Upcoming macroeconomic events – January/February 2019
Do you write or edit portfolio manager commentaries? Do you want to stay on top of the macroeconomic events that shape your day-to-day life as a financial services marketer?
If so, here are the big macro events that the ext. team is keeping an eye on over the coming weeks.
- Canada’s inflation rate for December will be announced on January 18. Inflation in Canada declined to 1.7% in November, from 2.4% in October. The decline was primarily the result of the fall in gasoline prices caused by lower oil prices. The Bank of Canada (“BoC”) expects the impact on inflation from lower oil prices to linger for most of 2019
- The European Central Bank (“ECB”) will announce its interest rate decision on January 24. The ECB concluded its asset purchase program at the end of 2018, thus removing some stimulus from the European economy. The ECB felt that strong consumer spending and rising inflation could withstand the negative effects from tightening conditions. The ECB expects to hold its benchmark refinancing rate steady until at least the fall of 2019
- The United States’ fourth quarter advanced gross domestic product (“GDP”) growth rate will be announced on January 30. U.S. GDP grew 3.4% (annualized) in the third quarter, down from 4.2% in the second quarter. This advanced figure will give an indication as to the performance of the U.S. economy, which faced a number of headwinds including trade tensions with China and higher interest rates
- Also on January 30, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board (“Fed”) will announce its interest rate decision. At its final meeting of 2018 held in December, the Fed raised its federal funds target range to 2.25% to 2.50%. However, the committee lowered its forecast on the number of rate increases expected in 2019. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at this meeting, but investors will no doubt scrutinize the meeting notes to try to anticipate the timing of the next interest rate increase
- The Bank of England’s (“BoE”) interest rate decision will be announced on February 7. The BoE maintained its Bank Rate at 0.75% at its last meeting in December. While the BoE is looking to gradually increase its interest rate, uncertainty around a Brexit deal weighs heavily on its decision. Additionally, inflation has pulled back in recent months and may drop further given the significant decline in oil prices
- Canada’s unemployment rate for January will be announced on February 8. The labour market ended the year strong as jobs were added in both November and December, with the unemployment rate falling to 5.6%
For investment commentary support (including monthly and quarterly commentaries, as well as MRFPs), contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Monday morning briefing – January 7, 2019
Hedge funds looking to expand their offering to attract investors. Is private equity about to be revolutionized? The top digital trends of 2019. How to help high-net-worth families invest with a conscience. And much more in this week’s briefing.
Economic/industry news
International Economic Data Snapshot – includes aggregated data of the worldwide economy: Snapshot: International economic data
The U.S. unemployment rate rises to 3.9% in December: Job growth surges by 312,000 in December
Canada’s unemployment rate steady at 5.6% in December: ‘Less than meets the eye’: Canada adds 9,300 jobs amid weak wages
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board will listen to the markets and act accordingly: The Fed has an important history lesson for panicked markets
A look at alternative investments: What exactly are alternative investments?
ESG ETF assets growing: Assets in ESG ETFs up 34% in ‘18
Market volatility could help active managers: Active fund managers say their time has come
Wealthsimple launches Wealthsimple Advisor Services Inc.: Wealthsimple introduces mutual fund dealer
ETFs attracted $20.1 billion in new assets in 2018: ETFs outsell mutual funds in 2018
Could ETFs be its own asset class?: ‘ETFs as asset class’ is among the top 2019 trends in markets
On the pulse – New frontiers in fintech
Here are the top technology trends for wealth management, according to Capgemini: Tech trends in wealth management to watch in 2019
It should be another strong year for fintech startups: 2019 looks to continue another lights-out year for fintech startups
UBS to make Evidence Lab available to clients: UBS’s big data lab is no longer just for its analysts
Why automation is key for fintech: Automation will be the end of banks as we know them
Some resolutions banks should be considering: 5 resolutions for digital banking success in 2019
The insurance industry is ready to be changed by digital technologies: Digital insurance in 2018: Driving real impact with digital and analytics
It is shaping up to be a big year for insurtech: Busy year ahead expected for insurtech
Here are the top digital trends for 2019: Digital transformation trends to watch in 2019 and beyond
A look back at the first year of MiFID II: MiFID II – One year on
New York State forms task force to understand, use and regulate cryptocurrencies and blockchain: New York to form cryptocurrency task force
News and notes (U.S.)
North American hedge funds down in November: North American hedge funds suffered further losses in November, says Eurekahedge
Get to know Bridgewater’s Head of Investment Research, Karen Karniol-Tambour: Bridgewater’s new brain: A millennial woman is blazing to the top of the world’s largest hedge fund
Hedge funds looking to expand offerings to attract investors: Hedge funds turn to private capital playbook in search of assets
PE and VC should keep an eye on oiltech and commoditech: Next big thing: Oiltech
Out to change private equity: This San Francisco investor wants to revolutionize private equity. Is he crazy?
Investing in managed futures through an ETF: Eyeing alternatives with a managed futures ETF
U.S. mutual funds experience largest weekly redemptions since February: US fund investors pull most cash from stocks since February, says report
U.S. defined benefit pension plans had a slightly lower deficit at the end of 2018: Funded status of US corporate pensions slipped in 2018: survey
High-net-worth topics
Helping high-net-worth families invest with a conscience: Advisor works with families to make an impact
Navigating clients through 2019: What wealth advisors are telling their clients in preparation for 2019
Polls & surveys – What financials are saying
Investors should buy into this market decline (Citigroup): Citi says ‘buy this dip’ and sees equities returning 14% in 2019
Predictions for 2019 (Nuveen): Bob Doll’s 10 predictions for 2019
Energy prices could be volatile in 2019 (Moody’s): Energy outlook for 2019
For financial marketing and investment commentary help, contact us at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Wednesday morning briefing – January 2, 2019
Creating an excellent customer experience will deliver solid financial results for banks. Private equity expected to surpass hedge funds in terms of assets over the next few years. The high-net-worth are looking for tax-efficient, and legal, options. Tightening monetary policy and sustainability among the themes to watch in 2019. And more in this week’s briefing. Enjoy!
