Hiring a PR agency vs. keeping it in-house: what’s the best option?

Choosing between an external PR agency and in-house marketing is always a tough call! After all, Public relations is an essential aspect of marketing without which your company will not succeed, let alone grow in a profitable manner. In fact, PR is believed to be about 90% more successful in influencing consumers than other means of marketing such as advertising. As you can see, the scope of public relations is well documented with its market value expected to reach over $90 billion by 2022. Yet, as important as it is, choosing the right kind of PR campaign could be equally challenging. Especially in this age of information where media relations are getting harder to maintain than ever before. Aside from that, partisan politics and advancements in technology are making public relations even more challenging. No wonder why most business owners find it to be extremely confusing when it comes to choosing between an external PR agency or in-house marketing. Either way, the primary goal of a public relations strategy remains “publicity of your brand!” i.e. creating, maintaining, and improving your brand’s public image for scalable growth in your business. Although many businesses are transitioning to in-house marketing as of late, that does not mean that you have to do the same. Remember, the key to choosing the right PR agency depends solely on your business goals and your own limitations. Before we get into that, let’s quickly find out what PR is.

What is public relations (PR)?

Public relations is the process of creating a positive image of a person, brand, or service. In business, it’s usually done by using various means of marketing and branding such as press, digital media, social networks, automation, and analysis. What is public relation? Unlike marketing, which is mostly to do with promoting your products and services, public relations is a vast domain that impacts many areas of a business. Along with creating a positive image of your brand, it also increases brand visibility, brand awareness, and boosts the over-all search engine rankings of your website which is quite crucial for if you want to run a successful business in today’s digital market. So with that in mind, I’ve put forth an explicable account of both agency marketing and in-house marketing along with their pros and cons which will hopefully help you get to a final decision without wasting any more time. But first let’s quickly understand the major difference between the two.

Difference between PR agency and in-house PR team

PR agency is an external marketing firm which you can hire to promote your brand and market your business. An in-house marketing team refers to a dedicated team of PR professionals from within your company who are responsible for handling public relations and media affairs. Now let’s go through the pros and cons of each without any further ado.

Why should you hire a PR firm?

A PR agency is a suitable marketing solution for if your brand is new and eager to build a larger audience base. It’s also a quick way to build your brand’s credibility in the market should you choose to scale your business. Let’s take a closer look at the various benefits of hiring a PR firm:

PR Agency has pre-built media relationships: Media relations are getting harder as we speak. About 3/4th of PR professionals admit to seeing a 25% rise in the challenges associated with building new media relations. This could get even more challenging if you’re new in the market. That’s because building new connections can take months and years of effort. A PR firm in this context can help you a great deal due to the network of long line of media relations that they might already have built. A good PR agency could cover a variety of marketing channels to get you the publicity you need in quite a short span of time.

They’ve got the experience you need: Let’s say you’ve built your business from ground up but have no idea how to manage your public relations. Employing a full-time in-house team, in this case, won’t do you any good either unless you as the owner have prior knowledge of the field. And that’s where an agency, which has worked in the industry for years and have gained substantial experience comes into picture. The agency would be well-versed with all there is to know about public relations. Not only would it reduce your workload but also bring in a lot of insight into how public relations is managed in real-time in modern digital market. Plus, you’ll also get their experience!

You gain a new perspective on your company, brand, and customers: Imagine paying someone to give you the most honest feedback about your brand and business practices! Sounds awful? Well, it shouldn’t! Getting a fresh opinion on your business, products, and customers is never a bad idea. Even if you have to spend a little. While your in-house team may not be very critical of your work ethics and business values, an external agency would be more than open in telling you where you lack. Most PR agencies look for new ways to boost your publicity and will leave no stones unturned even if it means changing the entire make-over of your company.

Agencies have a greater understanding of trends, the media landscape, and the big picture: Being in the industry for long, the agency would have seen many ups and down in the market. As a result, they’ll be well prepared with all the knowledge of what’s working in the market and what’s not. Besides, acquiring deep understanding of the local market, trends, tactics, and the habits of the target audience, is what PR agencies do. It’s basically what PR agents eat for breakfast!! And then they go to PR events across various industries and sectors so as to have a broader sense of the current landscape of the media and the future it holds. A clear understanding of the big picture that PR agencies have could help you a great deal in building your public image the way you desire.

