Susan B. Weiner's Blog, page 53

Do I need to use the (r) mark with my CFP designation?

“Do I need to use the ® mark with my CFP designation”? This question spurred me to do some research on whether one must always write “CFP®.”

When I was active as a reporter, I never used the ® mark. In fact, I rarely included an interviewee’s CFP designation because space was tight.

Upon doing research, I discovered that the rules for me as a reporter and blogger differ from the rules for you as a CFP certificant.

If you’re using your CFP designation in sales or advertising

Here’s what The Chicago Manual of Style says on its website:

Q. Is it proper or necessary to use the circled R each and every time the registered trademark name is used in a document? What is the correct usage for the symbol?

A. In publications that are not advertising or sales materials, all that is necessary is to use the proper spelling and capitalization of the name of the product. A trademark attorney can tell you when the use of the symbol is required.

From a legal standpoint, the key seems to be whether you’re using your designation in something that might be considered advertising.

The CFP Board’s stance on “CFP®”

It appears that the CFP Board would like the circled R to appear with every use of the CFP mark, with the exception of “CFP Board.” As it says in its guidelines, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) is a company name or trade name, not a trademark, and therefore is not required to be displayed with the ® or ™ symbols.”

You can read general guidelines—and download detailed instructions—on the CFP Board’s website.

Will you land in trouble if you don’t abide by the guidelines? Maybe not, but do you want to annoy the body that issues a credential that’s important to you? Here’s the CFP Board’s response to my tweet on the topic.

By the way, the CFP Board also has rules about what words you bundle together with “CFP®.” They ask you to use:

…one of CFP Board’s approved nouns (“certificant,” “professional,” “practitioner,” “certification,” “mark” or “exam”) unless directly following the name of the individual certified by CFP Board.

CFP practices at some big firms

For the heck of it, I searched “CFP” on the Merrill Lynch website. It yielded a sea of “CFP®” references. I didn’t see any CFPs without the mark.

The CFP certificants who popped up in a search on the Ameriprise Financial website also used the registered mark.

What about the CFA?

Doing this research made me worry about whether I’m supposed to use a mark when I write “Susan Weiner, CFA.” I learned that my current usage is fine, but there are cases where the CFA Institute would like me to use  the mark.

Here are some examples of proper usage from the CFA Institute’s web page about trademark usage:

John Smith is a CFA® charterholder.
Amy Jones, CFA, is a portfolio manager.
John Smith is a holder of the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

For more on the proper use of this designation, visit the CFA Institute’s page about trademark usage.

Your firm’s biographies

Doing this research made me realize that you should research the trademark status of the designations held by your financial firm’s employees. With research, you can make sure your firm’s bios conform with the rules.

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Test your financial editing skill with these examples

Savvy editors can boost the effectiveness of financial content by streamlining it. Hone your financial editing skill by reviewing the before-and-after examples I share below. Some of the “before” examples are taken directly from my reading. Others are inspired by my reading, but tweaked.

I’ve grouped the examples by the main lesson that they illustrate. If you’re hungry for more examples, see “Can YOU simplify investment commentary better than this?” You can learn more more tips and techniques for financial editing in my book, Financial Blogging: How to Write Powerful Posts That Attract Clients.

If you can improve on my edits, please let me know. Sometimes an editor with a fresh eye can make improvements.

1. Delete or replace forms of the verb “to be”

Before: The company’s 2015 loss is a reflection of the shifting preferences of consumers for ordering online instead of going into a store to buy.

After: The company’s 2015 loss reflected consumers’ shift toward buying online instead of in stores.

Note: “Is a reflection of” becomes “reflected,” as you replace a “to be” verb plus noun with the verb form of the noun.

Before: This data is supportive of higher prices.

After: This data supports higher prices.

Before: Stocks as expensive as these are often experience price declines.

After: Stocks this expensive often fall in price.

Before: This kind of growth could be sustainable going forward.

After: This growth could continue.

Note: I imagine that in either version, the next sentence might discuss what will drive the continued growth. I believe the writer is trying to say something with the adjective “sustainable.”

2. Delete “the fact that,” “it should be noted that,” and similar phrases

Before: We are pleased with the fact that the company’s profitability is improving.

