Blog

Best Blogs of the Week #256

Perhaps because I’ve read so many 2017 prediction posts, they’ve all started to blur. What stood out this week was an exceptionally cogent post on an even more frequently tread topic: a Millennial. Nothing posted is original (the author asserts that immediately) yet I rarely find all these points in a single place. Too often the news is filled with a single point. The Millennial investor is scared. Millennials are worriers. An advisor gets the primary points with explanation in a single blog post via Wells Fargo.

Wells FargoMillennials: A financial mindset shaped by recession – Incomes have never grown. Wages have always been stagnant.

Millennial - Wells Fargo

 

Best Blogs of the Week #255

Three, as in the rule of three. As you may expect, the week between Christmas and New Year’s (plus an extra day) means a significant amount of prognostication. Everyone got the memo: say it in threes! Here are the posts I thought were most influential.

American CenturyTrump Policies and Current Market Trends – The housing industry potentially sees headwinds from higher mortgage rates, with the existing trend of rising rates reinforced. Tighter labor markets may also have an impact on cost. The auto industry may also see an impact from rising rates as well as sub-optimal supply chains. In addition, export-oriented companies may see an offset from the impact of a stronger dollar.

BlackRockWhy stock market tranquility is unlikely to last – Political Risk is elevated but not reflected.

Columbia Threadneedle3 emerging market charts you need to see – Emerging markets forecasted to outpace developed markets

Rule of Three: Idea #1

RussellThe Low-Return Imperative: Investing uncomfortably – The low return environment is real and it presents investors and their advisors with critical decisions.

SSgAThe Hunt for Yield in 2017: 3 Potential Investment Ideas  – The appearance of high dividends is not necessarily indicative of actual delivery of yield or dividend yield growth.

 

 

Industry Viewpoints: Creating an Effective Blog

Last month I was fortunate to present thoughts and ideas on industry blogs to 20+ marketers at a break-out session of PAICR‘s annual meeting. Obviously, writing the “Best Blogs of the Week” column for five years informed my point of view. And so much has changed in these five years. Two quick examples of change; first, when I started there were 6 asset managers with blogs; now there are over 40. Second, five years ago most blog posts were authored by “admin” with no graphs, charts, or tables; now that would be unconscionable.

The hour-long session was interactive and engaging. I appreciated the high volume of questions and even some attendees offering answers. Here are three notable takeaways, from the attendees. 

  1. “Blogs are not serious.” – This is a message one CEO said to his marketing team (yes, in 2016). Some firms will need generational change at the top echelons of management for this attitude to change. Apparently showcasing BlackRock, Vanguard, and SSgA as firms maintaining vigorous blogs isn’t sufficient anecdotal evidence.
  2. “Our blog is our content engine.” – This came from a firm with a high-volume blog in reference to their content syndication program. The Marketer made reference to the blog as central to all social and e-mail campaign efforts.
  3. “Three years in; we still don’t feel efficient [in creating posts].” – This message had over half the room nodding heads. Some firms leverage outsourced writers while others have in-house staff partnered with investment professionals. In both cases (and situations in-between) there’s a sense that too much time and effort goes into each post.

So while the industry has grown to use blogs in unbelievable (to five years ago) ways, I believe we’ll see more firms introduce blogs and currently blogging firms try to become more efficient.

 

 

Best Blogs of the Week #254

The industry blog flow continues to be brisk as we come towards the end of 2016. Two posts of interest in this week’s review. The first is the best of many posts related to increase of the Fed Funds Rate. The post includes a straightforward analysis showing the impact of (potentially) lower corporate taxes on US public companies’ earnings growth.

BlackRock – The Fed makes its move – At this stage, very low interest rates (especially negative rates) and flat yield curves for long periods of time do little to support growth in the real economy.

WisdomTreeImpact of Potential Tax Reform: Size and Sector Analysis – Small caps—being taxed more predominantly in the U.S. at higher rates than large caps with global earnings—should see a relatively higher increase in earnings from a reduction in U.S. corporate taxes.

Fed Taxes WisdomTree

via WisdomTree

 

Best Blogs of the Week #253

Posts related to DOL rule changes are starting to appear regularly. I thought to highlight the best post on the topic to-date, via Russell Investments.

Russell The DOL Rule: Tension at the heart of the fiduciary standard – And if fiduciaries focus on following prescriptive rules, then their decisions can only be as good as the rules themselves, rules that are reactive in nature, constantly trailing changing circumstances, and potentially even acting as a barrier to the evolution of best practices.

DOL via Russell