WisdomTree

Best Blogs of the Week #214

Posted by Anu Heda on Jan 11, 2016, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , ,

Welcome to 2016. We saw decent activity over the holidays with some very well-written year in review and 2016 forecasts throughout the asset management industry.

BlackRock – What I Got Right (and Wrong) in 2015 – I didn’t consider that investors would have to pay Germany for the privilege of loaning it money for five years.

JPMorgan – 5 Realistic Surprise Predictions for 2016 – Brazilian local debt returns 40+%

WisdomTree – Major Central Banks Policy Implications for 2016 – … in assessing China’s growth potential, many focus on old economy indicators and miss out on newer economy signals.

Two other posts were excellent in supporting intermediary and institutional investors.

BlackRock – A Strategy for Managing Volatile Markets –  … we like it or not, emotions tend to drive many investment decisions and this often causes investors to buy high and sell low, which is the very opposite that we need to be doing.

Russell – Exploring the risks and challenges of generating yield – When evaluating strategies, it’s essential to consider where yield is coming from and ensure that potential risks are managed appropriately.

2015 – A Year for the Content Juggernauts

Posted by Anu Heda on Dec 31, 2015, in Thoughts , tagged with , ,

In 2015 we saw many firms accelerate their content production. Firms like BlackRock, JPMorgan, SSgA, even WisdomTree, produced more thought leadership more frequently than in previous years. So do all firms need to produce volume like the aforementioned? No but there is some baseline of “enough” required to ensure relevancy. I’d set that bar at 10 unique pieces (inclusive of whitepapers, market commentaries, blogs, etc.) per month for a credible US retail-oriented asset manager. (Contact us and I can tell you why 10).

After reaching that level, an intriguing question to consider: what do we want our content convey? I believe high-quality content conveys a firm’s investment process and philosophy contextually relative to current global market events, in a tone and style resonant with the primary target audience. Firms focused on RIAs will want their content to convey something very different than firms primarily different channels. The first step towards designing conveyance is to understand current state. Ask does today’s content convey our process and philosophy via a unified tone and do we believe that resonates with our primary target?

Best Blogs of the Week #212

Posted by Anu Heda on Dec 21, 2015, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with , , , ,

The investment management news is full of reactions to the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s FOMC rate increase. Below are five high-quality views and my opinion on why to read each.

BlackRock – Why the Fed’s Rate Increase is Good (Not Bad) News – Read because you’re seeking to understand how this rate and situation is different than previous ones.

Invesco – Fed hikes 25 basis points, signals gradual path – Read because you need succinct next steps for you and your clients’ portfolios.

Wells Fargo – How today’s Fed rate hike affects investors – Read because you’re most interested in a macroeconomic viewpoint.

WisdomTree – What happens When Interest Rates Rise? – Read because you want, no you need, the data

Vanguard – Don’t let rising rates get you down – Read because you’re an index investor that gets all the news on rising rates from Bloomberg, WSJ, NYTimes and want input on rates and bond portfolios

Best Blogs of the Week #206

Posted by Anu Heda on Oct 19, 2015, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with ,

Two posts this week covering broad views across asset classes and then one tactical view on readying for the inevitable.

Russell – CIO3: Market Perspectives

Cash, Commodities and Global Infrastructure are the largest outliers and all three are now beyond their typical historical range.

WisdomTree – Positioning Bond Portfolios for Future Rate Hikes

Investors should consider hedging interest rate risk as opposed to simply moving it by moving into the shorter end of the yield curve.

 

 

Best Blogs of the Week #202

Posted by Anu Heda on Sep 07, 2015, in Best Blogs of the Week , tagged with ,

Two posts this week without mention of volatility. The industry is awash in volatility-themed blog posts.

Is a Recession Coming? – BlackRock

“While I haven’t been overly bullish on U.S. growth, I believe this fear is overblown.”

Are You Forgetting Small Caps for Global Income? – WisdomTree

“Many investors wrongly assume that small-cap companies can’t afford to pay dividends because their main focus is on growth and they need to reinvest their earnings to support that growth.”