Economic/industry news
International Economic Data Snapshot – includes aggregated data of the worldwide economy: Snapshot: International economic data
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board raises its target range to between 2.25% and 2.50%: Fed raises interest rates, signals more hikes ahead
U.S. and Chinese officials to discuss trade in early January: U.S. and China said to hold trade talks in Beijing in early January
Canada’s economy expanded 0.3% in October: Canada’s economy grew 0.3% in October
The focus on the Fed may change from interest rates to its balance sheet: Markets signal 2019 focus will be Fed’s balance-sheet unwind
Could 2019 be the year for emerging markets’ outperformance?: Emerging markets expected to outperform in 2019 (for real this time)
Finding investment opportunities as the number of seniors in Canada rise: Opportunities for institutional investors in an aging society
Education will be key as liquid alternatives are set to formally launch on January 3: AIMA prepares for investment ‘sea change’
Canadian mutual funds experienced $2.4 billion of net redemptions in November: Mutual fund sales slump continued in November
Canadian ETF assets rose to $160.9 billion in November: Canadian ETF assets up in November
On the pulse – New frontiers in fintech
Real-time payments generating interest from large technology firms: Big tech companies throw their support behind Fed-run real-time payments network
Creating an excellent customer experience will deliver solid financial results for banks: Customer experience has massive impact on banking providers’ bottom line
Some key trends to watch out for in the banking industry: What’s in store for banks in 2019?
According to McKinsey, here are the key fintech trends that you need to know: Synergy and disruption: Ten trends shaping fintech
Here are the top fintech startups in New York: Top 20 fintech startups in New York
Demand for regtech solutions expected to grow: Demand for regtech solutions to intensify as regulatory burden looms larger
Insurance executives should keep these key insurtech questions in mind during 2019: 5 insurtech questions for 2019
Despite the rise of robo-advisors, human financial advisors still play an extremely important part in financial advisory: Why we still want humans, and not (just) robots, to invest our money
Using technology to identify potential credit risks: ING develops early warning system for credit risk
Banks are making substantial progress as innovative organizations: From innovation theatre to real innovation
Automating the office: 5 business uses of voice based virtual assistants
CI acquires majority stake in WealthBar: CI enters robo game with WealthBar acquisition
News and notes (U.S.)
Hedge funds fell 0.28% in November: Barclay Hedge Fund Index down 0.28 per cent in November
Hedge funds experienced outflows in November: Hedge funds see third consecutive month of outflows in November
Private equity expected to surpass hedge funds in terms of assets over the next few years: What lies ahead for the hedge fund industry?
Take-private deals could grow in 2019: Expect the number of take-privates in the US to spike in 2019
Alternative investments could provide an opportunity for growth in an investor’s portfolio: Looking for growth? Consider the alternatives
Private equity managers perform better when they aren’t rushed to make deals: Faster isn’t better for private equity managers
A look back at the VC industry in 2018: 60 big things: Scandals, scooters and the year that was in VC
Investors want to see innovation in cost management: How fund managers are innovating around fees
Regulatory issues that broker-dealers need to keep top-of-mind in 2019: Regulatory changes to watch: Taxes, retirement, fiduciary rules
Changes coming to fund-of-funds?: SEC proposes rule changes for fund of funds arrangements
What we can learn from 2008 in 2018: Lessons from 2008 for 2018
These were the 10 largest ETF launches in 2018: Biggest ETF launches of the year
Weekly outflows from mutual funds accelerate: ETFs gain $25.2B while mutual funds lose $56B
High-net-worth topics
Hedge fund-like strategies to help the high-net-worth navigate through market volatility: UBS Wealth’s hedge fund-like playbook to beat market mayhem
Helping the high-net-worth preserve their wealth: How to hold on to the wealth you’ve got
The high-net-worth are looking for tax-efficient, and legal, options: Offshore tax scandals haven’t deterred HNW investors: report
Polls & surveys – What financials are saying
Tightening monetary policy and sustainability among the themes to watch in 2019 (Mercer): Four investing themes will shape financial markets in 2019: Mercer
Slower growth expected for the Canadian economy (Vanguard): Canadian outlook skewed toward the downside, says Vanguard
Canadians looking to pay down debt in 2019 (CIBC): Canadians say paying down debt is top priority in 2019: Poll
For financial marketing and investment commentary help, contact us at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Flipping the script on investment commentaries
It’s as inevitable as the changing of the seasons: the return of commentaries for most investment managers. Commentaries tend to result from sales and/or regulatory obligations, and are often viewed as a bit of a distraction when compared to an investment manager’s other core responsibilities.
Just a few small changes, however, can increase the value of the commentaries you produce for your audience, regardless of whether that audience is individual investors, institutional investors or other stakeholders.
Remember your audience
While you may be writing for an investor audience, a significant portion of your readership will likely be made up of industry insiders, including other investment managers, institutional gatekeepers, financial journalists and regulators. While keeping the language plain and straightforward, ensure the commentary is high quality and sufficiently detailed.
Identify and avoid obscurity
Whether you’re writing for an investor-level audience, a professional investor audience, or both, clarity of argument is important. Avoid confusing words and phrases (e.g., “contributed negatively to performance”) and avoid sentences that are longer than 50 words.
Avoid information overdose
Investment communications should be about clarity and relaying important information.
There are very few good reasons for an investment commentary to be more than 2,000 words, even for multi-asset or multi-strategy portfolios. Past macroeconomic and market discussion is essential to laying the groundwork, attribution and trading activity is important to explain what happened over the period and why, and an outlook helps investors focus on the future. Just make sure you are being concise.
Look for teachable moments
In today’s increasingly complex investment world, insider jargon is sometimes unavoidable, even for investor-facing commentaries.
Discussing portfolio alpha and beta, for example, may be essential for certain investment strategies. Mentioning yield curves, duration and spreads is often unavoidable in fixed income commentaries. Instead of either avoiding those terms or using them without context, have a short, standard definition ready for widely used terms, to insert into commentaries (even in parentheses).
It’s one thing for your investors to be informed, it’s another for them to walk away from your commentaries having learned something. Done correctly, this is where your commentaries can rise above others and become a hub for valued information.
Looking to offload more of your investment commentary tasks to an industry leader in the field? Contact us today to learn more at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Your investment commentary playbook: tips to make reporting easier
Investment commentary production can be a chore.
But there’s one great thing about this business function: it usually follows a fairly predictable pattern. Meaning, it can be made easier if you build some additional preparation into your project plan before it kicks into high gear.
