Event Highlights: The Future Investor: Tech-Powered Portfolios | Chicago | January 24

The Future Investor:
Tech-Powered Portfolios
January 24, 2023 | Chicago

With increased capital and accessibility, digital prowess, information at their fingertips, and on track to be the largest U.S. population, Gen Z can’t be ignored. Recent studies show they are earning more, saving more, and investing at a rate higher than previous generations, and are not afraid to take on a little more risk. We explored how they make their financial decisions, including technologies, from EVs to AI and social responsibility, and the potential for a major impact on society. 


Click here to view the January 24 briefing.

 

 

Speakers:

  • Shawn Cruz, Derivatives Strategy Director, TD Ameritrade
  • Mel Hightower, Head of Multicultural Strategic Client Segments, UBS
  • Yelena Maleyev, Economist, KPMG
  • Angela Miller-May, Chief Investment Officer, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
  • Gene Munster, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Deepwater Asset Management
  • Michael O’Keeffe, Chief Investment Officer, Stifel
  • Paul J. Schroeder, QQQ Equity Product Strategist, Invesco
  • Ed Tilly, Chairman & CEO, Cboe Global Markets

Bloomberg participants:

  • Isis Almeida, Chicago Bureau Chief, Bloomberg
  • Michelle Lynn, Global Head of Data Science & Insights, Bloomberg Media
  • Anurag Rana, Senior Technology Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence
  • Janet Wu, Anchor & Reporter, Bloomberg


Event Highlights:

Mindset of the Next Gen Investor 

Traditional saving and investing methods for baby-boomers are not even familiar to Gen Z and Millenials. Angela Miller-May, Chief Investment Officer, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund said higher salaries and the desire to invest, personally and aggressively, are more important than pension plans that require staying with one employer “longer than they can fathom.” ESG is implemented into their processes, used as an assessment tool when hiring asset managers, with a lot of time spent promoting diversity. “It allows us to take a deeper look into how environmental, social and governance can really drive a strategy.”

Shawn Cruz, Derivatives Strategy Director, TD Ameritrade said the newest investors are not trading as actively, but are not disengaging, either, and are thinking more holistically around the macro environment, some sitting on substantial profits from 2020-21. Retail investors across the board are moving away from single stocks to exchange traded products that tie in with macro themes. A huge difference over the past year is product development proliferation where, for example, “If you want to have upside exposure to crude oil, you can get that direct exposure. You don’t have to go through Exxon and hope they don’t have a fire, an outage or an oil spill.”

Influences like U.S./China tensions, the war in Ukraine and monetary regulations have changed the thinking for Millennials, who are moving from short to long-term investing, according to Mel Hightower, Head of Multicultural Strategic Client Segments, UBS: “We see the advent of sustainability come back to the forefront, when that happens.” The young investor also wants to be more engaged with and educated about the solutions being implemented on their behalf. Over the next decade, technology will also change the interaction part of investing. Investors want to talk to one another, and ways to bring social media discussions in-house are being developed. “We are trial-ballooning some products that are actually in Asia. We tested a community-based platform that’s done incredibly well. We think that will be the wave of the future.”

 

Invesco QQQ Sponsor Spotlight: Timely Innovation

Paul J. Schroeder, QQQ Equity Product Strategist, Invesco said innovation is a term used across industries. In investing, defining it is key. Two key metrics are research and development spend, which keeps them relevant and shows a long-term commitment to their business, and patent activity, providing an asset for their balance sheet and the ability to monetize R&D going forward. “What we’ve seen from NASDAQ 100 QQQ companies is greater patent activity within key technologies that are relevant not only today, but also should be relevant in years to come.” For investors, especially younger ones, it provides access to companies that are on the leading edge in their industries and seeking fundamental growth.

 

BI Presents: Trading With New Technologies 

Ed Tilly, Chairman & CEO, Cboe Global Markets believes that the current investor is facing uncertainty and volatility like never before. With that, helping clients navigate today’s challenges requires preparation, education, and the derivatives that allow for shaping the P&L curve. “In this environment, there is a strategy for every possibility,” said Tilly. Additionally, Gen Z has access to the same information only professionals used to have.

For exchange operators, regulation and oversight is key. “Our partners are regulators in every geography,” Tilly added, noting that the U.S. has multiple regulators, unusual on a global basis, but they embrace the trust it offers. In contrast, and having recently purchased a crypto exchange, the conflicts and lack of oversight on cryptocurrency creates challenges that are “unthinkable from an exchange point of view.” Their model will rely on their trusted partners and taking the traditional approach to maintain added value and risk oversight.

 

Going Long on Emerging Growth Trends

Yelena Maleyev, Economist, KPMG prefers leading over lagging indicators, because of the sentiment, from homebuilders, consumers and businesspeople. “That helps us understand what we’re going to be thinking about in hiring and spending decisions.” One of her focuses is the housing market, which tends to lead the overall economy. There’s been a slight uptick, the first since last August. It’s still in a downturn, but with mortgage rates dropping and demand remaining, “it’s going to be one of the first sectors to come out of that negative area.” As for a recession, she expects a very mild one because it’s Fed-induced. “It will be very easy for them to get us out of it once they get close to their 2% target, but we could be surprised.”

The transference of wealth from baby-boomers to millennials will be immense. Michael O’Keeffe, Chief Investment Officer, Stifel, described client accounts where a new generation comes into the picture who require a different type of engagement, including investment opportunities that are more bottom up and relate to the themes they are interested in and can get behind. On crypto, volatility is an issue, but the blockchain technology behind it is where the value lies. “That’s a whole other thing. There are scores of business opportunities not related to cryptocurrency.”

Gene Munster, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Deepwater Asset Management addressed the bold predictions on their website, such as a “measurable drop” in unicorns, from about 700 to 300. “There’s going to be opportunities there, ultimately, to own some of those companies. That’s part of the reason, too, why we want to be both private and public, because we think some of the best opportunities are in the public market today.” Going forward, if he had to name just one company on the forefront of innovation, it would be Tesla. “I’m a big believer, long-term, in where they’re going and with this price decrease, they are absolutely going to crush the competition.”

This Bloomberg briefing was Proudly Sponsored By

This Bloomberg briefing was Proudly Sponsored By

US Presenting Sponsor

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