PR Agency has countless workers under them to do your bidding: A PR agency is a separate firm with its own pool of talented workers who’d be more than dedicated to improving your public relations. What’s more is that these skilled individuals would be able to cover a wide range of marketing channels and outside resources in a very short time. They’d be well versed with latest tools and technologies to cover all your marketing needs and which brings to our last and the most important advantage with hiring a PR agency.

PR Agency comes with its own list of tools required for success: Modern businesses tend to use every technological advancement that they can for a variety of purposes. Be it automation, analysis, collaboration, or data transfer. PR agencies haven’t stayed behind in this race either. Most PR professionals use a number of marketing solutions including automation tools, web analytics, marketing cloud, email automation, and CRM software for marketing and branding. A PR agency would apply various tools and technologies depending on your goals and requirements.

Why should you handle your public relations in-house?

While a PR agency would offer many advantages to a start-up or a small-scale business, an in-house team would be perfect for well-established brands that have been in the industry for a long. Let’s take a thorough look:

You know your business better: Unlike a PR agency, which may or may not understand your business values, an in-house team would have a fair idea of your goals and vision. And so in a way, they’d be more committed towards your goal than an external agency. While an external PR agency could definitely help you come out of an emergency setback, your in-house team would be more than capable of building your brand’s authority in a long run. It would also allow you to manage the team and projects from up close, and help you monitor the quality right from the start to finish. Plus, you’ll also get first hand-experience of the market.

Less expensive than a public relations firm: Although a PR agency would cost you somewhat less, in no way would it be a long-term investment. Remember, a PR agency is fine if you want to be build some credibility in the market in a short term, but if you’re looking to build a solid image for years to come, then having a dedicated in-house team would be your safest bet. And given the right tools and training, I’m sure a dedicated lot would be able to meet all your marketing needs without having to ask for a PR agency! No wonder why more PR work is taken in-house than being outsourced to external PR agencies.

You’re the top priority: Since a PR agency handles several clients at a time, it may not always be possible for them to give you priority. Although most agencies are flexible with communication hours and payment, you can’t always be too sure. Having an in-house team, on the other hand, does not pose any such challenges. It’s reliable, easy to connect with, and easy to manage. And since they would all report to you, you can adjust their skills and responsibilities depending on different tasks, the company’s needs, and financial situation. The sole aim of employing a full-time PR team within your organization is its public relations, and that’s all.

You own the relationships you form: While an agency would apply every trick at their disposal to boost your public image, they may not disclose their connections and media relations with you as part of their business code. And in-house team on the contrary would be owned entirely by you. So every connection and every media relation your team builds would be on behalf of your company. Besides, building your own connections from the scratch means earning them for life.

Much closer to the information, able to respond quicker than outside firm: An in-house team would also be able to keep you up-to-date with all things latest including the current market, your PR status, important events, schedules, and meetings. This means you’d be able to monitor and communicate on your projects much faster than your competitors. Having a dedicated team of PR professionals by your side would give you an easier access to the data which you can analyze in real-time so as to respond more responsively in the industry and much quicker than outside firms.

Conclusion

While it’s safe to say that PR plays a vital role in the over-all success of a business, choosing whether to hire an external PR agency or employe a full-time in-house team depends totally on your goals, budget, and requirements. While each of these has their own pros and cons, the smart strategy would be to integrate both of them into your marketing campaign. Also known as hybrid marketing, it may cost a little more initially, but once your newly appointed team has gained sufficient experience from the PR agency, you can start giving them more responsibilities until they learn to manage your public relations completely on their own.

About GEM COMM

We are an International Investor Relations firm (IR) based in Singapore. We specialise in Investor Relations, Public Relations, marketing, branding and messaging strategies for clients that include organisations of all sizes across Asia, Oceania and US.
GEM COMM advice and solves stakeholders’ issues, drive growth, reposition your business, improve your marketing and Public Relations (PR) or engage with investment community in your leadership or strategy story. We have a track record of helping clients reach these goals. We create and implement PR & media content, mitigate crisis and issues, establish and improve thought leadership & content marketing.
GEM COMM Engagement types include:

IR/PR retainer program
Crisis and issues projects;
Content marketing (from research to lead generation) inclusive of Press Release drafting, Media Pitch, Website content, etc.

Public Relations:

It is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization to the public.

