In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Voya Investment Management Head of Asset Allocation Barbara Reinhard said that the election’s outcome, so far, means “that fiscal policy and trade wars are going to get a lot of relief.” According to Reinhard, with Biden now in a position to take the White House, “The trade war relief has huge implications for the rest of the world and so many small countries in the Asian emerging markets had really been threatened.” She added that the U.S. economy “is slowing and the rest of the world is slowing right now under the heavy weight of rising COVID infections, so I think the big story is fiscal policy.” Furthermore, Reinhard said that “the growth of the world depends on a strong U.S., so it really is going to depend on the U.S. delivering yet again another fiscal package, as well as having a much friendlier environment.”
The Atlanta Business Chronicle features an interview with one of the executives it named to the Atlanta Most Admired CEOs of 2020 list, Voya Investment Management CEO Christine Hurtsellers. When asked what “other CEOs do to win such great admiration from their stakeholders,” Hurtsellers responded that they should “set a course and communicate, communicate, communicate.” According to Hurtsellers, “This is especially true in difficult situations. People deal better with change and bad news when they understand the ‘why’ and the results. Remind them again and again. Go out of your way to cascade news in your words throughout the organization. Be honest and authentic, especially during the bad times.” According to Hurtsellers, leaders should “never forget that tough decisions often impact your employees and that’s where being candid comes in. Face to face, live communication through town halls is always better than a memo.” In addition, Hurstellers said that leaders “should make themselves ‘answer questions and realize that while not everyone will be happy or agree with the choices, if you are open and honest, they will at least respect the decisions that were made.’”
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that Voya Investment Management CEO Christine Hurtsellers is among the honorees included in the publication’s list of the “Most Admired CEOs” for 2020. Honorees included in the year’s list “faced a year of change like no other. Amid a pandemic, accompanying economic shutdown and social upheaval, they were able to effectively transmit vision, encouragement and hope to their teams across virtual streams of communication, keeping their companies moving forward.” A virtual event planned for December 10 will honor Hurtsellers and the other honorees.
Voya Investment Management Mulit-Asset Strategies Chief Investment Officer Paul Zemsky joined Bloomberg Daybreak Asia “to discuss the latest on the markets.” When asked if the upcoming presidential election “represents the greatest near-term risk to markets,” Zemksy said, “Near-term risk? Yes. The election and handicapping who’s going to win is going to cause volatility ... The underlying fundamentals, in the U.S. particularly, are pretty strong, so I remain pretty bullish and I’m going to stay overweight [on] equities through the election.” Bloomberg’s Stephen Engle also asked Zemsky, “Where in the equity space would you play?” In response, Zemsky said, “I think the U.S. is still a very strong place to be in the developed world,” with U.S. small and large cap stocks “both going to do very well relative to bonds over the next few worlds, and relative compared to the rest of the developed world.”
Voya Global Advantage and Premium Opportunity Fund and Voya Infrastructure, Industrials and Materials Fund (the Funds) announced in a press release “important information concerning the Funds’ distributions declared in September 2020.” The press release was issued “as required by the Funds’ Managed Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) and an exemptive order received from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.” The Board of Trustees “has approved the implementation of the Plan to make quarterly cash distributions to common shareholders, stated in terms of a fixed amount per common share.”
Traders Magazine reports, “They might not be all that new, but conditional orders have really come into their own in this year’s unusual trading conditions, helping to make 2020 a bumper year for block-trading venues.” Voya Investment Management Head of Trading Nanette Buziak “confirms an increase in block trading earlier this year as asset managers responded to the volatility.” Buziak said, “When the NYSE closed the floor, there was a particular increase in activity on the block-focused venues around the market close, because buy-side firms no longer had access to the NYSE closing auction via the D-quote.” She added, “Conditional orders definitely make it easier to find the other side of the trade.”
CNBC reports on its website that Voya Investment Management Head of Asset Allocation Barbara Reinhard appeared on the network’s program “Squawk Box” along with Cornerstone Macro Policy Head Of The Market Research Team Donald Schneider “to discuss the potential impact of various election outcomes on the markets.” During the appearance, Reinhard said any losses that occur as a result of Biden’s tax plan going into effect, should he win, “would be more than offset by the stimulus program and the funding that he is going to” spend “to fight the coronavirus.” She added, “I do think” that a Biden victory “over the longer term, it’s probably going to be close to a wash over ... the next four-year period. But I think the economy is in desperate need right now of an extra stimulus plan and I think, also, a comprehensive plan to combat coronavirus.” Reinhard also said that the markets typically experience instability if an incumbent loses a reelection bid, but typically recover four to six weeks after the victor’s inauguration.
Kiplinger “identified 15 bond funds in four key categories” to build a properly “diversified bond portfolio” with “a range of holdings” depending on an investor’s goals, time horizon, and needs. Voya Multi-Asset Strategies and Solutions Chief Investment Officer Paul Zemsky is quoted in one of Kiplinger’s choices for bonds that generate income, the Fidelity Corporate Bond. He said, “Yield is relative.” Zemsky’s statement is placed after Kiplinger said that bond purchasers should “lean on high-quality, investment-grade corporate bonds – those rated between triple-A and triple-B – which currently yield 1.40% to 2.29%. That sounds low, but it’s better than what you’ll earn on cash, which is nothing.” Zemsky is also quoted in another Kiplinger choice for bonds that generate income, the Vanguard High Yield Corporate. According to Kiplinger, “High-yield debt, in small doses, can spice up your income exposure.” Zemsky advised those looking at high yield corporate bonds to “be selective.” Zemsky said, “A high-yield index fund is not a good idea ... Buy one that’s run by a seasoned manager who is skilled at picking good credit.”
MarketWatch reports that airlines are starting to use frequent flyer programs as “collateral for bondholders.” Airlines are making the pledges against their programs because they can generate cash by selling frequent flyer miles to credit card issuers, who, in turn “offer them as part of their reward programs to their customers.” The article says that “the revenues earned from selling the miles” to credit card issuers “are much higher than the cost of any flight travel redeemed by passengers.” Voya Investment Management Fixed Income Portfolio Manager Cliff Andrus said, “The customer doesn’t realize the margins are quite high.” According to the article, “Even with reduced demand for air travel, the mileage programs still hold their value.” Andrus said, “You’re going out to spend money on your credit card, whether or not you’re flying.” According to some analysts, using frequent flier programs as collateral “represents a desperate move by airlines that are looking for any assets that they can pledge.”
Voya Investment Management LDI Strategist and Senior Actuary Oleg Gershkovich discusses “the challenges and opportunities that pension fund managers are facing today” in a video interview posted on the website of Pensions & Investments. During the interview, Gershkovich said that “the biggest challenge” to pension management in the next year “is resisting the temptation to rerisk in the pension plan.” Even though “we are seeing valuations at an all time high,” Gershkovich says that “plan sponsors need to exhibit a lot of caution before they decide to rerisk into their pension plans.”
