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Wonders & Blunders: Halloween Candy Coma

11.03.2017
By: Kevin Dinino
Category: Fintech

 

 

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 OUR CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WEEK’S NEWS
 
Hope you had a happy and safe Halloween and you’re enjoying a delicious pairing of leftover candy and coffee to start your morning!
 
We continue our robots vs. Wall Street coverage with news on the first ETF managed by a robot, which is beating the S&P 500 in the first few days of trading. Is this a cause for concern, or for celebration?
 
The power of branding is proven once again by a company that changed its name to incorporate the skyrocketing interest in blockchain technology. If your company is moving into hot topic industries, there are many pros and cons to consider before a big decision such as a name change.
 
Cybersecurity is always on our minds, and we found out it’s on the minds of auto and tech industry execs involved in self-driving cars as well. Cybersecurity organization CCOE is collaborating to address concerns at an autonomous vehicle testing site here in San Diego.
 
Check it out!
 
The First ETF Managed By a Robot
The first fund managed by a robot is here. EquBot launched the first retail ETF managed using IBM’s Watson AI technology (ticker: AIEQ). It “uses artificial intelligence to pick stocks in much the same way humans have for decades—by ranking investment opportunities on a variety of factors, including fundamentals such as profit growth and valuations.” The fund has gained 0.7% during its first few days of trading, beating the 0.5% of the S&P 500 index.
 
Are human portfolio managers in danger? The AI ETF charges .75% in annual expenses versus an average portfolio manager changing 1.04%. Will this decrease in fees be enough incentive for customers to leave human fund managers and change over to robot-managed funds? Time will tell!
 
Blockchain Branding Brings Big Benefits
 
On-line Plc took advantage of the skyrocketing interest in blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, by announcing that it was changing its name to Online Blockchain Plc. This announcement spurred the company’s biggest stock gain since its listing in 1996.
 
A few more name-change stock jumps cited include Bioptix Inc. changing its name to Riot Blockchain Inc. and SNAP Interactive gains possibly resulting from being mistaken for SnapChat’s parent company, Snap Inc.
 
Emoji Index
Self-Driving Car Cybersecurity Concerns
Business Insider reports that both auto and tech industry executives are concerned about the growing interest in autonomous vehicles and the possibilities the cars can be hacked. A law firm surveyed executives about their concerns with self-driving cars, and the number one concern for 63% of respondants was cybersecurity.
 
Cybersecurity can be a double-edged sword to publicly discuss, without giving away information that could aid hackers in cyberattacks, so organizations such as San Diego’s CCOE are collaborating with many companies and groups across industries to ensure the safety and cybersecurity of the future of driving, including a new vehicle testing site in San Diego.
 
» IN THE NEWS
Cobinhood speaks to BlockTribune about regulation and official oversight as a way to help grow and stabilize the cryptocurrency marketplace.
ABC 10 News covered CCOE’s Secure San Diego — a look at city preparedness for an infrastructure hack.
ValueWalk spoke to Intrinio chief executive officer Rachel Carpenter about her female-led startup designed for small investors, which has attracted the eye of big institutions.
» BOTTOM LINE: Communication: The Critical Key to Building Trust in Fintech
The financial technology industry is booming, but while adoption of digital money management platforms has been on the rise, trust in fintech firms has lagged. The World FinTech Report 2017, by Capgemini, LinkedIn and Efma, revealed that 50 percent of the world’s banking customers use at least one fintech product or services — but only 23.6 percent of them trust their fintech providers.
 
That statistic is worrisome. The report showed that consumers still trust incumbent financial institutions more when it comes to fraud protection, quality of service and transparency, so what can fintech firms do to compete?
»FEATURED CASE STUDY: CCOE
KCD PR was selected to promote the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE), a nonprofit organization that promotes alignment and collaboration within the cyber community.
KCD PR developed a comprehensive public relations strategy by first thoroughly understanding the nonprofit organization space, then establishing a set of measurable objectives and communications guidelines to guide the overall strategy that would help CCOE position San Diego as the hub for all things cyber-focused.
 
 

 

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