The Process of Public Relations:

The brand must have proactive communication with media and customers – the messengers. This is very important to Public Relations.
We build high quality relationship with key institutions communities and associations with common goals of the brand and community.
Collaborate with influences, when positioning a brand, to create a positive image of the company.
Public Relation will communicate brand messages to customers to build trust.
Quality internal communications within the employees. Employees are the key ambassadors to the brand!

Example of Public Relation campaign:

Q&A with the founder

Public relation campaign

The founder posted an attention-grabbing headline statement, a sentiment linked to her brand. This piques people’s interest in her brand. With a search on her brand, this becomes a simple SEO backlink.

Public relation vs Investor relation

Difference between public relations and investor relations:

While public relations and investor relations are related in that they serve as a link between the firm and its respective brand and investors, they are also quite distinct.

The goal of public relations is to create and maintain a good image for a certain brand or corporation. It is constructed by initially focusing on developing relationships with the target audience – the general public. By using proactive communication, public relations hope to bridge the gap between the firm and the general public. Public Relations connects with the public through two communication services: creative events and social networks.

The largest platform for Public Relations magic is creative events. Events are the most conventional way for important audiences to interact with the brand’s universe. Social networks, on the other hand, allow the brand to obtain input from its customers. The goal of connecting on social media is to create an online community around the brand that is essential to its growth.

Investor Relations focuses on relationships development as well, although their target audience is investors. Investor Relations focuses on building an active stock market and fair market valuation. It promotes firms to investors by advising them as to whether companies are safe to invest in. Investor Relationship firms, for example, utilize press releases, investor events, and presentations for investors, where they hold waterfall investor questions. These occurrences might affect both new and existing investors. Investor Relations also maintains constant contact with current investors. Investor Relations firms are in charge of keeping investors up to date on all developments.

To summarize the comparison between Public Relations and Investor Relations, although both concentrate on developing relationships with their respective audiences by serving as a bridge to their consumers, there are still some distinctions.

Income Investing- Introduction

Income investing is one of the most common goals sought after by investors as it gives regular cash flow and higher returns than the normal fixed deposits one can get in banks. In general, we typically recommend those with an investment horizon of more than 20 years (esp those who are in their 20s to 30s) to focus on capital appreciation instead of income investing, as given your strong earnings power and cash flow (from your job), you should let your money compound and work for you!

Nonetheless, for those interested in income investing, do look for stocks that have a track record of paying out dividends or have a dividend policy.

Some sectors to look at

In Singapore, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) is a highly popular option due to the structure of the REIT which requires the property investment company to payout 90% of their income as dividends. Based on the research by SGX as of Sep 2021, there are 42 REITs and property trusts listed in Singapore with a market cap of more than $100b and an average dividend yield of 5.9%. If you are interested to find out more about REITS in Singapore, you can find more research on them here.

Other sectors to consider: Some of the sectors tend to have high dividend yields, mainly due to the nature of the sector as they generate high free cash flow. In Singapore, these include manufacturing companies such as Valuetronics, Frencken, and Broadway, and our local banks such as DBS and UOB.

Our favorite pick for now (October 2021): Keppel DC REIT

Keppel DC REIT has been one of the strongest performers among the S-REIT due to its business nature (leasing of data centers). With cloud computing being one of the hottest sectors currently, so is the demand for data centers.

This has helped Keppel DC REIT to rake in a commendable gain of more than 90% over the last 5 years vs STI’s of 10%. Year-to-date, however, Keppel DC REIT has underperformed the local index at negative 16% vs STI’s return of 9% mainly due to some profit-taking after its incredible run over the last few years. However, this also gives investors to accumulate on weakness for the next run-up.

At its current price of S$2.39, Keppel DC REIT is trading at about 2x P/B with a dividend yield of about 4%.

Source: CapitalIQ (Dividend yield of Keppel DC REIT since 2015)

This is not bad considering the current low interest rate environment and the fact that Keppel DC REIT has grown its dividends by more than 40% between FY2015 to FY2020.