Here are some key tasks and milestones to make your commentary production process a smoother ride:
Style
Does your organization have a preferred style guide (i.e., a reference document that tells you, for example, whether you write “U.S. dollar” or “US dollar”)? Or does your existing style guide need to be updated to reflect new and/or newly accepted financial terminology?
Ensure that style guides are approved before period end to reduce uncertainty during your commentary cycle.
Macro and micro planning
It’s great to track the statuses and due dates of each individual deliverable but don’t forget to create a master schedule, even something as broad as a traditional monthly calendar view.
This can be especially helpful when dealing with unexpected mid-cycle events, like any new requirements that pop up in the middle of your production cycle. The trick is to be nimble day to day, while not losing sight of longer-term deadlines.
Timeframes
It’s not uncommon for a single investment mandate to have multiple investment commentary requirements for delivery at the same time because of multiple reporting time periods (e.g., a monthly, quarterly and/or rolling annual commentary for one mutual fund).
Always check and re-check the time period requirements of the commentaries you’re working on. This may seem like common sense, but it is often overlooked.
Know your roles
A single investment commentary often requires inputs from multiple sources. Benchmark data may come from your analytics group, performance information may come from a data provider, investment outlook may come from the portfolio manager, and so forth.
A cross-functional meeting of stakeholders before the live cycle reminds the team that commentary season is coming up, and ensure everyone is aware of responsibilities and deadlines.
Communications calendar
If you utilize a broad range of communications resources (e.g., writers, editors, typesetters and designers), make sure those individual resources are captured in either your master calendar or a separate one. This makes resource allocation easier, both before and during your live cycle, and help you re-allocate resources to deal with unexpected events.
Make your investment commentary process easier. Contact us at 416.925.1700, 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Top tips for delivering your portfolio manager commentaries faster
Having worked on tens of thousands of portfolio manager commentaries over the past decade, our firm has developed a number of best practices for producing commentaries better and faster than anyone else.
Here are some great tips we recommend you try before your next commentary run (and there’s always a commentary run around the corner).
Have all the info you need handy
A spreadsheet with full fund & portfolio manager/sub-advisor names, up-to-date benchmark(s), attribution info, etc. should be maintained throughout the year. Having all this information is key to producing commentaries faster.
Ensure you have a complete understanding of commentary needs
Knowing details like the number of commentaries, the word count for each and the audience (i.e., retail, advisor, institutional) will help you get prepared for the next run, including your staffing and training needs.
Speaking of staffing
It’s a good idea to know exactly how many people you’re going to need to help get things done. This can include internal and external writers, editors and project managers, as well as anyone you’ll need for reviews and approvals.
Prepare a well-thought-out and achievable workback schedule
This is a key component to ensuring requests go out, due dates are maintained and required approvals can be managed.
Notify the portfolio manager or sub-advisor of dates/needs
They may have a vacation coming up and/or manage a number of different mandates. Let them know exactly what you’ll need from them and when, as early as possible so they can manage all their deliverables.
Keep a running style guide that includes grammatical & wording preferences
Make sure the entire team has access to this style guide so they can refer back to it often. This ensures that no matter how many people are working on your commentaries, everyone is singing from the same song sheet.
Know what compliance is looking for
This knowledge will help you avoid having to spend lots of time adding required content and/or removing offending language. Any feedback or direction you receive can be added into your running style guide.
Find common ground
When allowable, it can help to recycle information within different fund commentaries. A good example is reusing some macroeconomic information for similar geographic regions, asset classes, etc. You can save time and money by not having five different writers say that the Fed raised interest rates during the period.
Ext. Marketing Inc. is the global leader in the production of portfolio manager commentaries. In fact, the ext. team produced over 1,500 unique monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual portfolio manager commentaries for our global clients in the financials space in July 2018 alone.
Need help producing better, faster commentaries? Contact us today at info@ext-marketing.com.
Monday morning briefing – November 26. 2018
The names you need to know in fintech. Activist investors in Europe keying in on the U.K. industrials sector. Why states around the world should consider issuing cryptocurrencies supported by their central bank. And much more in this week’s briefing.
Economic/industry news
International Economic Data Snapshot – includes aggregated data of the worldwide economy: Snapshot: International economic data
Canada’s inflation rate rises again:Canada inflation ticks up, central bank seen keeping rates steady
Japan’s economy contracts in the third quarter: Japan GDP: Natural disasters hit economic growth
Could there be changes to the BoC’s mandate to keep prices stable?: Bank of Canada plans thorough review of inflation targeting
Protecting your portfolio against the next recession: The next recession is coming: Here’s how to protect your portfolio
A look at the currency market: How currency differs from other asset classes
Canadian ETF assets fell in October: Canadian ETF assets lower in October
The number of distinct indexes rose by 12% in 2018: Number of indexes on the rise, led by fixed income: report
Sir Ronald Cohen on the importance and outlook for impact investing: Impact investing: A multitrillion-dollar market in the making
Businesses should focus on the new, “circular economy”: ING Portfolio focuses on financing for sustainable economy
On the pulse – New frontiers in fintech
Fully transitioning to digital is much more than just a mobile app: Are you really ‘doing digital’?
Customer centricity vital for the banks of the future: It pays to be personalised
How to manage your cloud infrastructure: Managing cloud infrastructure post-migration – a CTO guide
The names you need to know in fintech: Fintech finance’s power players
Technology could help private bankers become more productive: Making private bankers more productive
Open banking not well known or understood by end consumers: Open banking slow burn means just 22% of consumers have heard of the concept
Starling Bank launches Client Money Accounts, helping professional practices that hold money on behalf of their clients: Starling Bank launches CASS-compliant accounts helping firms manage third-party funds
Regtech will be an important component for the future success of financial institutions: Saxo Bank on why regtech is key to scalability in financial services
How to be innovative in the insurance industry: How to become an innovator in insurtech
Capital One purchases WikiBuy: Capital One buys online shopping comparison startup
Many firms don’t believe that they are resilient enough to combat cyberattacks: Cyber security implementation: firms want it, but less do it, finds survey
BitSpread launches BitSpread Financial Solutions, designed for investing in blockchain assets: BitSpread launches new financial solutions division
Why states around the world should consider issuing cryptocurrencies supported by their central bank: IMF: Nations need to consider a central bank backed cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies may not be banned in India: A ray of hope for cryptocurrencies as India readies draft regulations
News and notes (U.S.)
