06Jun

“Hedge funds performed well in 2020,” says the alternative assets intelligence firm Preqin.

With returns of 16.63% across all asset classes, hedge fund returns were ahead of the S&P 500 PR Index, which closed the year at 16.26%, according to the 2021 Preqin Global Hedge Fund Report. It was the asset class’ highest annual return since 2009.

Preqin said the best performing strategy was equities, with a 19.64% return. Credit strategies provided the lowest returns at 5.24%.

In addition to a strong upside, Preqin said, “Hedge funds also offered downside protection through lower levels of volatility over 2020 compared with the public markets.”

Accounts under management grew by 6% over 2019 to $3.87 trillion as of the end of November. Though modest, it was a significant turnaround from the first two quarters of the year when investors fled the sector for the lower cost and more passive UCITS (Undertakings Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) and ETFs (exchange traded funds).

“The direction of flow reversed in the third quarter,” Preqin says, “Suggesting an increasing investor preference for active management over tracking.”

As cautious as investors themselves, hedge fund professionals launched significantly fewer new funds. Liquidations exceeded new funds by 758 to 740 for “only the second year on record,” said Preqin. The previous time that happened was in 2019.

Still, Preqin listed 18,303 funds at the close of 2020, just behind the record of 18,391 recorded in 2018.

The report identifies what it describes as five “megatrends,” themes that will continue to shape the hedge fund industry:

  1. ESG – Typically described as social investing, ESG considers environmental, social, and governance issues in deciding on investment. Preqin says ESG “has moved into the mainstream and is a key consideration” for investors and fund managers.
  2. Capital consolidation – “Established managers are taking a growing share of capital raised across all alternative asset classes.”
  3. Diversification — Since 2016, investors’ primary reason for allocating to hedge funds has been diversification, says Preqin. That will continue, predicts the report, as “investors are more focused on low correlation than returns.”
  4. Customized solutions – The shift away from fund products can offer lower fees and allow investors and managers to take part in opportunities more equally.
  5. Rising allocation to alternatives – “Investors are increasing their alternatives allocations to produce better risk-adjusted returns and protect the downside.”

Preqin’s head of research insights David Lowery says, “After nine consecutive quarters of outflows, Q3 2020 marked the first quarter of net inflows, bringing much-needed optimism to the hedge fund industry. Established managers are taking a growing share of capital raised across all alternative asset classes, but investors are seemingly aware of the benefits of investing in first-time funds and are taking advantage of the large supply.”

Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash

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Influencer is the Hottest New Marketing Career (Sample)

When the pandemic hit and Americans hunkered down, spending on essentials and entertainment, but on little else, brands naturally cut their marketing budgets.

One area that survived was social media influencers. After dipping slightly at the outset of the quarantine, social influencer spending quickly returned to pre-COVID levels. Meanwhile, other advertising, including digital, continued to decline so much that 7-in-10 CMOs have seen an average 19% cut in their marketing budgets.

From an almost accidental niche specialty, influencer marketing has become a big part of digital marketing. Spending on social influence was estimated to hit $9.7 billion this year.

Marketers report that for every $1 they spend on social influence they earn an average media value of $5.78. No surprise then that influencer jobs have become one of the hottest new marketing careers. By virtue of the relationship they’ve established with their audience, social media influencers can introduce their followers to a new brand, or boost an established brand’s sales simply by posting about them.

Until recently, influencers didn’t see what for many began as a hobby as a career. They wrote blogs, posted videos and images to YouTube and Instagram channels and otherwise produced content about what most interested them. As they gained followers, they gained influence and companies noticed.

Kylie Jenner, with 164 million Instagram followers, can drive huge sales for her cosmetics line and for other products she promotes. So effective is her influence that companies pay her hundreds of thousands, even up to a million to post about their products.

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Banking’s 2021 Outlook: Transformation and Resilience

When the pandemic forced the shutdown of businesses across much of the world, one of the sectors that adapted quickly was finance.

In a detailed forward-looking article, Deloitte applauded banking’s response calling it “notable… Banks effectively deployed technology and demonstrated unprecedented agility and resilience.” Looking ahead, the report says now is the time for the industry to institutionalize what it learned about engaging customers, digital transformation, finance and talent, among others.

While COVID impacted so many areas of the global economy and work, perhaps the most highly visible is in workforce management.

“Banking leaders around the world have faced an array of challenges on the talent front, from shifting to a remote, distributed workforce to finding ways to keep employees engaged and productivity high,” says the report written by two of Deloitte’s most senior leaders in its Banking & Capital Markets practice: Mark Shilling, a vice chairman, and Anna Celbner, vice chairman of Deloitte UK.

A majority of banks adopted flexible schedules and focused on employee safety and well-being. However, the economic fallout also led many to implement layoffs, furloughs and voluntary time off. Further “hard decisions on optimal talent models” may need to be made in 2021, the writers acknowledge.

But as uncertainties continue, “Bank leaders should continue to proactively recognize employee concerns, be sensitive to their personal/family needs, and prioritize physical and psychological health efforts that can also help maintain employee productivity.”

To improve retention and engage workers, especially the many that work, and may continue to work remotely, banks must “transform their talent strategies to enable employees to learn better, faster, and more frequently.”

Teaming needs to change to “facilitate flexible, self-organizing teams that come together for a common purpose,” the authors write. “Boosting productivity, creativity, and collaboration should be the ultimate goals.”

The lengthy report addresses multiple other areas of banking operations, suggesting how the industry can build on the lessons of the last year, as well as proposing ways to manage the uncertainties ahead. Resilience, a recurring theme throughout the article, is the overall message.

Acknowledging that, “Uncertainty about the effects of the pandemic will likely remain for the foreseeable future,” Shilling and Celbner, say “This should not prevent bank leaders from reimagining the future and making bold bets.

“They should institutionalize the lessons from the pandemic and build a new playbook by strengthening resilience now and accelerating the transformation in the post-pandemic world.”

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon

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