With its recent correction, Keppel DC REIT’s dividend yield is also approaching its long term average dividend yield of about 4.7%, after years of compression (due to the price appreciation)- see below chart

Keppel DC REIT’s 1HFY2021 presentation slides

Keppel DC REIT’s Factsheet

Other things to note

Other factors to look out for when analyzing dividend stocks include

Track record of paying out dividend or dividend policy
A company which has been paying dividends for the last 10 years is more likely to continue paying dividends to shareholders than one which has not been doing so. This is because a company will tend to try to keep shareholders happy by either maintaining or increasing the dividends. For companies that are new (i.e. recently IPOed or RTOed) they may signal their intentions to give out dividends to shareholders through a dividend policy, where the company pledge to pay out a percentage of their earnings as dividends.
Positive free cash flow generation > Dividends paid
A company can only pay out dividends over the long term through the cash flow it generated. If a company is paying out more dividends than the cash flow it generates, the dividend payment may not be sustainable in the long term (as the company will have to either borrow or dig into its coffers to pay out the dividends to shareholders)
Dividend payout policy of less than 100%
Similarly, a company cannot consistently pay out more dividends than what it earns in the long term, as by doing so it will either have to borrow or dig into its coffers to pay out dividends.

About GEM COMM

IR/PR retainer program
Crisis and issues projects;
Content marketing (from research to lead generation) inclusive of Press Release drafting, Media Pitch, Website content, etc.

Before investing in any company, it is crucial to know everything about that company. These bits of information include the performance of the company, the financial condition through its statements, and the governance policies of the corporate work culture. Checking these factors help you have a structured knowledge about the inside of the organization. Through the new policies devised by SGX (Singapore Exchange Board), every company that is verified and listed on the Singaporean stock market has to be transparent about such information that explains their existence to the public as well as the prospective investors.

This is where the investor relations role is played. It is one of the important departments in every listed company and looks after the proper compliance of these regulations set by the higher authority. They have the sole job to provide this crucial information to everyone including the investors. Following is a deeper explanation of what does investor relations do.

What are Investor Relations (IR)?

Investor relations or IR is a specific department in every listed company that derives information from the other departments. It combines all these data from marketing, finance, legal, compliance, and executive management, and compiles them all into presentable information to the investors.

What is investor relation?

There are dedicated public domains that can be accessed by these companies and their investor relations department. They publish the collected information there for all the investors, including existing and potential. Investors need this information to get accurate knowledge about a company’s workings and management. These IR activities also help them make the right decisions about investing in that particular company. These insights about a company are also available on the company’s official website. Nearly every public listed company has a specific “Investor Relations” column on their website that explains all the possible information.

In simple terms, investor relations can be defined as the connection between a company’s core management and its existing and prospective investors.

Why are Investor Relations Important for a Company?

For a constant growth and development of a company, they must value their investors. Again, investors would only value those companies that are transparent and reliable with the information they have provided. A company will only be valued if they are authentic with what they put forward to their investors. To maintain a strong position in the market, investor relation is a crucial factor alongside maintaining its financial stability.

Since the investor relations department in a company is considered as the bridge between the company and its investors, it needs highly qualified people to look after things. The importance of investor relations is at this very point since it plays a pivotal role in a company’s overall growth, development, and success in the market.

Why do you need investor relations?

In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act, was passed, a regulation that increased how much and how often publicly traded companies were required to report financial and trading information. That was when IR became an absolute necessity to ensures that a company remains transparent and honest with their investor to allow the company to evolve consistently.

What are the Goals of Investor Relations?

A number of goals are needed to be met by the investor relations personnel to keep up the company’s reputation and its numbers. They are important as they help a company grow and develop to its fullest potential. Investor relations function in a manner to reach these goals successfully. Here are some of those specific goals:

To maintain a transparent relationship between the company and the investors so that the company can succeed on a long-term basis.
Help the company attain the best share price in the market in order to make them perform well and get hold of a loyal shareholder base.
Connecting the company and the investors by showcasing the company’s highs to the investors and representing the investor’s prospect to the company. If this is done properly, it creates a strong bond that helps both parties.
Providing and updating the investors with financial and management information of the company regularly and correctly. This instills a sense of trust in the investors and creates a strong professional relationship.
Provide additional data like non-financial statistics to support the valuations held by the company. This non-financial information includes changes in company policies, governance rules, and much more.
Implementing and looking after the various regulations set by the securities commission and the stock exchange authorities. To also match company policies with the regulations set.
Promoting sales of the company through a non-aggressive or indirect method. This includes the promotion of schemes like IPOs (Initial Public Offering) and FPOs (Follow-on Public Offerings).
The role of investor relations is to keep the company and its board updated with regular feedback from the investor’s side.
Aiding receptive capital markets that provide funding and financial help to future projects and agendas.