After 1: We are pleased with the company’s improving profitability.

After 2: The company’s profitability is improving

Note: Phrases such as “the fact that” don’t add anything useful to the sentence. “We are pleased with” sounds self-congratulatory. I prefer to simply present the information.

Before: It should be noted that boom and bust cycles for oil tend to be long lasting and we have been talking about the end of this cycle for some time now.

After: Oil’s boom-bust cycles tend to last a long time, but this boom is already long.

Note: The rewrite also benefits from using the possessive. Using “but” instead of “and” makes the relationship between the two clauses easier to grasp.

Before: We have seen stocks that have failed to live up to expectations.

After 1: We have seen stocks fail to live up to expectations.

After 2: We have seen stocks disappoint expectations.

After 3: We have seen stocks disappoint.

After 4: Some stocks disappointed.

Note: This four-step revision shows how it can help to keep looking for ways to streamline your sentences.

3. Say what you think, not what you don’t think

Before: We do not think it is a coincidence.

After: We think it resulted from a plan.

Note: Say what you think. Don’t make people struggle to figure it out by analyzing what you don’t think.

4. Use the possessive to shorten

Before: The type of actions that Jeb Bush is taking might not seem strange to Republicans

After: Jeb Bush’s actions might not seem strange to Republicans.

5. Replace “result”

Before: These changes resulted in cost savings.

After: These changes cut costs.

Before: These changes resulted in revenue growth of 74%.

After: These changes grew revenues by 74%.

6. Remove excess words

Before: The recent sell-off in the small-cap stock market has created an attractive window of opportunity to invest in the sector.

After: Their recent sell-off has opened a window to invest in small-cap stocks.

Note: It’s clear from the context that a “window” is an attractive opportunity to invest.

Before: There has been a proliferation of new entrants into the social media analytics space.

After 1: Many new companies have started offering social media analytics.

After 2: Many new companies offer social media analytics.

Note: Try to replace nouns, especially multi-syllabic words such as “proliferation,” with verbs.

Before: The company has strong preexisting relationships with wholesalers.

After: The company has strong relationships with wholesalers.

Note: I don’t think you would make the mistake of assuming from the new sentence that the company has anything other than preexisting relationships with wholesalers, unless this is in the context of writing about something that brings new relationships.

Before: Mergers Acquisitions (M&A) was a major theme in 2015, as transactional activity accelerated during the year led by many

prominent investment firms.

After: An increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), led by major investment firms, made M&A a major theme in 2015.

Note: This sentence was hard to simplify out of context. I might have chosen differently if I saw the entire paragraph. However, sometimes you can streamline by simplifying adjectival phrases. “Transactional activity” becomes “transactions.” Limit the number and length of adjectives. “Many prominent investment firms” becomes “major investment firms.” Avoid random capitalization. as in “Mergers and Acquisitions.” Letters that are capitalized in acronyms, such as M&A, shouldn’t be capitalized when the words are spelled out in full.

Before: The company was two times the size of its smallest competitor.

After: The company was twice the size of its smallest competitor.

Tips for refining your financial editing skill?

Editing other people’s drafts is a great way to improve your skill as a financial editor and writer. You can also take classes to get more practice. If you have other tips for improving your financial editing skill, I’d like to hear them.

Image courtesy of bplanet / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Amp up your writing with investment commentary top posts

Investment commentary is a focus of my writing, editing, and teaching. To help people get a quick idea of what’s most important about writing investment commentary, I’m sharing my investment commentary top posts. Click on the headings to read the posts that I’ve selected. If you’d like to read more of my classic investment commentary posts, buy my mini e-book, Investment Commentary: Best Tips From InvestmentWriting.com. You can also get advice directly from me on my upcoming webinar, “How to Write Investment Commentary People Will Read” on June 23, 2016.

1. Ideal quarterly investment letters: Meaningful, specific, and short

There’s an industry consensus about what makes for the best quarterly investment letters. My survey research says that they are “meaningful, specific, and short.” You can’t simply spout what everyone else is saying. Put some spin on the content so it supports a point of view that’s relevant to your target audience. Don’t drone on and on.

