Best Blogs of the Week

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on Nov 07, 2011, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , ,

In a week where some political pundits are predicting a Greek revolt, I thought we’d see more blogs tackle this issue and the potential impact on US equity markets.  Instead, we have a single Halloween reference and retirement talking points.

  1. US Funds – This post provides some a quality economic comparison between China and the US.  It provides both reasons to think of China as a compelling long-term place for investments and reasons to be cautious.
  2. Russell – This post provides three excellent talking points for an advisor selling retirement plans.
  3. AllianceBernstein – This post provides two clear ways to try to reap excess returns with less volatility typical in emerging markets.

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 31, 2011, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , ,

This week’s best feature a few definitions. I’m torn on this.  Is it helpful or condescending (leave a comment) to define a twenty-five cent word?

American Century – The post provides six reasons why the businesses are bouncing back from recession faster than consumer. (Defining word: dichotomy)

Russell – This post shares an interesting impact of mentally shifting the quarter-end and seeing the impact on quarterly returns influenced by market volatility (Defining word: volatility).

Wells Fargo Advantage Fund – This post is a bit of  a bruiser (long, dense).  If you stay with it, the author has a few standout points about how and why the Fed is not seeing the Treasury market behave as expected.

 

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 24, 2011, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with ,

A dearth of FA impact this week, as we share two posts that cover super-committee and TIPS.  Additionally, we have our first-ever best video.

  • BlackRock – This video includes a few talking points about how the super-committee can impact investing.  As the news outlets ramp up coverage, more advisors will get questions and so this two minute video is valuable.
  • BlackRock – The author does an excellent job describing the differences in owning TIPS and TIPS ETFs.  It’s common sense but a helpful and worthwhile review as clients’ minds turn to year-end tax planning.

 

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 19, 2011, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , ,

This week’s posts include a newcomer, AllianceBernstein, as well nicely crafted post written mostly in bullets.

  • Wells Fargo – This post presents an interesting view on investing in China. Specifically, the author contrasts the banking sector versus consumer sector.
  • AllianceBernstein – This post covers covers common ground: dollar-cost averaging or not.  It provides a nice idea of what cost an investor may expect with dollar-cost averaging in the event a rapid bull market.
  • American Century – A succinct bullet-based post that provides some opinions from American Century on big market issues such as inflation and interest rates.

 

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 11, 2011, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , ,

Apologies for the one-day delay. The tremendous weekend weather (in New York) took precedence over this blog.  Though we’re not tracking precisely, the volume of industry blogs is increasing.  More firms are blogging and the firms with established blogs are increasing frequency. Both are encouraging.  This week’s best include three different topics – all highly relevant for advisors fielding calls.

  1. BlackRock – This post shares a few fresh perspectives on gold.  From previous research engagements, I know advisors sometimes get “benchmarked” against gold.  While totally unfair, you can hear an investor saying “why don’t I just invest in gold?”
  2. Russell – This post provides a succinct job of heading off conversations that compare the US economy with Japan’s economy and aging population.
  3. Vanguard – This post provides a succinct job of comparing current economic situations in the US and China.