SSGA

Best Blogs of the Week #259

Posted by Anu Heda on Jan 30, 2017, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with ,

It’s been a memorable first week into the new US administration and the industry’s bloggers kept up, to a degree. This week we highlight a clear take on the administration’s rhetoric as well as multi-factor investing (smart beta).

Mainstay – Is the Tide Turning on the Dollar? – In President Trump’s inaugural address, he stated that “protection will lead to great prosperity.” The U.S. dollar, subsequently, fell.

SSgA – 3 Charts on Recent Smart Beta Trends – We continue to believe that value stocks will be the best performing factor over the subsequent year driven by their attractive valuation relative to history.

Memorable Performance Data - 2016

 

Best Blogs of the Week #257

Posted by Anu Heda on Jan 17, 2017, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with

Though many blog posts this week opined on the President-Elect’s first 100 days, this post from SSgA is more original and straightforward than other firm’s posts on the topic.

SSgA – The First 100 Days: Will Trump’s Campaign Promises Translate into Policy? – Trump’s early days will allow investors to gain insight into how the Republican Party will govern and to glean details of policy platforms on which Trump campaigned but never provided specifics.

 

100

(via SSgA)

Best Blogs of the Week #255

Posted by Anu Heda on Jan 03, 2017, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , , ,

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 Century – Trump 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.

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

Columbia Threadneedle – 3 emerging market charts you need to see – Emerging markets forecasted to outpace developed markets

Rule of Three: Idea #1

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

SSgA – The 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

Posted by Anu Heda on Dec 27, 2016, in Best Blogs of the Week, Thoughts , tagged with , ,

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 #249

Posted by Anu Heda on Nov 07, 2016, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , ,

Power. A President’s power on the global markets. As we’re one day from selecting (please let there not be a tie) the 45th POTUS, it’s a topic that is on many American minds. The Loomis Sayles post shares market impacts directly tied to Presidential power.

BlackRock – Are International Markets Back? – Very slowly, almost stealthily, international equity markets are clawing back relative to the United States. On a dollar-adjusted basis Japanese stock returns are now on par with the United States, with both the S&P 500 and the Nikkei 225 up around 4.5% year-to-date.

President and price to earnings since 1954

Loomis Sayles – Presidential Power: Are We At Risk for a Trade War? – The president has enormous powers to tear up trade agreements and, in many cases, to impose tariff penalties to advance US interests as interpreted by the president.

SSgA – It’s About Time: Using ‘Satisficing’ to Help Clients Make Better, More Efficient Decisions – For all investors, “satisficing” can be the foundation of a more structured process around investment decisions. Satisficing—which combines satisfying and sufficing, and was coined by behavioral economist Herbert Simon—is a way to manage uncertainties in the decision-making process, to stay focused on goals and to avoid being overwhelmed by unlimited information.