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Crypto-assets appear in a revived and refreshed bull market, the analyst writes. Senior Bloomberg Commodity Analyst Mike McGlone weighs in with a very bullish prognosis for crypto-assets in the September edition of Bloomberg’s Crypto Outlook 2021. Considering cryptos such as bitcoin and ethereum are lifting off in the second half of the year from levels…
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Community Banking Merger: Kearny Financial Buys MSB Financial
Kearney Financial announced it will purchase MSB Financial, the holding company for Millington Bank, for approximately $94 million. The price will be paid in either 1.3 shares of KRNY common stock or $18.00 in cash.
Real Estate: LaSalle’s 2020 ISA Advises Strategic Caution
The annual strategy report from LaSalle advises investors to maintain a strategic balance of offensive and defensive positions.
LaSalle Investment Management’s Investment Strategy Annual (ISA) 2020 says investors need to capitalize on opportunities and mitigate risk in 2020, according to an article by Andrea Zander in Institutional Real Estate, Inc.
The report covers outlooks for both the Canadian and US real estate markets.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Makes Steady Inroads Into the US Economy
Stanford University’s latest report, AI Index, provides useful insights into the progress of AI.
According to the report, Singapore, Brazil, Australia, Canada, and India experienced the fastest growth in AI hiring from 2015 to 2019. However, in the US, the share of jobs in AI-related topics increased from 0.26% of total jobs posted in 2010 to 1.32% in October 2019.
Japanese Regional Banks: The Trade to Start 2020
Japanese regional banks are starting to look for new capital as it becomes increasingly challenging to grow in a low-interest-rate environment.
In a move similar to what we saw happen in the United States back in 2010. The regional banks tend to be located outside the major population centers and have been dealing with a demographic issue as the population ages and declines. They also face problems with the rising costs of technology and cybersecurity, like those driving U.S.-based consolidation.
Hedge Fund AQR Asset Management Report Talks “Risk On”
AQR Asset Management researchers have put out a new paper that looks at fixed income investing.
As rates have declined over the past 20 years, active fixed income managers have outperformed their benchmark index
SIFMA: US Economy Will Expand in 2020 But at a Moderate Pace
SIFMA’s bi-annual survey compiles economic focus from its Roundtable members, the chief US economists of over 20 global and regional financial institutions. SIFMA’s 2019 End-Year US Economic Survey forecasts US GDP growth for 2020 at 1.8%, down 0.1% from the June Survey. “Despite the markdown in 2020 GDP growth, the economy still expected to expand at a moderate pace,” said Ellen Zentner, a Managing Director and Chief U.S. Economist for Morgan Stanley. She is also the chair of SIFMA’s Economic Advisory Roundtable.
Black Tuesday: Banks on Both Sides of the Atlantic Announce Major Job Cuts
Black Tuesday: Banks on Both Sides of the Atlantic Announce Major Job Cuts. On Tuesday, December 3, Unicredit, Italy’s largest lender, said it planned to cut 8,000 bank jobs as part of a strategic, four-year restructuring plan. The same day, the Bank of Montréal announced the deepest job cuts in the Canadian banking industry in years. It said it would cut 5% of its workforce, or about 2,300 jobs.
High Net Worth Investors in the U.S. (and Their Next-Gen) Reach for ESG
A report by Cerulli Associates says wealthy American investors, as well as their next-gen successors, are considering ESG investing.
High net worth (HNW) investors in the US are increasingly gravitating towards environmental – social – governance (ESG) investment strategies, says Cerulli in their new report.
Melvin: Private Equity Firms Struggle to Deploy Capital – Now What?
Fundraising by private equity funds will set a record in 2019. As of last month, PE funds have raised $248 billion of new commitments. There were still two months left in the year. Blackstone (BX) had the most substantial raise at $27 billion for its latest fund that closed in September. Advent International raised a $17.5 billion fund that closed in June. And Brookfield (BAM) just announced the closing of a $9 billion fund.
Melvin: FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile for the Third Quarter
The FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile arrived last week.
For the first time in several years net income fell. Net Income is the nation’s banks totaled $57.4 billion during the three months ended September 30, a decline of $4.5 billion (7.3 percent) from the third quarter of 2018.
Sovereign Funds Allocate 21% to Alternative Investments – the Highest in Five Years
Invesco presented its study of 139 sovereign wealth funds at Investment Magazine’s Fiduciary Investors Symposium. The Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management Study 2019 shows these investors raised allocations to fixed income and alternative investments during 2019.
However, they reduced their exposure to listed equities.
Former Hedge Fund Manager Tom Steyer Would Like to Be President
Tom Steyer, the energy-investing billionaire turned environmentalist “anti-billionaire,” hit the debate stage for the first time this week. The 62-year-old hedge fund manager turned activist has called for Donald Trump’s impeachment. He has also pledged $100 million of his own money for the Democratic nomination.
Alternative Investments: Insurance Company CIOs Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Natixis Investment Managers commissioned a survey of 200 Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) at insurers in Asia, Europe, and North America. Nearly 75% said that it was essential to include alternative investments in their portfolios.
Their view emerged from current trends that make it very difficult for the CIOs to earn alpha.
Community Banking Recap – November 22, 2019
Earnings season is pretty much behind us now, and the Federal Reserve issued its latest minutes. While Wall Street is celebrating the fact that a historically high number of companies exceed the estimates, they are ignoring the fact that earnings were down quarter year over year.
BB&T and Suntrust Receive Approval for Truist Merger
BB&T and Suntrust received approval for their merger of equals by the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Is China Winning the Artificial Intelligence Race?
The artificial intelligence race draws many comparisons to the moon race between the United States and China. But is that an overreaction, and, if so, who is winning right now?
Review of The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman.
Renaissance Technologies and its founders have received a worthy biography. The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution is the latest book by Gregory Zuckerman.
This is How Much China’s Mutual Fund Industry Could Grow
The Chinese mutual fund market could jump 10-fold over the next decade. This prediction comes from Hua An Fund Management portfolio manager David Hu. The manager said that index-tracking mutual funds could reach 6 trillion Yuan in 10 years (or $857.29 billion.)
Liquid Alternative ETFs on Institutional Shopping Lists
A study commissioned by IndexIQ reveals that there could be a surge in institutional interest in liquid alternative ETFs. This trend could push up their assets to $114 billion, or double their current value, in the coming 12 months.
Melvin: Breaking Down Jones Lang LaSalle’s Outlook
Jones Lang LaSalle released its third-quarter U.S. Office outlook recently. The global commercial real estate firm found that conditions are generally good.
McKinsey: North American AUM Hit $43 Trillion Last Year
A new McKinsey report puts total North American AUM at $43 trillion. The market hit that figure saw a 7% jump from the previous year. That said, industry profits (not-including alternative investments) declined by 3.7% to just $42.6 billion.
CEM Benchmarking: How REITs Match Up Against Other Investments
In October, CEM Benchmarketing compiled a study for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT).
The study is called “Asset Allocation and Fund Performance of Defined Benefit Pension Funds in the United States, 1998-2017.”
Simplifya Exec John Vardaman: Cannabis and Banking Bring Transparency
Simplifya executive John Vardaman says that the Federal status of cannabis laws make it one of the most transparent industries for banking.
Key Takeaways from Investor Day at Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management held its Investor Day recently. Management made a few things very clear.
First, if interest rates remain low, investors will have no alternative except alternative investments.