2. Investment commentary numbers: How to get them right

It’s so frustrating when you slave over a piece of investment commentary only to find after publication that a wrong number has sneaked into your piece. I was mortified when this happened to me. As a result, I’ve developed a system for minimizing the number of errors that sneak through. I share my system with you in this post.

Unfortunately, it takes time to get things right. There’s no substitute for careful proofreading. Even with careful proofreading, you’ll sometimes have problems. For example, sometimes index providers revise their numbers for index returns. You can’t help that.

3. Are financial predictions too risky for investment commentary writers?

Should you make predictions in your investment commentary? In this post, I argue that economic and market predictions can help by giving readers insight into the way that you and your firm think about investments. Of course, proponents of index investing—and similar styles, such as evidence-based investing—may skip predictions on principle, as my friend, writer Wendy Cook once suggested in conversation with me. However, even for those investors, I believe there’s some value to interpreting what’s happening in the stock and bond markets.

Learn an investment commentary process in my webinar!

I’ll teach you how to achieve the 3 Cs of great investment commentary in my webinar.

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I’m no extrovert, but I play one on social media and so can you

Social media works—especially for introverts. It works for me. It can work for you, too.

What a public presence says about an introvert

I thought about this when I saw my profile on Crystal, which says it can assess people’s personalities on the basis of their social media posts and other publicly available information that turns up in a Google search. Here’s what Crystal says about me:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“One of the most social people in the room”? I don’t think so. If you’ve ever seen me in a real-life room of strangers, you’ve seen me standing over to the side with a fake smile, hoping that someone will come talk to me. By the way, if I were active on Crystal, my profile might become more accurate. The site adjusts your profile based on “confirmations” by you and your peers. You get a chance to click “thumbs down” or “thumbs up” on personality attributes displayed for you and other members of your network.

Why it’s easier for an introvert to play an extrovert on social media than in real life

On the other hand, I understand how I might come across as friendly and outgoing on social media. It’s so much easier to chat with people on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook. These platforms remove some of the scary aspects of real-life conversations. This is a big benefit of social media for introverts.

Here is why interacting on social media is easier than interacting in real life for introverts like me:

It’s easy to approach anybody. You don’t have to push your way through a crowd to reach the people whom you’d like to meet. Just throw out their Twitter handle or use their name in a LinkedIn status update. If your targets are monitoring their social media presence and care about expanding their network, they are likely to see your post. They may even respond.
You don’t have to worry about being publicly snubbed. Have you ever  introduced yourself to a group at cocktail party or lunch, only to be ignored? It’s humiliating. Plus, if you picked the wrong table at a conference luncheon, you’re stuck silently eating, and possibly overeating to conceal your discomfort with activity. In contrast, on social media, it’s less painful if someone fails to respond to your comment on their tweet or LinkedIn Pulse post. You aren’t forced to view their non-response. Plus, the steady flow of social media updates mean this is less likely to be noticed by others.
You can expand your network without face-to-face contact. If you share valuable content and interact well with others on social media, your network will grow. As I write this post, my Twitter followers number close to 12,000. Can you imagine how painful it would be for an introvert to build that kind of network on a face-to-face basis? Plus, it would require a lot of travel if your network, like mine, is spread around the world.
You can always find someone to interact with, especially other introverts. As author Jenny Lawson says about introverts in Furiously Happy, “They’re often on their phones or computers so it’s like you’re with friends even when you’re alone.”
You avoid awkward departures from face-to-face conversations. As Mack Collier says in “Why introverts love Social Media“: “What do you do when you reach that point where the conversation has died, and you need to politely break it off?  I hate that!  But again, if I’m online, then I can leave and no one really knows.  So again, that awkward feeling is removed.” On a related note, you can avoid getting cornered by someone with whom you don’t wish to interact. Platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn let you block people from your content. You can also use privacy settings to manage who sees what. Of course, you may still find yourself in awkward situations on social media. If so, check out Blane Warrene’s suggestions in “Tackling Vitriol in Your Digital Spaces.”
You avoid exhaustion. For introverts, being around people all day can be exhausting. After I attend an all-day conference, I’m ready to crawl into a cave for a couple days. This happens to me even if I enjoy the conference and meet friendly people there.
You have time to think. Introverts like to think before they speak. Sometimes my husband gets mad at me because I don’t answer his questions right away. I’m not ignoring him; I’m mulling over my answers. Social media exchanges can happen quickly, particularly on Twitter. However, social media interactions typically allow more time for reflection.
You can show off the friendly person you’d like to be. I’d likely to be a person who comes across as friendly and warm. Even on social media, I could probably make my presence more friendly. However, I suspect that I come across much better on social media than in face-to-face meetings.

