Pioneer

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on Sep 11, 2013, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , ,

This edition captures some excellent blog posts related to the bond market. All these posts are highly pertinent. This summer we spent time with dozens of FAs heard many advisors express concerns with fixed income and they are coming up with many different techniques to handle the concern. Below are four fixed income posts.

  • AllianceBernstein – Post related to searching for yield
  • MFS – Post providing direction on what to do related to bond portfolios
  • Pioneer – Post related to potential yield scenarios
  • Russell – Post relating bonds in contextual history

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on May 28, 2013, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , ,

This week saw a tremendous uptick in blog quality (I added a 4th). And the plurality of posts were around Japan and the US Equity markets. There’s both demand for the topics and asset managers are not short of opinions/ideas there as well.

  • BlackRock – Matt Tucker takes the time to explain how bond indexes work, relative to the recent Apple offering. Pretty helpful for any FA that uses bond ETFs.
  • Columbia – This post provides the clearest Japanese economy breakdown with considerations.
  • Pioneer – I appreciate this post mostly because the second point counters most current industry thought leadership. While most preach avoiding the hunt for yield through global (aka risky) markets, the author provides some clarity on when taking that risk may be valuable.
  • Russell – Simple premise here: developed nations need infrastructure. If you agree, then this post walks through investing into that long-term need.

 

 

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on May 20, 2013, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , ,

Best Blogs took a week off and returned with the three best from the previous two weeks. Higher stakes!

  • Oppenheimer – This post (written in bullets!) provides 3 potential reasons why emerging market returns haven’t outpaced (the broader world market).
  • Pioneer – This post informs advisors on reasons behind a gold decline.
  • Russell – This post dispels a conventional wisdom with helpful charts. Any adviser used to fielding some of these calls can use this as a quick reference.

Best Blogs of the Week

Posted by Anu Heda on Apr 08, 2013, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , ,

This week had a strong contingent of thought-provoking, investment blog posts. These were difficult to choose. The industry’s blog posts are much better today than 12 months ago.

  • Columbia – Duration is a critical topic for yield seekers. This post is helpful for an FA having that discussion.
  • Pioneer – This post does a nice job of starting the discussion on what’s’ next for Europe and how does that impact the American investor.
  • Vanguard – The ETF expense chart in this post is helpful.

Digital Fracture: Implications for the Web Site

Posted by Mike McLaughlin on Mar 21, 2013, in Thoughts , tagged with , , , , , , ,

In a post last week we introduced the concept of Digital Fracture, our term describing the proliferation of technology-driven marketing efforts that are increasingly specialized and disposable. Whereas the proprietary .com was once the overwhelming focus of digital efforts, firms now look at the Web, mobile, and social media as flexible platforms that require multiple, targeted presences.

Putnam provides a simple illustration of this trend. Digitally, Putnam not only has Putnam.com but distinct Web sites for thought leadership and advisor technology, numerous social media initiatives, and several distinct mobile applications.

For Putnam, digital means multiplying presences across multiplying platforms.

For Putnam, digital means multiplying presences across multiplying platforms.

This extension of traditional digital platforms into more targeted marketing is a shift that continues to gain acceptance.

What is driving this trend? Let’s start with the Web site. A central problem with firms’ Web sites is a lack of visibility, meaning that:

  • Not enough prospects and clients visit, and
  • Valuable content is often lost in the shuffle or hard for find for the people who do visit

So what can firms do? Three options stand out to us as particularly important:

  1. Broaden Content Distribution: many Web sites rely on their ability to attract an audience and promote content. Some accept material for free (M*, Advisor Perspectives), some are pay-to-play, and some require a PR and relationship-building effort to gain access. Purposefully moving beyond the proprietary site is an important opportunity.
    Via Google, third-party sites provide higher visibility to Janus's content than Janus.com

    Via Google, third-party sites provide higher visibility to Janus’s content than Janus.com

  2. Embrace Tactical Microsites: differentiated product stories typically do not function within the confines of a banner or online fund profile. As a result, we’re starting to see a renewed uptick in the tried-and-true microsite as a way to give timely visibility and depth to firms’ most compelling product/concept marketing. Two good examples: RidgeWorth on midcap equities, Pioneer on its strategic income fund.
  3. Improve Search: the vast majority of our clients remain dissatisfied with their sites’ search capabilities. Meanwhile, outside the industry there is continued innovation with tools like Facebook Graph Search and Google Knowledge Search. As these natural language and logical search tools continue to improve, there will be more reason than ever for firms to their own search offerings to make it easier for people to find what they want.

The common thread across these opportunities is that they go beyond “let’s just improve our content, functionality, and design” and reflect the diversity of leveraging the Web beyond the proprietary .com. This combination of breadth and focus is a reflection of Digital Fracture.

Next up: Digital Fracture for mobile and social.