenge of navigating fragmented markets, regulatory uncertainty and the emerging role of AI. Despite the complexity, the outlook is positive. Take a look 👇 #PrivateCredit #CapitalMarkets #AssetManagement

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BNP Paribas worked with the Oxford Economics Industry Consulting team to assess the scale of investment required to deliver the #UK Government’s Industrial Strategy and National Infrastructure Pipeline. Credit to my colleagues, Andy Logan, Emily Gladstone, Sofia De Martin and Olivia Murphy who collaborated with BNP Paribas on this important and insightful report, which can be accessed by clicking here ➡️  https://lnkd.in/eBUis8Db #UKindustry #manufacturing #growthsectors #UKeconomy

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BlackRock’s Head of UK Wealth, Nick Hutton, sat down with our Vice Chairman, Robert Fairbairn, for an intimate conversation on how to build investor culture in the UK. From the rise of self-directed investors to the role of ETFs, advice innovation and long-term opportunities, they explore why this moment could be a true inflection point for UK savers.

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Over the last few months I've noticed a pattern that has become hard to ignore. While public markets remain popular and short-term sentiment driven, private capital is quietly re-asserting itself, especially here in the UK. UK private capital investment reached circa £29bn last year, with capital increasingly flowing into profitable, capital-efficient businesses rather than speculative growth. Venture funding also rebounded in 2025, led by later-stage rounds and founders who can demonstrate real unit economics and not just 'vision'. At the same time, many business owners I speak to are thinking less about “raising” and more about who they raise from. Conversations around strategic alignment, patient capital, and investors who understand long-term value creation are becoming more relevant than ever before. For investors, the conversation has noticed a shift as well. The question is no longer whether private markets deserve a place in a portfolio, but how selective you need to be in an environment where capital is available, but discipline matters. This is where structured, tax-efficient private investing (done properly) becomes genuinely interesting again. I’m spending a lot of time in conversations at this intersection: founders building real businesses, and investors looking beyond headlines toward long-term outcomes. Always interested to hear what others are seeing, particularly those allocating or building in private markets right now.

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Global power demand is rising. In this week’s #MarketTake, Hugo Liebaert, in the BlackRock Investment Institute’s Sustainable Research and Analytics team, shares the implications for energy policy and markets 👉 https://1blk.co/3HmHwYR #marketingmaterial Capital at risk

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🇺🇸🇬🇧 The US-UK Tech Prosperity Deal is here! The newly announced partnership has secured billions in private investment commitments, marking one of the most significant transatlantic tech collaborations in history. 💡 What's included: • Major commitments from Google, NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Microsoft • Joint development in AI, quantum computing, and civil nuclear energy • AI-powered healthcare solutions and precision medicine • New AI Growth Zones across the UK This deal signals a strategic shift toward allied nations pooling resources to maintain technological leadership in the AI era. https://lnkd.in/ey2NfF8e

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Great to have been at such an engaging panel last week put on by the Hedge Fund Association and Nasdaq. Hearing from people right at the heart of manager selection and due diligence reshaped a number of my assumptions around process and priorities! Two things really stood out: 1️⃣ Manager selection is mostly about people, not just numbers. The panel agreed that around 80-90% of the process is qualitative, focused on culture and character rather than purely on performance stats or risk limits (though those still matter). 2️⃣ Past setbacks can be a strength! A manager who’s been through tough losses might actually be more appealing than one who’s had nothing but smooth sailing. Why? It shows that they can remain level-headed during tough performance spells to bounce back (definitely something you want if allocating capital!) This approach naturally shapes ODD processes which are designed to capture the personality and culture of a firm. A lot of time is spent interviewing C-suite members of the firm as well as speaking with their service providers and ex-employees. As the saying goes: trust, but verify

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Sharing the latest IQ Reports from the team at CAMRADATA. This edition highlights the top-performing funds by skill across more than 40 asset classes, focusing on consistent decision-making rather than short-term returns. Available exclusively on CAMRADATA Live - https://lnkd.in/eDDukhP9

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As #quantum computing moves into real-world experimentation in financial services, firms are actively testing its impact on trading, risk, and market insights. Great to see the CFA UK community team up with State Street, IBM, and HSBC experts to share early lessons on how Quantum can reshape markets over the next decade.

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Stuart Kaiser, head of equity trading strategy at Citi, runs down what he sees as the top market risks for investors to be aware of over the summer. https://lnkd.in/gJQQ7Tqm

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I spent the early part of this week meeting a number of senior leaders in the hedge fund risk space in London. It’s fascinating to see how some funds operate with extremely lean risk teams, sometimes just a handful of people, yet manage billions of AUM effectively. The emphasis on quality over quantity, combined with strong individual expertise, creates an environment where innovation and disciplined risk-taking thrive. It’s a reminder that bigger isn’t always better. With centralised risk systems costing millions a year, it’s clear why these funds’ infrastructure can justify their price tag.

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