The marketing advantage of social media for introverts

The distance imposed by social media allows introverts—at least introverts like me—to relax and relate better to the people whom we meet online. It also gives our prospective clients a better idea of who we are. By the time they contact us about business opportunities, they may already feel that they know us. That makes them more inclined to do business with us. They will also have more realistic expectations for our work together. Except, perhaps, for the kind of in-real-life meetings we may have. But even then, we may do better because the social media interactions have made our new prospects more familiar to us, too.

Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts about the benefits and drawbacks of social media. Is the rise of social media hard for extroverts to handle? I found an interesting quote about social media for extroverts in Ryan Dube’s “Introverts Love Facebook and Extroverts Hate It. Here’s Why.”:

Extroverts, on the other hand, often despise everything about Facebook. The facial cues, the back-and-forth banter and the physical contact are all missing. In fact, it’s often the extrovert who expounds upon the tragedy that social networks and smartphones are causing to society and interpersonal relationships.

Extroverts, do you struggle with social media?

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5 rules for using quotes in investment commentary

Smart investment commentary writers are willing to learn from others. That’s why I was delighted when Rob Martorana shared the thoughts below in response to my post, “Should you use quotes like Bill Gross?” His rules about using quotes deserve wider circulation.

By the way, this blog post is a testament to the power of LinkedIn for connecting people. I met Rob thanks to the serendipity of his commenting on one of my earlier status updates on LinkedIn. This is a great reason to be on LinkedIn.

5 rules for using quotes in investment commentary

By Rob Martorana

I agree that quotes should not be “teaser” content. If Bill Gross opened his article by quoting “When I’m 64,” the article should be about aging. Authors should use quotes carefully, and always with their audience in mind. Here are five rules I try to live by:

Rule #1: Do not quote ancient philosophers when the market is crashing.

That annoys clients to no end. Investors do not want to hear from Sun Tzu and the Art of War after they just lost $100,000.

Rule #2: Do not quote people out of context.

Show that you understand who said it, when they said it, and what they meant by it. Don’t put words in the mouth of the person you are quoting.

Rule #3: Do not quote out of cowardice.

If you want to say something controversial to the audience, just come out and say it. Don’t hide behind the authority of a historical figure.

Rule #4: Keep your wit on a short leash.

Quotes are often used to entertain and amuse, rather than to illustrate and illuminate. This is related to rule 5…

Rule #5: Get to the point quickly.

Remember that “brevity is the soul of wit.”

Investment writing should be clear, concise, and concrete. Don’t take me down a rabbit hole to show off your knowledge of Milton Friedman or Michel Foucault.

Rob Martorana owns an RIA in New Jersey, where he manages money, publishes articles, and provides competitive intelligence on the wealth management industry. His research interests include portfolio design, expected returns, liquid alternatives, and the digital delivery of investment advice.

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Are your affiliate links in compliance?

Did you know that if you use affiliate links on your blog or website, you should disclose that? Your affiliate links could be something as simple as an Amazon affiliate link to a book that you like and recommend? Basically, an affiliate link is like an advertisement and should be labeled to make that clear.

The FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking digs into the details of what the Fair Trade Commission wants you to do.

I have some Amazon Affiliates links on my blog. Here’s the disclosure I’m using with them:

Disclosure: If you click on the Amazon link in this post and then buy something, I will receive a small commission. I only link to books in which I find some value for my blog’s readers.

I have a similar disclosure for when I discuss books for which I’ve received free review copies.

I insert the disclosure whenever I create a new affiliate link. Another approach is to insert a disclaimer at the bottom of every blog post so you don’t need to think about whether a disclosure is needed. This is what Michael Hyatt suggests in his chapter on “Comply with the FTC Guidelines” in Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World.

