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Deposits vs. Payments – What drives more value for banks today?

    The new banking formula: deposits plus payments

    There was a time when banks and fintechs competed mostly on bells and whistles: smoother apps, faster checkout, appealing rewards. But in the world of public markets and quarterly earnings, functionality gives way to fundamentals. At the intersection of traditional banking and modern fintech lies a simple but growing question: what actually drives sustainable value for banks today?

    Is it the buzz‑worthy growth of payment volumes and new revenue streams – or the old‑school strength of deposit balances and net interest income? The answer isn’t as cut-and-dry as headlines might suggest; it’s a mix of factors.

    Banks that are expanding their deposit base while also focusing on building fee-based revenue, payments, and now blockchain payments are pursuing a hybrid model approach. If executed carefully, this model can strike a balance between stability and growth, keeping deposits at the core while payments support expansion. 

    SoFi is a case in point.

    …

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    12 ways investors can profit via legal insider trading

    Insider trading has been top of mind for the past few months with Galleon and Congressional insider trading blanketing the news. While illegal insider trading is being taken to the woodshed, there’s plenty to do with legal insider trading. By following the smart money, investors can follow the cookie crumbs back to the investing profits. So, here are 12 ways investors can use insider trading data and information to make better, smarter, investment decisions. Continue reading “12 ways investors can profit via legal insider trading”
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    [free ebook] The Harvard Guide to Insider Trading

    Insider trading (talking about legal insider trading, of course) typically beats the stock market by 10% — per year.

    For those of you who’ve been following Tradestreaming for the past couple of years (and read my book), you know that I’m a fan of following the smart money.

    By following the tradestream of hedge funds or the activity of corporate insiders, investors can create portfolios  and strategies that have at least been proven in the literature to make money.

    Insider trading is a treasure-trove of potentially-profitable information. Top managers at their firms are in the best seats to determine the future prospects for their stocks. If they reach into their wallets and buy their firms’ stocks, well, that’s an incredible useful signal.

    An insider trading blueprint

    There’s been some amazing research into insider trading. Recent studies have found that investors can mimic the returns of insiders to beat the market by 7 – 10% a year.

    I wrote the 20+ page, The Harvard Guide to Insider Trading to describe these strategies and provide a quick blueprint to create portfolios comprised of the most useful insider trading.

    AND, to teach you how to use insider trading strategies for your own trading/investing.

    You can download it freely here.

    I hope you like it — let me know (via email or in the comments) what you think.

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    Breaking out of short-term investing to build greater value – with Al Rappaport

    al rappaport

    Investors seem to be more focused on the short term than ever.

    You can credit hedge funds and institutional investors having to report performance on a monthly basis. CNBC’s 24/7 coverage of financial news doesn’t help, either.book by Alfred Rappaport

    However we got here, many analysts are calling for a return to longer term frameworks for investing — for investors and managers that run the companies they invest in.

    Finance professor, Al Rappaport has been analyzing shareholder value since his first paper on the subject in 1965.

    His new book, Saving Capitalism from Short Termism: How to Build Long-Term Value and Take Back Our Financial Future is a clarion call to break out of our current myopia and find a way to focus on long term value.

    Rappaport joins us on Tradestreaming Radio today.

    Listen to the FULL episode

    About Alfred Rappaport

    shareholder valueAl is a professor emeritus at the Kellogg School of Management where he taught for many years.  He’s the author of numerous other books and papers, many with a focus on maximizing shareholder value.

    More resources

    Even More Resources

    Photo credit: eblaser / VisualHunt / CC BY

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    Finovate and the future of financial startups

    I wasn’t at Finovate so I can’t be accused of drinking the Kool Aid.

    But it seems to me that startups targeting the financial industry are not only interesting again, but downright exciting.

    As the winners were announced, I couldn’t help but think that the long-anticipated changes people in the industry (and out) have been waiting for are a lot closer to being reality.

    Ultimately, this is about the future of investing, startups, and the $11,000,000,000,000 question.

    Couple of themes are emerging from the winner’s circle…
    Continue reading “Finovate and the future of financial startups”

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    Tradestreaming in the European Financial Review

    As Tradestreaming — and our methodology of learning from investing experts — is gaining momentum, other periodicals are taking notice.

    I appeared in this quarter’s print edition of the European Financial Review. I essentially wrote about Tradestreaming — how investors are taking advantage of the new media and research tools that social media is enabling.

    As regular readers would recognize, I wrote about 3 strategies that investors can employ today to begin making better investment decisions (Ride the Long Tail, Piggyback the Pros, Commune with Experts)

    I also included a paragraph about what I think the future has in store for investors: Continue reading “Tradestreaming in the European Financial Review”

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    Radical social investing needs parallel educational framework

    Interesting post by SellPuts at Hedge Accordingly about the impact of social investing.  Investors have seen an onslaught of new financial startups, research platforms, and tools to share all this.

    But, nothing tries new investing tools and strategies like big movements drops in the stock market.

    The article discusses the radical impact of social investing on retail investors, using an car metaphor (beware, money quote): Continue reading “Radical social investing needs parallel educational framework”

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    Making better investment decisions with social media [interview]

    Tradestreaming is all about plugging into social media to help investors make better decisions.

    I recently appeared (radio) on News@7 to talk about my book (Tradestream your Way to Profits).

    We also had the opportunity to talk about real-life examples how investors are turning to new online tools to aid them in the investing process, some new-ish Internet IPOs and current trends on Internet usage. Continue reading “Making better investment decisions with social media [interview]”