At Marketing Wiz, our team actively monitors global financial markets to contextualize relevant stories for our clients and their stakeholders. This April, here are three themes that can serve as the foundation for a custom long-form article on behalf of your firm:
The Rise of Alt ETFs: Private Credit & Beyond
- The past few months have seen the launch of a range of innovative ETFs offering access to alternative asset classes. Apollo’s PRIV, for example, is the world’s first private credit ETF, while Brookmont’s ILS features exposure to the catastrophe bond market.
- These launches follow the strong growth of ETFs that implement hedged or option-driven strategies. Meanwhile, the oft-overlooked interval fund universe continues to expand.
- Overall, it has never been easier for investors to access novel asset classes and strategies through familiar listed instruments. However, investors also need to be cognizant of the novel risks of these approaches, which could lead to significant distortions in a market sell-off.
Recession Looming? The Divergence of Hard & Soft Data
- AAs Trump’s tariff policy continues to inject uncertainty into the economy, many analysts have marked up their recession forecasts for 2025. Looking at the data, however, it’s less clear that a slowdown is actually on the horizon.
- ‘Soft’ data on sentiment has weakened noticeably, as evidenced by drops in consumer outlook and business confidence indexes. At the same time, ‘hard’ data seems to be holding up well, with unemployment low and retail spending staying largely stable.
- It’s possible that hard data simply hasn’t caught up with sentiment, with further releases in April set to offer more clarity. However, this divergence should also invite caution on being too pessimistic about the future path of the US economy.
The Mar-A-Lago Accord: Behind the Tariffs
- Although Trump’s economic policymaking may seem erratic, some analysts on Wall Street believe that there is an underlying playbook guiding this administration’s decisions. The so-called ‘Mar-A-Lago Accord’ is a framework to devalue the dollar based on a paper written last year by Stephen Miran, Trump’s chief economic adviser.
- The Mar-A-Lago Accord theoretically links a number of Trump’s recent policy actions together, including the threat of tariffs, the reordering of America’s security relationships, and the potential launch of a sovereign wealth fund. If the Accord is carried out, it could lead to a structurally lower dollar valuation in an attempt to reshore US manufacturing.
- While Wall Street’s search for a unified framework to understand this administration’s policymaking is understandable, it’s less clear that the Mar-A-Lago Accord is being carried out in practice. Regardless, Miran’s paper offers a useful look at the economic worldview of some of Trump’s key advisers.
Interested in building out long-form collateral relating to any of these themes? We invite you to reach out to our team today for a discussion of our custom content capabilities.
Craig Hall is founder and president of Marketing Wiz, a financial marketing firm specializing in the independent wealth management space.