What are the Responsibilities and Roles of Investor Relations?

What most people know is the investor relations role is to act as a bridge between the company and its investors and connect them on trustworthy terms. But there are several other roles and responsibilities that an investor relations department of a company performs. Since it is an integral part of an organization, it also has to handle some crucial responsibilities like:

Providing the existing as well the potential investors with extensive information about the company’s financial and management conditions and steps. This helps the investors to make accurate and calculated decisions regarding the investment in the company.
Providing the existing as well the potential investors with information regarding the non-financial matters of the company. Non-financial issues include governance reports of the corporates, various managerial policies, and compliance regulations.
Since the investor relations department is responsible for establishing a trustworthy connection between the company and its investors, it also needs to get directly involved with the investors. For instance, it is responsible for contacting investors directly and collecting their feedback and grievances. Again, they need to convey these points to the higher authorities for the required solutions and orders.
Examine all the policies of the company and check whether they are compliant with regulations set by various authorities. The laws and regulations need to be followed and the authorities include security boards, stock exchanges, and various acts declared by the government. Their main function is to keep the company in sync with all the rules, regulations, and guidelines.
If the company is listed on the stock exchange, the price of its share is a crucial and intrinsic component that shows how successful it is. The investor relations department plays an integral role in regulating and assisting the share price of the company. This endorses a sense of respect and trust within its investors.
They are also involved in the marketing of the company’s future endeavors. They are the core team that informs potential investors regarding the company’s IPOs (Initial Public Offering) or FPOs (Follow-on Public Offerings).

What are the Benefits of Investor Relations to the Business?

A properly functioning investor relations division is a boon for any company. The number of benefits it brings to a company is unimaginable. Here, let’s take a look at what is investor relations’ advantages and benefits towards a company:

Shareholder relations are crucial for a company to excel in the market. A smoothly functioning investor relations department excels in creating that relationship with the shareholders. This ensures that the company is stable in the stock market.
The sole task of the investor relations division is to maintain the transparency of information and promote the smooth functioning of the organization. It helps to keep the shareholders and investors informed about the various policies of the company. It also enables to create a solid shareholder base for the existing ones. They also thrive in deploying newer and potential investors on board.
Credibility is an integral aspect that the investor relations department looks after. It helps to create a strong bond with the investors, which in turn, makes the company’s financial future secure and easy.
An IPO is the most modern way in which companies are making profits and solidifying their presence in the market. The investor relations department plays a vital role in reaching out to investors for this scheme.
The investor relations team is also closely responsible for creating a company prospectus along with its board and openly distributes the required information about the company to existing as well as prospective investors.

Conclusion

A company consists of several departments that are crucial to run the whole unit smoothly and successfully. Where departments like finance, management, human resources, marketing, and accounts count significantly to a company’s development, the investor relations department too has a significant role to play. For a publicly listed company to hold a solid place in the stock market, an investor relations division is pivotal. This department also acts as a bridge between the various other departments of a company. Therefore, the smooth functioning of this division is of the utmost importance.

The investor relations services need to be efficient to keep track of the ever-changing securities regulations and market alterations. They need to work effectively by conveying and implementing these changes to the company operations. Another crucial task that an investor relations department looks after is to manage the higher authorities. Here, by managing, it is meant that they need to collaborate with the higher authorities regularly to strengthen the position of the company in the market. With the right decisions at the right time, a particular company can become an investor’s favorite, which is quite a goal of every organization. And, investor relations help them achieve the same.

So this is how the investor relations function to accelerate a company towards success. They indeed are a significant part of an organization that helps them get stable in the stock market and attract more investors over time.

Getting started

How much to invest? $10,000? $50,000? $100,000? This is a common question asked by investors, but is also an arbitary number as it all depends on how much you have and your current obligations at the moment. Before we jump into what we will invest in, it is important to highlight that we should only be investing money that we can afford to lose (i.e. we will not need this money for the next 3-10 years).

If you are looking to buy a house next year, we personally do not recommend you to invest due to the volatility of the stock market. Last 2 years was a great example, with the stock market dropping briefly to a bear market with the outbreak of COVID-19, and the strong rebound to an all time high with the release of the unprecendented stimulus around the world. Not forgetting the regulatory clampdown across sectors by the Chinese government over the last year.