The Barclay CTA Index fell in October: Barclay CTA Index loses 1.29 per cent in October
Hedge fund assets fell to $3.06 trillion in September: Hedge funds redemptions surge to $39.1 billion in September, highest in more than 5 years
Management expenses no longer a tax break for hedge fund investors: Hedge fund investors lose key tax break for management expenses
Activist investors in Europe keying in on the U.K. industrials sector: Industrials are No1 target sector for activist investors in Europe
Secondaries still generating a lot of interest: Why secondaries fundraising is surging
Morgan Stanley launches new advisory platform, WealthDesk: Morgan Stanley unveils new advisory platform
AllianceBernstein to purchase Autonomous Research: AllianceBernstein announces offer to acquire Autonomous Research
Further trade tensions between the U.S. and China could hurt the stock market: Expect more stock market losses if US-China trade war worsens
Long-term funds experienced $29.1 billion of outflows in October: Morningstar: Passive equity funds gain, actives lose big
An interview with Abigail Johnson and Kathleen Murphy of Fidelity: The most powerful woman in fund management gives a rare interview
High-net-worth topics
High-net-worth investors expect further equity market declines: The equity party’s ending, say wealthy investors
How Tiger 21 helps the ultra-rich: Tiger 21 philosophy: Learn from your (very wealthy) peers
Life insurance can help reduce estate taxes, but not eliminate taxes entirely: Can HNW clients still use life insurance as a tax and financial tool?
Polls & surveys – What financials are saying
Canadian investors have trouble understanding the concept of risk and return (Natixis): Investors may have an unrealistic understanding of risk and return: survey
Over the next 25 years, $68 trillion of wealth will be passed on to younger generations (Cerulli): Generational wealth transfer to hit $68 trillion over 25 years: Cerulli
Correlating share value with ESG ratings (MSCI): Are ESG ratings the new credit rating for stock prices?
For financial marketing and investment commentary help, contact us at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
What makes a great portfolio manager commentary?
We’ve written and edited tens of thousands of portfolio manager commentaries over the years, as well as portfolio manager podcasts and videos, so we have a pretty good handle on what elements are required to produce a great commentary. Here are some items we feel are important components of a well-crafted commentary.
A well-written, relevant macroeconomic review
The macroeconomic portion of a commentary should provide details of the economic events and factors that may have impacted the performance of your fund during the period. Additionally, it should be relevant to the fund’s category.
For instance, if you are writing about a U.S. equity fund, the macroeconomic review should predominantly be about the U.S. economy – including any moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, economic figures, as well as the performance of relevant sectors. You can refer to the performance of individual companies, but that type of information is usually best contained in the attribution section of your commentary.
Attribution information: contributors, detractors and the “whys”
This is where you list contributors to – and detractors from – the fund’s performance. This information could be broken down by sector, geography and/or individual security. To keep this section easy to understand, we generally like to list contributors to performance in one paragraph and detractors from performance in another.
It’s important that you explain why these holdings performed the way they did. This gives investors important insights into the factors behind the performance of underlying holdings. Without these reasons, all you’re doing is regurgitating the fund’s attribution report, which provides little value to the end investor.
The fund’s positioning … and the reasons behind this positioning
With advisors increasingly wanting to match portfolio manager objectives and strategies with their own, a commentary is a great way to explain how your fund is positioned for the future.
Inform your reader about your trading activity during the period and fund’s positioning at the end of the period to highlight how you are working to meet the fund’s objectives. Convey how you have been deploying capital within the fund’s strategic framework to meet its stated risk/reward objectives.
We believe these are some of the most the important elements of an informative and useful portfolio manager commentary. Your commentaries can act as great opportunities to showcase the performance of your fund, explain why it has either outperformed or underperformed its benchmark, and tell your reader how the fund is positioned for outperformance in the coming period.
Need help producing your commentaries, videos, or podcasts? Contact us at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
5 reasons why investment commentaries aren’t so bad
Here’s a widely held belief: investment commentaries get in the way of the more high-profile initiatives that first attracted you to marketing.
In many respects, that’s true. But we think there’s more to the story. While working on investment commentaries won’t likely lead to any awards, it’s a great way to learn about the industry and become a better marketer.
1. Learn more about the industry
Working on investment commentaries is a crash course on the investment industry.
For people newer to the industry, you’ll learn about management styles, benchmarks, how the markets work, the impact of macroeconomics and much, much more.
For more experienced industry professionals, involvement in investment commentaries makes regulatory changes a part of your day-to-day work. Admittedly, not the most exciting proposition. This regulatory awareness, however, helps you think about broader industry trends and how they may impact your profession in the future.
“Regulatory awareness, however, helps you think about broader industry trends and how they may impact your profession in the future.”
2. Expand your network
Every company has a different group of people working on investment commentaries. Trust us, there’s no universal template.
And while that leads to some practical challenges, it presents a great opportunity – you’ll get to work with a diverse group across your company, from legal and compliance to marketing, investments and product.
There’s a little piece of irony here. Investment commentaries appear to be a low-profile task, but they’re very high profile among certain teams within your organization. So, if you want to grow your network, working on investment commentaries is a good way to go about it.
“Investment commentaries, such as MRFPs, appear to be a low-profile task, but they’re very high profile among certain teams.”
3. Work under pressure
Month after month, quarter after quarter, year after year, disparate teams all across the world pump out investment commentaries. The timelines are tight and effective communication is essential to get the job done right.
Calm, clear thinking is required from everyone on the team, as is a commitment to detail orientation.
These “soft” skills flourish under the ticking clock of an investment commentary project and they transfer over to all other marketing endeavours that you’ll take on.
4. Write for a new audience
If you’re a financial services copywriter, investment commentaries may open your work up to a completely new audience.
Whereas most marketing materials are geared toward retail investors, a significant number of institutional investors (and other distribution channels) will read about your firm’s solutions through investment commentaries.
Institutional writing is higher stakes and the writing can be snappier and more technical. It also provides you with the opportunity to include some of that jargon you try to avoid when writing for a retail audience.
“Institutional writing is higher stakes and the writing can be snappier and more technical.”
5. Focus on process
Investment commentaries are among the most process-driven financial services marketing projects.
We write, edit and project manage investment commentaries for a significant number of the world’s largest financial services firms. As such, we’re always learning about new ways to improve our clients’ processes.