If you’re struggling to understand the FTC rules for disclosing compensation, you’re not alone. You have some big firms as company. Lord & Taylor ran into trouble with the FTC, as discussed in the L.A. Times in March 2016.

Have questions? Check the FTC website for their most recent guidance or consult your compliance professionals.

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Email and the mystery of the missing agreement

“Where’s my contract?” A friend’s question about his missing contract inspired this post about the value of structuring your emails properly. The email’s details have been changed in my account. I don’t believe in embarrassing people, especially since I’ve made so many mistakes myself.

Client email problem

The problem started when my friend sent a polite, friendly email with the terms of his agreement with his new client. They’d discussed the terms in a friendly telephone conversation, so he didn’t expect any problems. But a week passed with no follow-up communication from the new client. What went wrong?

I immediately suspected a problem that I’ve encountered in financial advisor emails that I’ve reviewed as part of the research for my presentation on “Writing Effective Emails.” The email was too polite and friendly.

Here’s how I imagine the email might have started:

It was so nice speaking with you today. I look forward to working with you on X, Y, and Z.

It’s a great idea to summarize your conversation with the client in your email. However, email readers tend to focus most on the beginning of an email. My friend’s recipient may never have reached the part of the newsletter where he asked her to reply with an email confirming that she accepted his terms.

In other words, the email didn’t make it easy for the reader to grasp what action was required.

Client email solution

Two changes could have boosted the likelihood that my friend would receive the response he desired.

Put the desired action in the subject line. For example, “OK? Terms for our project.”
Request the desired action at the top of your email. For example, “Please confirm your agreement to the terms by DATE1 so I can begin work by DATE2.”

This kind of email makes it easy for the recipient to understand what you want from him or her. You’re showing respect for the person’s time by clearly specifying the next step.

This kind of action-oriented email may seem cold to you. But it gets results. Also, you can drop the warm and fuzzy content into your email in a less prominent position. You don’t have to come across like a robot when you write action-oriented emails.

My client email confession

I confess that I sometimes put a positive sentiment, such as “Thank you” at the top of my action-oriented emails. I also soften my demands by writing something like “When you get a chance, please confirm receipt of my invoice.”

However, I try to balance that by naming an action in my email subject line.

 

Whether you’re all business or incorporate some niceness, please highlight the next step to your email recipients. You’ll make their lives easier and you’ll get more of the results that you desire.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Who are the fixed-income commentary winners–and why?

Learning about new sources of fixed-income commentary was the biggest benefit of running my survey about “Who writes the best fixed-income commentary?” (see the original survey, which is still open for comments). You’ll find the recommendations of my industry connections below.

The survey also showed me what financial professionals think makes fixed-income commentary great. I’m grateful to my LinkedIn connections, including many professional investors, who shared their insights. I’m no bond geek, so I enjoyed learning from the professionals. Although survey participants were anonymous, I believe that many of the respondents come from among the fixed-income professionals whom I asked to take the survey.

The race for the #2 spot

Bill Gross of Janus Capital killed the competition in this survey. He racked up 50 percent of the vote. This doesn’t surprise me. After all, he’s one of the first portfolio managers whom most people think of when asked to name a fixed-income commentator.

My initial survey asked people to vote on a predetermined slate of candidates, which I’d collected via LinkedIn. But it also allowed for write-ins.

Below are the winners from among the names suggested for votes, along with comments that survey respondents made about them. I’ve included a link to what seems to be the best source of the investment commentary that my respondents enjoyed. I’ve also shared some of the respondents’ comments on the contenders.

