Insurance companies are facing rapid tectonic shifts in their business operations as the financial environment changes and new technological advancements are made in the insurance industry. In such a competitive environment, many insurers are restricted to paper-based infrastructures and legacy IT implementation thus limiting their ability to make technological advancements. As new ideas and companies emerge in the industry, insurance companies will have to rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to meet practical uses. This creates a dynamic segue into the future of robotic process automation (RPA), a leading AI mechanism in the insurance industry. RPA is a sophisticated “software” robot progr

President Donald Trump has officially set out his plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports with China. Tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports will result in a price increase for multiple consumers and slow down growth for many businesses globally. The rising tensions between China and the U.S. might seem like a time to move away from most growth-sensitive asset classes, but investors could be wrong. The announcement resulted in a decline in the stock market as oil and metals started taking a big hit, but could this be a great opportunity to buy industrial metals? Copper has already fallen sharply by 4% in one month, while other oil and metal commodities follo

Higher interest rates and the implementation of tariffs on production parts and material are creating concerns among auto dealers for increasing prices of vehicles. Auto dealers have joined hands with consumers and are lobbying to keep prices as low as possible for the consumer, worrying existential fears for the future of the business of prices rise. While prices may have risen over the past few years, the deviation from the standard level of inflation remains low. One of the major concerns, rising interest rates, are concerning due to increased reliance on financing from the consumer perspective. Research suggests increasing payback terms for auto loans; 42 percent of auto loans made in 20

With China and the U.S. reported to have quietly started negotiating to improve U.S. access to Chinese markets, it remains important for investors to understand the perspective of the Chinese government. New research suggest that the investment of Chinese ventures is set to reach $2.5tn throughout the following decade in spite of rising protectionism. Investors believe yearly sums to consistently beat the record set in 2016, the year preceding Beijing's wide crackdown on "nonsensical" arrangement making. Limiting the opaqueness from Beijing about what sorts of arrangements controllers will support will be pivotal to helping Chinese arrangements succeed. In the past, privately owned groups su

An industry known to have faced various challenges over the years, Wealth Management continues to be of interest to investors. The adoption of new technology, demographic changes and regulation have created speculation about the futures of the profession. This transition for Wealth Management is not a new one; before electronic quotes were readily available, 30, 40 years ago. Wealth Managers served the purpose of giving you an idea and executing trades. Now, half of that proposition disappeared. In today’s age, robo-advisers have shown to become a threat to Wealth Management. Easily-useable interfaces that can serve households in account openings, asset allocations, advise on risk tolerance

The Global Real Estate Market performed exceptionally well in 2017, with yields compressing and prime rents rising above consensus forecasts, rising 0.12% and 1.7% respectively, all while overall volumes increased by 13.2%, the highest level of real estate investment on record. The Industrial sector benefited from low comparable prices as well as new growth opportunities, factors that led to investment growth of 29.5% YOY. Asia captured 52% of the global market, setting a record for the highest share by any continent in recorded history. This influx was felt in the EMEA region where Asian capital increased 95% YOY to a total that remains below investment of North American Investors. Latin Am

Last week, President Donald Trump announced a plan to set imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports further adding a layer of uncertainty on the future outlook of the markets. Tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports will result in a price increase for multiple consumers and slow down growth for many businesses globally. This news could also play a major impact on foreign countries as they might also impose a similar tariff on U.S. exports. President Trump’s announcement resulted in a decline in the stock market and backlash from global leaders who might have to face the burden on billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. imports. Shares of industrial companies and automakers

The 10-year Treasury yield has risen from 2.0% last year to over 2.9% in 2018, causing many investors to announce the end of the 30-year bond bull market. With the U.S. economy gaining further stimulus from sweeping tax cuts and an expansionary budget, analysts fear this will finally promote inflationary pressures. According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, the tax cuts are projected to increase the budget deficit from about 3.9% of GDP to about 6.1% in 2020. In addition, the Federal Reserve is cutting its balance sheet, allowing investors to assimilate approximately $1 trillion of Treasuries a year. Nevertheless, there are still major factors subduing inflation, interest rates, and

The European Central Bank (ECB) decided on continuing its bond purchase program also known as quantitative easing till September while keeping interest rates unchanged. The ECB originally kicked off their massive quantitative easing program early 2015 in hopes to stimulate the economy and encourage banks to make more loans. The bank targeted the supply of money by purchasing corporate bonds and putting an end to the scarcity of government bonds. Earlier this month, the ECB President Mario Draghi indicated his efforts to taper quantitative easing starting September 2018. “Incoming information…confirms the strong and broad-based growth momentum in the euro area economy, which is projected to e

The past couple of months have proven tough for Angela Merkel. The German Chancellor has been under a high level of political scrutiny. Germany spent many days without a proper government, which seemed to limit her authority and strengthen the power of her opposition. Her power seemed provisional and her fate as chancellor was uncertain. With the result of the Social Democratic Poll on Sunday, everything changed. Heading a unified party and stable coalition government, Merkel can now look forward to a fourth four-year term as chancellor. “Angela Merkel has survived all of the political scrutiny and managed to hold on, and her party will reward her for that” said Keith Knutsson of Integrale A

Subscriptions for products and services are increasing in popularity. The subscription e-commerce market has grown by more than 100 percent a year over the past five years. The largest such retailers generated more than $2.6 billion in sales in 2016, up from a mere $57.0 million in 2011. Fueled by venture-capital investments, start-ups have launched these businesses in a wide range of consumer staples and discretionary categories. 15 percent of online shoppers have signed up for one or more subscriptions to receive recurring product services in forms of boxes. The customers of these services are the more affluent (incomes from $50,000 to $100,000) of the Millennials, a highly desirable marke

Consumer sentiment, a measure of consumers’ confidence in the economy rose this month. Some of the factors contributing to this have been low unemployment and optimism about the new tax regime. This confidence far outweighs market volatility for American consumers. The consumer-sentiment index was 99.9 in February, compared to 95.7 in January. The preliminary report overestimated economists’ expectations for February. A final reading and report will be released March 2nd, 2018. This month’s rise came after consumer sentiment had dropped for the previous three months. Alternatively, February’s reading was the highest since October 2017 when the index hit 100.7, the highest level since before

BlackRock is stepping up their intelligence research. The hedge fund is setting up a new center dedicated to research in artificial intelligence, placing an emphasis on interest among asset managers in how machine learning can revolutionize the investment industry. The world’s biggest investment group, with $6.3tn of assets under management, is establishing a lab for AI research in Palo Alto, California. “Research in AI can enhance current investment strategies and accelerate efforts to bring the benefits of these technologies to the entirety of the investment industry” said Keith Knutsson of Integrale Advisors.” AI has emerged as a topic of interest in the corporate world. Furthermore, the