Do you want to produce better investment commentaries? We can help. Contact us at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Prepping for commentary season – get your facts in order
Investment commentaries involve content from a wide variety of sources including your communications, product, investments and fund accounting teams. They also need numerous reviews and approvals, and have non-negotiable timelines.
That’s why investment commentaries can be a stressful project for many people. To make the process as streamlined as possible, it helps to compile some key information in one document – and as early in the process as possible.
“Compile … key information in one document – and as early in the process as possible.”
It’s worth taking the time to create a reliable reference list that includes full and correct information for things that need to be precise, or that need to be checked often.
The Fund Info List
While this is not an exhaustive rundown, here are some essential elements of the Fund Info List:
Use exact fund names. Is it Short Term Bond Fund or Short-Term Bond Fund? Global Income Growth Fund or Global Income and Growth Fund? Be sure to update this list with any new mandates or name changes. And don’t forget that the Simplified Prospectus is often the best place to confirm full names.
Be precise with benchmark names. Index names, such as the BofA Merrill Lynch 1-3 Year Treasury Index, are very difficult to check against external sources as every company seems to apply its own style. Total return indexes, which are sometimes shortened to TR, are also notoriously inconsistent.
Keep an exact list of portfolio manager and sub-advisor names, and update it regularly, since sub-advisors do change fairly often and companies’ legal names do as well.
Again, the more exact the list of underlying funds, the easier it will be to cross-reference your information. If your company offers Funds, Classes and Pools, this becomes an even higher priority.
Track the inception date of funds. This information will help your writers know how to position the attribution information in the commentaries.
What to do with your Fund Info List
You’ve put together all correct info. Now what?
- Share this list with your writers, editors, reviewers – and anyone else who may need to use or check this kind of information. Be careful to allow only a few individuals at your company to update this list when necessary, as it loses its value if it’s not reliable
- It’s a good idea to include your Fund Info List in (or in the same folder as) your company style guide
- If you also produce material in another language, a version of this list with your company’s chosen terminology will be invaluable for translation
“Be careful to allow only a few individuals at your company to update this list when necessary, as it loses its value if it’s not reliable.”
And remember: it’s not just the facts but also the language you use that matters! So, if using the right language is a concern, read Using plain language in your financial writing.
We specialize in producing high-quality investment commentaries for some of the world’s largest financial services firms and we can help your company too.
Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com to get your investment commentary process running smoothly and efficiently.
5 steps for a successful marketing materials audit
If your department is undertaking a wide-sweeping marketing materials audit to identify stale messages and outdated figures, or if your firm is taking its marketing initiatives in a more digital direction, this five-step process will help you lead your team through this seemingly complicated process.
Step 1: Setting your auditing goals
Before jumping into writing and design, before you even begin hunting down all of your firm’s old marketing materials, we recommend that you clearly define your goals. Why are you conducting the audit? How will the audit help your marketing initiatives going forward? Typical answers are:
“We want our marketing materials to be relevant and have a longer life.”
“We want to lower our long-term marketing costs via fewer refreshes and fewer print runs.”
“We want our marketing materials to be read by a wider audience.”
“We want to engage our clients and prospects in new ways.”
Step 2: Create a content map
Now that you’ve clearly defined your goals, it’s time to categorize and reprioritize your marketing materials.
Start by using the goals that you defined in Step 1 to determine your grouping methodology. Ways that are more traditional include grouping your materials by product or campaign. Lately, however, we’ve seen a shift to grouping materials demographically or by life stage. For example, if you are trying to target millennials, you would list in a spreadsheet all the materials that apply to this cohort.
If you group materials demographically, you’ll find that many of them apply to savers and investors at different life stages. Make sure these materials end up in both buckets. Why? When you rethink formats in Step 3, you may decide to deliver similar content in radically different formats depending on who you’re engaging.
Step 3: Rethink formats
There’s a good chance the majority of the materials that you’re auditing are print brochures. And there’s an even better chance that your firm wants to take many of them in new digital directions. A marketing materials audit is the ideal time to have these discussions.
While you may simply update these brochures, keep in mind that infographics, microsites and online articles are all great ideas because they are engaging, sharable and easy to update, all of which deliver on the goals outlined in Step 1.
Step 4: Audit your resources
Is your team big enough to handle the updates and fill in the gaps that you identified? If the wide-ranging scope of a marketing materials audit seems too large, complex or time consuming, think about hiring a content partner who can help create a strategy for your refreshed content.
If you need additional resources, make sure that your content partner has the product and industry knowledge to effectively round out your team.
Step 5: Production
Now that you know what marketing materials you have and which ones you want to refresh, it’s time for your writers, designers and developers to get to work. Coordinating your resources is time consuming. But clear timelines and focused work – that is, strategically working through your list without running too many refreshes at once – will help your team deliver great results.
Next steps
Although a marketing materials audit will create some challenges, especially as your typical day-to-day responsibilities aren’t going anywhere, following these five steps will ensure that this challenging and exciting initiative goes more smoothly.
If you want to read more about auditing your marketing materials, read our post on how to better align your materials with your sales team.
Does it sound like it’s time for a marketing materials audit? Contact us at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Technology spending heats up in the financials sector
Many insiders believe the long-term success of financial services firms depends on them becoming technology-driven companies. With the rise of robo-advisors, the inroads made by blockchain and the success of regtech, to name just a few developments, it’s hard to deny the rising dominance of technology in financial services.
If you doubt the scale of change taking place in the financial services industry, check out these numbers. They may change your mind.
Members of the “Big 5” are spending big
- In 2017, The Bank of Nova Scotia spent C$1 billion on technology – 40% of which went to “change-the-bank” projects versus traditional operating expenses in tech. (Source: Financial Post)
- The Royal Bank of Canada spent C$3 billion on tech in 2017 – transformative projects garnered 30% of that spending. (Source: Financial Post)
Insights from the International Data Corporation
- IT spending in general will hit US$2.7 trillion by 2021, with banks, manufacturers and telecommunication services providers among the spending leaders. (Source: Channelnomics)
- Financial services IT spending was estimated at US$480 billion worldwide in 2016 with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 4.2%. (Source: IDC)
- The drive to increase tech spending is partly the result of the expanding investment industry, which is set to grow to approximately US$2.65 trillion by 2020. Financial services, namely banking, insurance, securities and investment services companies, will lead industry spending. (Source: Arnnite)
Focus on fintech
- Fintech spending more than tripled in 2014, reaching over US$12 billion. (Source: PwC)
- Fintech spending in 2017 was estimated to be approximately US$19.9 billion in North America, US$15.3 billion in Europe and US$22.1 billion in Asia. (Source: Statistica)
Is it worth it?