Janus commentary by Bill Gross—Respondent 1: “Authoritative – influences conversation and identifies themes that everyone else parrots.” Respondent 2: “Touches on the macro issues driving the fixed income markets in a way that usually engages the reader. Tangents make it interesting.” Respondent 3: “I don’t typically work with fixed-income securities, but regularly read Bill Gross’ reports to help find interest rate trends and get insights into where bond yields/inflation might be heading. Bill’s commentary always comes with personal anecdotes, light humor, and likeability.” Respondent 4: “He has a breezy, confident style that draws you in. Bill has written for decades, and has a clear ‘voice.’ He used to read it aloud in a podcast, and his cadence and phrasings are quite distinctive and natural. “
DoubleLine
Hoisington Investment Company—”Lacy Hunt is great Fed watching commentary“; “Opinions expressed are based on big picture macro views.”
Loomis Sayles commentary by Dan Fuss—The PDF commentary for the Bond Fund seems a bit bland compared to the colorful commentary that I’ve heard Fuss share in presentations to the Boston Security Analysts Society. Perhaps his fans are responding to his commentary delivered on TV or in interviews. Or perhaps there is meatier commentary hiding elsewhere on the Loomis Sayles website.
Nuveen’s municipal bond commentary by John Miller
TCW/MetWest—”TCW MetWest has, in our opinion and for our investment consulting purposes, the best quarterly fixed-income market commentary. They release talking points shortly after quarter-end and then a more developed review a couple of weeks later.”

More fixed-income commentary contenders

A number of people wrote in suggestions that weren’t included in the vote tally. I’m including their comments, when appropriate. I also include a link to what I believe are the online sources to which survey participants referred.

BCA Research (this is a paid service, but you can sample the firm’s insights on The BCA Blog)—”It’s designed to meet my needs and interests and not those of the firm sponsoring the commentary.”
Bloomberg Credit Research team (you’d need a Bloomberg terminal to access their content)—”The insights are fantastic and because it is on the terminal, I can easily use their charts and graphs and Excel sheets.”
Bond Squad, a paid service—”independent, frank, timely, unconflicted written by someone who has worked with both institutional and retail investors for 30+ years. I consider daily e-mails/weekly longforms must reads.”
Brean Capital’s Peter Tchir (@tfmkts) who blogs on Forbes—for “macro strategy and asset allocation. Brean’s stuff…takes you through an argument for or against a positioning or the rationale for a market move and how to benefit by it. It’s about info and context.“
Cumberland Advisors—no one commented on this commentary’s strength, but I used it to illustrate my first-sentence check approach to editing your own writing.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management—”great weekly letters, on a variety of topics including the broader economy, but often is insightful and more timely than quarterly pieces, especially since the markets seem to more faster these days than ever before.”
Grant’s Interest Rate Observer,  a paid service—gets into issuer-level detail that is a bit deeper than some need.
Janus Capital’s Fundamental Informed quarterly commentary—”The piece is more formal than Bill’s at times bizarre monthly commentary and takes a serious look at what is driving their fixed-income decision-making.”
Guggenheim—”not as product driven as many others, tends to have more independent views and writes on a sophisticated level rather than for general retail investor audience”


Municipal Market Analytics‘ Matt Fabian (paid service)—”Clear and concise combination of economic, fundamental, technical, political [factors]”
Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks—”Topical” and “really insightful”
PIMCO’s Harley Bassman—”Experienced, easy to read”
PIMCO, other sources—”We don’t rely on any general market commentary from PIMCO, but rather read their ad hoc stuff religiously. But the real gem out of PIMCO is usually their verbal comments on webcasts (like on AssetTV) if you can see past their informercials (ie, they plug themselves shamelessly).”
The Rieger Report on the Indexology Blog of S&P Dow Jones Indices—”The information provided is independent and unbiased. The reports are not trying to sell or convince anyone to invest in a particular product instead they are arming investors with information to make decisions.”
Wilmington Trust’s  Stephen Winterstein—”He presents an interest-rate agnostic view of the fixed income world (in other words he doesn’t waste time focusing on the unknowable . . . interest rate directionality). He does focus on credit analysis and larger geographic trends where his experience and conviviality shine.”

Explaining why they didn’t go with one of the big names, one respondent said, “In general I feel that [Doubleline’s Jeffrey] Gundlach and Gross ‘talk their book’ in their commentaries. They are good to read, but with a jaundiced eye (I am a fixed income guy!).”

What makes fixed-income commentary great?

Survey respondents gave roughly equal top billing to the following characteristics of great commentary, ranking the characteristics on a scale from 1 “Most important” to 5 “Not at all important”:

Fundamental analysis that’s good—one respondent said, “Facts and figures are great but context and implications are key.”—Average ranking 1.5
Writing that is clear and easy to understand—I was delighted with the comment that “To be GREAT, it must be concise and jargon-free, or at least low-jargon.”—Average ranking 1.5
Different perspective—Average ranking 1.63

Next came “Writing that is distinctive and colorful.”

