Finimize - 🌵 London’s drought

Hi Reader, here's what you need to know for April 5th in 3:08 minutes.

💰 Cash has a place in everybody’s heart – but the question on investors’ lips is whether you should leave that money in the bank for now or pour it into markets. Join Raisin’s Kevin Mountford for Should You Save Your Cash Or Invest? next Thursday, and find out whether cash is still king. Get your free ticket

Today's big stories

L’Oréal’s rejuvenating itself with a fancy new purchase – luxury skincare brand Aesop
Here’s why investors are ditching ESG-focused funds – Read Now
London’s listings market has been struck by a drought

Skin In The Game

What’s Going On Here?

Cosmetics colossus L’Oréal announced this week that it’s buying Aesop, the luxury skincare brand.

What Does This Mean?

L'Oréal used its tried-and-tested acquisition strategy when it snapped up CeraVe, a budget skincare company, back in 2017: nab a smaller brand, give it a makeover and an international rollout, and – ahem – rinse and repeat. But Aesop's cult global following and $500 million plus in annual sales seems to have prompted a strategy reconditioning by L'Oréal. After all, the firm really dug deep for this one: it took months of negotiations before L'Oréal outshone competitors with a deal valuing Aesop at $2.5 billion. That cash injection could save the skin of the high-end brand’s former owner, Natura, too – helping the company trim its debt and focus on the other businesses it owns.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: Aesop’s fabled riches.
It’s no wonder that L'Oréal had Aesop in its crosshairs. After Natura bought it in 2013, the brand shot past its other ventures – like Avon and Body Shop – at hair-raising speed to become the firm’s most profitable business. And just last year Aesop scored another touchdown, with a debut in China that overshot everyone’s expectations. That bodes pretty well for growth markets like India, Japan, and South Korea – and if anyone's got the smarts and the global distribution prowess needed to drive further expansion, it could be L'Oréal.

Zooming out: Slip me some skin.
Skincare’s a pretty glossy sector right now, with estimates valuing the industry at $150 billion back in 2021 and tipping it to almost double come 2031. And those towering figures make sense: after all, consumers are increasingly health-conscious these days, especially post-pandemic – and the aging West is likely to buy more anti-aging products as folks fight off wrinkles, eyebags, and crow’s feet en masse. Plus, with environmental consciousness on the rise too, Aesop’s eco-friendly elixirs of youth could be a very clever bet indeed.

You might also like: It could be time to buy China’s stocks again.

Copy to share story: https://go.finimize.com/wp/news/skin-in-the-game/

🙋 Ask a question

Analyst Take

Investors Are Ditching ESG-Focused Funds, But They Might Be Missing A Trick

By Russell Burns, Analyst

Investors once flung themselves into funds focused on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors.

They may have been swayed by the idea of making the world a better place, and they were almost definitely enchanted by the prospect of higher returns.

But they’re fleeing the scene now that regulators are clamping down on so-called “greenwashing” – and political division and underperforming funds won’t have helped either.

So I’ve dug into the details to work out whether ESG’s just an overpriced label, or exactly what the world and its portfolios have been crying out for.

That’s today’s Insight: why investors are ditching ESG-focused funds, and why you might want to think twice before you follow in their (carbon) footprints.

Read or listen to the Insight here

Your big day is finally here

Nope, not your wedding. Or your firstborn’s graduation. Not even the finale of your favorite show.

It’s (pause for a drum roll…) the end of the tax year. That means you only have a few hours left to maximize your ISA allowance so you can shelter a chunk of your returns from tax.

But even if you miss this chance, there’s no reason to throw in the tax-free savings towel: if you transfer your account to Bestinvest and invest by April 30th, you’ll get up to £1,000 cashback. T&C’s apply.

You can invest in shares, funds, investment trusts, and bonds with a Bestinvest stocks and shares ISA – and if you’re short on time, you can even pick a Ready-made portfolio.

So if you want to shelter your returns from tax and claim up to £1,000 cashback, you can explore Bestinvest’s ISAs today.

Find Out More

With investing, your capital may be at risk. Tax rules depend on individual circumstances and may change. ISA rules may also change. This is not advice to invest. Bestinvest is a trading name of Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.