- Not everyone believes this spending is a smart allocation of assets. PwC has reported that financial institutions could be spending up to twice as much as they need to on IT. (Source: PwC)
The technological change unfolding in the financial services industry is unprecedented – and it represents some incredible challenges and opportunities for everyone who works in this space.
Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com for financial marketing and investment commentary help.
Got an execution problem? We can solve it.
As you scale up your content initiatives, you’ll likely run up against a challenge that many marketers have had to contend with.
You might be running email campaigns, newsletters, blogs, etc., on top of all the day-to-day deliverables, campaigns and product launches – and conducting weekly (or even daily) brainstorming sessions to generate awesome content.
Your team is building a solid reputation for engaging content. This is success. And with success comes this problem: you’ve run out of time to produce the content you need.
What you have is an execution problem. Trust us, we’ve been there.
“What you have is an execution problem. Trust us, we’ve been there.”
The big picture
In the grand scheme, an execution problem is a manageable problem to have. A worse problem is an idea problem. You’re in trouble if your marketing team doesn’t have any ideas.
An execution problem is manageable because you can take measured steps to solve it. There are three things you can do: hire more people, improve your processes and/or outsource.
There’s a good way and a bad way to do any of these. Let’s explore what we’ve done in the past and what we now know is the right thing to do.
1. Hire more people
The bad way
Hire whoever comes knocking at your door first, and give them a trial by fire. This approach is appealing because it’s immediate. But we all know that good talent is hard to find, And too much turnover means your content team can’t gain the traction they need to plan effectively, among many other issues.
The good way
Hire talent. Hire a specialist. Hire a culture leader. Here’s why. You’re going to run into this same execution problem again in the future if you don’t find the ideal fit. If you’re already working with the best, you’re starting from a position of strength.
“If you’re already working with the best, you’re starting from a position of strength.”
2. Improve your processes
The bad way
A top-down initiative, like implementing a new content management system without really, palpably feeling the problem, may seem like a good idea because, again, the solution is immediate. However, while an execution problem is a relatively good problem to have, it is still a nuanced problem that’s in need of a robust strategy.
The good way
We believe that bottom-up initiatives are best. So, interview everyone producing content. Solicit their feedback immediately and regularly to stay on top of the challenges they face. Here’s a tip: start by finding your content team’s bottlenecks. Relieve this pressure and watch the content flow.
“Here’s a tip: start by finding your content team’s bottlenecks. Relieve this pressure and watch the content flow.”
3. Outsource
The bad way
Outsourcing to many independent contractors. This sounds appealing because you’ll have access to a diverse set of ideas. But this approach can be painful. Managing the admin, like invoicing, will steal hours of your time each week.
And the content you receive from this disparate group will likely be inconsistent, meaning different qualities of work, different styles and tones, etc. Not a good use of already strangled resources.
The good way
We’ve been doing this for a while and we can honestly say that the best approach is to hire a specialist agency that already has the teams and processes in place.
An agency that specializes in financial services content will have a minimal learning curve. They’ll be able to hit the ground running and tap into best practices and insights that individuals or generalist agencies can’t access, apply or even know. Here are nine more reasons to work with a content partner.
When things get tough, remember: an execution problem is manageable … if it’s managed well.
Want help solving your execution problem? Work with the specialists who are leading financial services marketing. Contact us at 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
How to create a great workback schedule
A clear workback schedule is essential for a smooth running project. It will help map out all the tasks that are required to finish a project, as well as assign a person and due date to each task.
Why is this so important? Because it helps everyone involved know what they need to do and when they need to do it.
Don’t know what a workback schedule looks like? Here’s a sample we found after a quick search online.
Here are some tips for creating the best-possible workback schedule for your next project.
Organize by date
- Review all deliverables and talk to (or email or phone) your team to estimate how long each deliverable will take to complete
- Communicate with your client (internal or external) to find out their review process (e.g., compliance, sales, etc.)
- Try to coordinate deliverables that can be delivered on the same date if they can be completed at the same time
- Schedule delivery dates on the same days each week to maintain a regular work flow
Colour code
- Colour code each deliverable due by a specific team/member
- Choose a universal colour that will be used to highlight due dates so that they stand out
- Create a legend with the colours used in the workback
Global statutory holidays and employee holidays
- Review and take into account statutory holidays in the countries that will be involved with/impacted by the project
- Factor in employee holidays to ensure deliverables won’t be impacted by these holidays
- If employees are going to take holidays while the project is occurring, get a list of individuals who will be responsible for moving their part of the project forward during those dates
Key columns
The columns you choose to include in a workback schedule are at your own discretion, but remember to always include these three columns:
- Milestones
- Delivery dates
- Responsibilities
Final signoff
- After putting in the hard work to complete your workback schedule, it’s important that you have all relevant parties review it and modify as needed to ensure their buy-in
- Once everyone has settled on deliverables and dates, it’s very important you receive final signoff on the workback schedule
There you have it – all the important factors to consider when creating a clear and effective workback schedule.
If you have project management questions, contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
The marketing of Marketing: 5 tips to gain credibility and respect
If you’re of a particular vintage (or just enjoy old-time comedy), you know about Rodney Dangerfield. His act revolved around getting no respect, which is sometimes the case when it comes to marketing within the financial services sector.
While there are always people who understand the marketing function, some of your colleagues may be a little fuzzy about what the marketing function does, while others may question the effectiveness of a company’s marketing efforts.
Build the perceptions you want. Among the many things marketing professionals do well, one of the most important is our ability to champion a certain point of view and influence others to do likewise. Here are five ways you can increase your marketing department’s profile and earn the respect your team deserves:
1. Hit the road with wholesalers or get on calls with your inside sales team
When possible, you should also try to attend portfolio manager presentations or roadshow events. Visibility can lead to credibility, especially if you take the insights that you’ve gathered and apply them to your marketing efforts. The better you understand the needs and challenges of other departments (and the themes/messaging being used), the more effective your marketing materials will be.