Lagging far behind were “Predictions that are accurate” and “Technical analysis that’s good.” As for accuracy of predictions, on respondent said, “I actually think it’s more important to understand their rationale (and agree or disagree) rather than merely accept anyone’s opinion as fact.”

Another factor, which I gleaned from comments on respondents’ favorite commentators, is that my respondents liked commentary that focused on the readers’ needs, rather than on promoting the firm or its investment strategies. That makes it tough for fund managers to excel.

How great fixed-income commentary differs from great commentary about other asset classes

Here’s my summary of what people said in their open-ended comments about what distinguishes great commentary about bonds:

It matters more, said a respondent who believes that “bond markets drive stock markets long term.” On a related note, another respondent said, “Fixed income is the area that is most important to identifying global-macro trends and future economic prospects by looking at the current situation on yields vs interest rates and where they are headed; stocks are volatile and always changing; other asset classes are in a league of their own.”
It’s more oriented to the longer term, with “less emphasis on daily tactical or daily news type of hyperbole.”
It’s more diverse because each bond sector has unique characteristics.
It shows awareness of whether the buyers are investors or traders and the diverse purposes (total return/income/diversification/safety) for which fixed-income is used.
Unlike commentary about stocks, which is about stories, commentary about bonds, is “about stories as well as math, f/x, economics, and liquidity.” This seems to relate to another person’s comment that “Fixed income commentary should be based on top-down analytics.”

Annoying habits of top fixed-income commentary writers

The commentators whom I’ve discussed would be even better if they could clean up some issues with their writing and presentation, in my opinion.

Here are the annoying habits that I noticed as I viewed their writing samples.

They are guilty of “Bloggers’ top two punctuation mistakes” and other usage mistakes. I can understand their firm’s editorial staff allowing them to have distinctive voices. However, I’d like to see the editors rein in outright mistakes, such as writing “the gap has broached” instead of the gap has breached.”
They use too much jargon, especially if their commentary is aimed at individual investors. They could learn from Donald Trump and ask themselves “What would The Wall Street Journal do?“

You can improve YOUR investment commentary writing with my June 23 webinar.

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Top 5 financial white paper mistakes that sabotage your results

I’ve seen many white papers fail to attract and educate readers. That’s often because they make the top five financial white paper mistakes.

1. They discuss a topic, not a problem.

Bad white papers fail to identify a point and to proceed toward it. In contrast, the best white papers tackle a problem—and offer a solution. They don’t ramble aimlessly about a topic.

A “topic” is “small-cap stocks.” A “problem” is “What should I invest in?” or “Should I invest in small-cap stocks?” These problems are solved by white papers with titles such as “The case for small-cap stocks” or “How small cap stocks can improve your portfolio’s diversification.”

On a related point, white papers shouldn’t originate simply because portfolio managers or other financial professionals have an idea they’re excited about. White papers should be tied to client needs. If you’d like to respectfully rein in portfolio managers, read “Reader question: How can communicators manage difficult portfolio managers?”

2. They are brochures, not white papers.

If a paper focuses on its publisher’s products and services, it’s a brochure, not a white paper.

Most good financial white papers wait until the last page to plug their products. Usually the promotion consists of a call-to-action (CTA) statement to contact the firm or to click through to learn more about a product. The CTA is often set off in italics or separated from the body of the paper by other formatting. This visible separation tells readers, “We understand the difference between educating you and explicitly pushing our services.”

Of course, white papers have a marketing agenda. They’re effective because they discuss problems that their products or services solve.

3. They’re too long.

People’s attention spans are limited. They won’t read long white papers.

Attention spans differ for institutional vs. retail audiences. Institutional readers will stick with you longer, partly because, compared with individuals, they require more proof of the points that you make in your white papers. They won’t take your statements on faith.

I’ve seen retail white papers that work with lengths as short as 1.000 to 2,000 words. On the institutional side, I’ve written white papers that run 5,000 words or longer.

4. They’re poorly written.

Bad writing drives readers away, unless the readers are highly motivated to learn about your topic and have nowhere else to turn. Even highly motivated readers will struggle to grasp your message if your white paper is poorly written.

Writing that achieves the 3 Cs of being compelling, clear, and concise make it easier for prospects to become clients.

5. They’re poorly formatted.

Cramped, unattractive white papers make it harder for readers to absorb your message. They also suggest that your firm is less than 100% professional in its approach to communications with clients and prospects.

Good formatting and design are easy on the eyes. They help busy readers to quickly assess whether your white paper can help them solve their problems. They enhance the effectiveness of information that you present in charts, graphs, and sidebars (which are boxes that are separate from your white paper’s main flow).

How to avoid financial white paper mistakes

For industry professionals’ perspective on what makes for a good financial white paper, read “White paper marketing: Walk a fine line.”

Consider hiring professionals to help with your white papers. A writer or editor can ensure that your papers are well written. If you’re a small firm that lacks access to a professional designer, consider hiring a designer to create a template for you. Then you’ll have a good layout and some good ideas about how to format graphs and other exhibits. Help makes it a lot easier to avoid financial white paper mistakes.

 

The post Top 5 financial white paper mistakes that sabotage your results appeared first on Susan Weiner's Blog on Investment Writing.

Who’s writing the great investment content?

Content is king. Asset managers increasingly agree with this statement. But many lack the resources to write great investment content.

My gut feeling about this was reinforced by the results of a survey conducted by the Mutual Fund Education Alliance and Back Bay Communications. One finding, according to the press release:

Less than a quarter (23%) of survey respondents have built dedicated content creation teams in house, and less than one in five (18%) use external agencies or freelancers.

The survey suggests that 57 percent of asset managers are trying to write great investment content without the necessary resources in place. Of course, the survey’s sample was limited—including only 26 respondents from among members of the MFEA’s Product and Marketing councils—so its results are not conclusive. Also, I’m not sure how “dedicated content creation team” is defined. Does it refer to all employees involved in writing and editing or only some of them?

I see investment firms tackling the need to produce content in three ways, only two of which are covered by the MFEA-Back Bay survey results. What’s the missing method? It looks to me as if some rely on their investment professionals.

Option 1. Rely on investment professionals

Having investment professionals do the writing is great in the sense that investment professionals know the markets and their products. It’s not great in the sense that investment professionals:

Are busy—they may not have time to write on top of their core responsibilities.
May not be good writers—after all, they were hired for their investment skills.

As asset managers continue to rely on investment professionals, some are training them to write better. Others are seeking out help on their own, which is why, I believe, my presentations to societies of the CFA Institute on “How to Write Investment Commentary People Will Read” have attracted great attendance. I’m offering “How to Write Investment Commentary People Will Read” as a webinar on June 23. I also offer customized corporate workshops and coaching.

Option 2. Outsource to freelance writers

When firms struggle to meet their writing needs internally, they may outsource. Even firms that have writers on staff may outsource at peak times, such as during the production of quarterly client reports or semiannual mutual fund reports. For ideas about how to outsource, read “Investment commentary–5 ways to outsource.”

By the way, the outsourcing may not go solely to people with traditional editorial skills. Videos and podcasts have become increasingly popular. According to the survey, “White papers and videos (82%) are the most utilized tactics, with white papers cited as the most effective medium for content marketing (59%).”

Option 3. Hire writers and editors into staff positions

Some investment management firms have had writers and editors on staff for years. Others are recent converts.

Editorial staff falls into different parts of the organizational structure, which may influence the scope of the employees’ roles—and their effectiveness. I’ve known people who work under the marketing, product management, or marketing operations department. When I worked in staff jobs, I reported to the company head or chief operating officer, probably reflecting the fact that I was the company’s first writer.

I mention organizational structure because it makes a difference to the editorial staff’s mandate. When the organizational structure communicates that writing is an important function, the quality of a firm’s writing can benefit. That’s especially true if senior management stands behind its writers in disagreements with the investment professionals. If the editorial staff is viewed as an operations function, with the goal of pumping out content as quickly as possible, quality may suffer.

Looking ahead: Writing great investment content rises in importance

I see investment managers paying more attention to creating and managing content. They’re increasingly looking to provide content that’s tailored to the needs of audience members as they move from being prospects to clients.

I can’t wait to see how things evolve.

 

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