2. Consider writing an internal blog that explains key marketing concepts, preferably using real-life company examples
Also, if there’s an opportunity at an event like a town hall meeting to showcase the essential role of marketing, go for it! This will help position your department as subject matter experts when it comes to marketing (and its value to your firm).
3. Make sure your team is knowledgeable about investing and your company’s products
It makes your team more credible if they “speak the language.” Team members could enroll in related industry courses to augment their industry knowledge.
4. If you’re part of the leadership team, have a strong presence at the cross-functional executive table
Be sure you are brought in on product launches and other initiatives as early as possible, be clear on how marketing is crucial to your company’s success, as well as standing firm regarding your share of the budget and resources for important initiatives.
5. Convey the benefits of marketing to other business lines
For instance, good marketing helps your sales team tell focused, compelling stories. It can also help your product team better articulate the strengths of the products they support. Similarly, your marketing team can help portfolio managers build more engaging presentations that effectively highlight their unique investment discipline. Use metrics wherever applicable to support your case.
The bottom line is that you want other departments to recognize and appreciate the value of marketing.
Make your marketing voice heard loud and clear at your company. For more ideas, contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Three ideas for writing better speeches
Speech writing involves a highly refined set of skills – and marketing professionals who have these skills are a hot commodity in the financial services industry.
Here are three tips you can quickly implement when writing your next speech.
1. Simplify everything
There are a few ways you can simplify your speeches. First, you can simplify the topic. People who can simplify a complicated topic are the true superstars in the world of marketing and communications.
Second, you can simplify your language. Use strong verbs, removing unnecessary adjectives and avoiding jargon are three easy wins for speech writers. Third, you can simplify your structure. Too many asides will distract your audience, so stick to the topic at hand.
Simplify the topic, your language and your structure.
2. Write like you talk
The spoken word is a different kind of animal than the written word.
Whereas in the written word, you can convey a certain level of formality by avoiding contractions and using sophisticated words, the spoken word should almost always be delivered with a more casual tone of voice.
The spoken word should almost always be delivered with a more casual tone of voice.
In speeches, contractions like “we’re” are better than “we are.” And words like “commence” should always be replaced with simpler words. In this case a word like “begin” would be appropriate.
3. Finish with a bang
It’s important to wrap up your speech by reminding your audience what you’ve told them. For bonus points, some sort of flash of creativity (like a clever quote) at its conclusion will undoubtedly make your speech more memorable in the minds of your audience.
Do you want more speech writing tips? Check out these four tips to help strengthen your next speech.
Looking for more ideas about writing better speeches? Contact us at 416.925.1700, 866.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/writing-for-investors-avoid-industry-jargon/
Writing for investors? Avoid industry jargon
Like most highly specialized industries, financial services has a unique set of words and phrases that mean little to people outside of the industry.
That’s essentially the definition of industry jargon, and it isn’t always a bad thing. For example, when you’re writing or speaking to other professionals within your industry, those industry-specific words and phrases can sometimes be the fastest and most effective ways to communicate.
But when you’re sharing information with anyone who doesn’t work in financial services, including investors, industry jargon can be confusing at best and completely meaningless at worst. Here, we’ve chosen five terms to avoid when writing for investors.
1. Headwinds/tailwinds
To people outside financial services, headwinds and tailwinds are something they experience when they’re on an airplane. When they fly west, they have to deal with headwinds, so their flight takes longer. When they fly east, they benefit from tailwinds, so their flight is a bit quicker.
Hmm… that must mean that headwinds are bad and tailwinds are good, right? Usually, but your reader had to make a lot of connections before they could figure out what you were trying to say. Why not say “challenges” or “benefits” if that’s what you mean? Better yet, be specific and explain exactly what challenges or benefits you’re talking about.
Be specific and explain exactly what challenges or benefits you’re talking about.
2. Secular
This is another term that takes on an entirely different meaning outside of the financial world. It generally means the opposite of spiritual or religious. If that’s what you’re writing about, “secular” is absolutely the right word to use. If not, the term you’re probably looking for is “long term.” To avoid any confusion, keep it simple.
3. Upside potential/downside risk
For people who don’t have in-depth knowledge of banking and investments, these terms lack any meaning.
We understand that it’s much simpler to write “upside potential” than it is to explain that you expect a certain stock price to increase over the short term and to tell your readers why. But if your audience doesn’t understand what you’re writing about, why write it at all? We would say the exact same thing about the term “downside risk.”
If your audience doesn’t understand what you’re writing about, why write it at all?
4. Alpha and beta
When an investor reads about a fund’s performance, they typically care how that fund performed relative to a benchmark index. If a fund had higher returns than the index, just say so. There’s no reason to throw the word “alpha” in there.
The word “beta” is a bit different, because it has a very specific meaning when you’re talking capital asset pricing models, and there’s no other word that quite works. If you have to use “beta” in that context, consider defining it for investors.
However, we find that “beta” is often used to mean risk or volatility in general. If that’s what you mean, either of those words would be a much better choice.
5. Underlying fundamentals
This one makes our list because it can mean so many things that it becomes almost meaningless to investors. If you’re writing about a certain company, are you focusing on its revenues, earnings, assets, liabilities or all of the above? The defining “fundamentals” of a given sector could range from pricing structure to regulatory issues to supply versus demand.
The term gets even fuzzier when you’re talking about the underlying fundamentals of a broad market. Avoid this term completely and explain exactly what factors you’re concerned about or encouraged by.
This list is far from complete, but it’s a good place to start if you’re looking to make your writing more investor-friendly.
Looking to make your investment commentaries more accessible to investors? Contact us at 416.925.1700, 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
Read more:
https://ext-marketing.com/commentaries-articles/5-reasons-investment-commentaries-arent-bad/
Regtech will make marketing and compliance much smoother
Let’s face it. Two essential departments – legal and marketing – sometimes struggle to find the right balance. While marketing strives for creativity, legal is, of course, focused on risk mitigation. This can, at times, delay and complicate the agreement process.
But thanks to the rapid growth of regtech, that process will become a lot smoother. If you haven’t heard much about regtech, we guarantee you’ll be hearing a lot more about it soon.
Total global spending on regtech is expected to rise from US$50 billion in 2015 (latest figure available) to US$118 billion in 2020, according to a report by Let’s Talk Payments, LLC. It’s also easy to see what’s behind this global rise in regtech, given how costly and cumbersome the job of managing compliance has become. Research firm Opimas found that global spending on compliance by banks reached close to US$100 billion in 2016, growing from 15% to 25% annually over the past four years.
“Global spending on regtech is expected to rise from US$50 billion in 2015 to US$118 billion in 2020.”
How regtech’s answering the call
Regtech solutions may be the answer for financial services firms trying to keep pace with all this change. To help you understand how, here are three key components of regtech and how it’ll improve marketing-compliance and the overall regulatory process for the better.
Automating tasks with AI
Increasingly, regtech solutions will integrate artificial intelligence (AI) that will automatically learn and improve regulatory processes through experience, without having to be re-programmed or maintained by humans.
For instance, automating simple tasks such as real-time tracking of documentation for non-compliance issues will become more and more possible. This work will also be completed quickly and accurately, potentially saving companies a great deal of time and money.
“Global spending on compliance by banks reached close to US$100 billion in 2016, growing from 15% to 25% annually over the past four years.”
Compliance in the cloud
Cloud computing is an integral part of regtech solutions and will eliminate much of the resources needed to keep track of constantly changing regulations. In a nutshell, cloud-based systems provide financial services firms with ubiquitous access to shared pools of information via the internet.
As a result, these solutions can rapidly respond, integrate and interpret new and changing regulations. It also means that, if a third party is holding and securing your regulatory data, you and your business can save on the costs needed for staying abreast of compliance.
Tackling “big data” through advanced analytics
As technology advances, mining vast data sets related to compliance – better known as “big data” – will become an important issue for your business. Regtech uses advanced analytics that can help deal with these big data issues.
For example, a regtech solution could effectively handle risk-data aggregation needed for capital and liquidity reporting. Working beyond the capabilities of human resources, it could predict regulatory risks and challenges in advance, generate valuable reports and unlock other layers of potential.
“Working beyond the capabilities of human resources, it could predict regulatory risks and challenges in advance, generate valuable reports and unlock other layers of potential.”
Regtech holds much potential for financial firms. The prospects of fewer costs and greater efficiencies should interest everyone affected, from the executive team to investors and consumers.
Contact us today at 1.844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com to find out how we can help you with your marketing and investment commentary challenges.
They’re ba-ack! Are you prepared for year-end investment commentaries?
Year-end investment commentaries are coming. And they’ll stop for no one!
While we’re just having a little fun with the title, we do produce 1000s of commentaries every year. So, we know the pressures you face.
Investment commentaries involve content from many sources, need numerous reviews and approvals, and have non-negotiable timelines.
To make the process as streamlined as possible, it helps to compile some key information in one document – and as early in the process as possible. We recommend starting today. It will help remove a lot of the stress that comes with commentary projects.
Create a fund info list
It’s worth the time to create a reliable reference list that includes full and correct information for things that need to be precise, or that you need to check often. Over the years we’ve learned to include:
1. Fund names
Use exact names – is it Canadian Small Cap Fund or Canadian Small-Cap Fund? Be sure to update this list with any new mandates or name changes (TIP: a Simplified Prospectus is often the best place to confirm full fund names).
2. Benchmark names
Precision helps here too. These are difficult to check against external sources. Even the index providers themselves can use different names on their websites, so your company’s style should be followed.
3. Portfolio manager and sub-advisor names
Keep an exact list and update it regularly, since sub-advisors change often and companies’ legal names do as well.
4. Underlying funds
The more exact the list, the easier it will be to cross-reference your information. This becomes more important as your firm launches more fund-of-fund and managed solutions.
5. Inception date
This information will help your writers know how to position the attribution information in your commentaries. Again, if your firm is expanding its product shelf, you can avoid wasted time working on commentaries that should not have performance info.
Remember your translators
If you produce investment commentaries in more than one language, a version of this list with your company’s chosen terminologies will be invaluable for translators. This document could literally save your firm hours of work.
Next steps
Share this list with your writers, editors, reviewers – and anyone else who may need to use or check this kind of information. While everyone should be able to see this document, a much smaller group should be able to edit it.
A fund info list is powerful when it is reliable. If not, it’s about as useful as an old TV from the 80s.
Let us help you produce high-quality investment commentaries. Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
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Why (and how) you should take a stand with your content
Taking a stand with your content may sound like a scary prospect for financial services professionals. Let’s be honest, presenting your best (and polished) self is the norm and revealing how you really feel, imperfections and all, seems like it may damage your reputation.
It won’t. The financial services industry is going through the same massive changes that all industries are grappling with and making a real connection is now expected from your clients and prospects.
Be authentic
People immediately see through inauthentic content, so be the real you. Inauthentic sounds scripted and it sounds like it’s been repeated many times before.
People immediately see through inauthentic content, so be the real you.
Authentic content, on the other hand, shows that you have something most people feel is now missing in the financial services industry … a heart. Your opinion on an issue, expressed in your voice, is unique and people with appreciate it.
Be client focused
Whatever you decide to focus your content efforts on, make sure your current (or ideal) audience is interested as well. So take a stand on an issue that matters to your clients and prospects.
To start, find out what inspires or concerns them. How? Ask. You can ask for feedback online, in person or, if you have a list of people who have signed up, through email. Review the responses and see if any of the issues that matter to your audience matter to you as well.
Be interesting
Don’t underestimate the power of being interesting. When it comes to content, being boring may even be worse than being wrong. We all make mistakes … but once you’re boring, you’re always boring.
By taking a stand your voice will inevitably shine through. When you focus on an issue that gets your heart racing and stirs up emotions, you’ll have fun. Your audience will feel the same way.
When you focus on an issue that gets your heart racing and stirs up emotions, you’ll have fun. Your audience will feel the same way.
Be motivated
We know this for a fact: producing content over the long haul is a real test of your will power. On those days when you feel like you’ve run out of ideas, you’ll be thankful you can produce content that interests you.
If you care about your content, you’ll stay committed to it; week in and week out.
Some issues that matter
Don’t know where to start? Here are just a handful of financial and social issues that matter to many savers and investors:
- Socially responsible investing
- Low fees
- Fiduciary responsibility
- Retiring well
- Gender equality
- Animal rights
- Environmental protection
Do any of them align with your beliefs? If so, start brainstorming and see if you’re interested in producing content that explores these issues.
The world’s most successful financial services firms choose us for their content initiatives. Contact us to find out why: 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.
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