It is also commonly advised that we should have 6 months of expenses set aside for a rainy day, before we consider investing. For that 6 months of rainy day savings, there are many places you can keep it in – such as the recently issued SINGA Bonds (by the government to finance major long term infrastructures, and is listed on SGX- more on it here) and Singapore Savings Bond (which can also be redeemed anytime- more on it here)

Knowing how much you can afford to lose (reality and mentally)

While you may have set aside the above amount as money ready to be invested (or lost in theory), most of us in reality (and mentally) are not ready to lose it all. How do we then determine what is the ultimate amount of loss we are willing to accept before we throw in the towel?

A useful way to gauge will be: if the general stock market or your portfolio were to suddenly drop 50%, how much money will cause you to lose your sleep at night? (That will probably be your threshold- no amount of money is worth it to lose your beauty sleep over)

Once you have determined how much you can lose, you will also have a better idea of your risk profile (if you are risk averse or a risk taker etc). That will also determine the asset class most suitable for you.

As a rule of thumb, Stocks are always more risky than Bonds – mainly because in the event of a liquidation, the company will have to sell all their assets to repay their debt holders first before repaying the equity shareholders of a company.

For investors who want to just invest and forget about it (till many years later)

Our top pick for this group of investors will be Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). ETFs are suitable because they offer several benefits including the ability to build a diversified portfolio quickly and with a small amount of capital.

With the rising popularity of ETFs, there are also now more options to choose from in addition to the traditional index ETFs such as Nasdaq, Dow Jones or Straits Times. They may include ETFs that track various investment themes such as Semiconductor, Cloud computing , Blockchain or even the traditional sectors such as utilities and Oil & Gas.

ETFs are created by various financial service providers who aim to replicate the index or capture the theme that they are looking to target as much as possible. Hence there may be multiple ETFs trying to capture the similar theme (for Eg. ARK vs Blackrock)- which ETF you choose will depend on which financial service provider you trust most/prefer. ( Phillips POEMS have a simple ETF screener for the ETFs they offer on their platform)

Other things to consider……

About GEM COMM

IR/PR retainer program
Crisis and issues projects;
Content marketing (from research to lead generation) inclusive of Press Release drafting, Media Pitch, Website content, etc.

“Hot” On The Plate

US Macro – US markets were weaker on Friday due to a weak jobs report, although major US indexes closed up for the week.

US debt ceiling deal reached. The US avoided the risk of a default this month, after the US senate approved to temporarily increase the federal government’s debt ciling of $28.4T, putting off the decision till 3 December for a longer term remedy. The bill will now be passed on to the House of Representatives, which needs to approve it before President Joe Biden can sign it into law.

Weak US jobs report. Following a weak jobs report in August, the US reported another month of disappointing jobs report in September of just 194,000 (lowest since Dec 2020) vs estimates of 500,000. Nonetheless, unemployment dipped to 4.8% in September as number of unemployed people fell by 710,000 to 7.7 million.

Source: US BLS

Week Ahead

US earnings season. US corporate earnings season for 4Q is expected to start kicking in from next week with major banks such as JPMorgan (Wed), Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargos and Bank of America on Thursday, and Goldman Sachs on Friday. (More on what to expect from banks earnings – here)

No photo description available.

Supply chain problems have negatively affected companies during this COVID-19 period, with 71% of S&P500 companies citing negative impact from the supply chain on their 3Q earnings calls, according to Factset. Other factors include labour costs and impact of COVID

sandp500-cos-citing-negative-impact-on-q321-earnings-calls

Source: Factset

About GEM COMM

“Hot” On The Plate

The end of 3Q – Last week marked the end of the 3Q which was an uneventful quarter for the market after a strong start to the year. In the US, major indexes were mostly flat, with only S&P 500 up just 0.2% for the quarter. Nasdaq and Dow jones were down 0.4% and 1.9% respectively. Locally, Singapore’s STI was down 1.4% while Hong Kong’s HSI index was down 14.8% during the quarter to close negative for the year. This follows the regulatory tech crackdown in China which weighed heavily on the tech stocks such as Tencent, Alibaba and Meituan.

The cryptocurrency market rebounds over the last week with Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, having its largest daily increase since July. The bullish movement may be attributable to comments from the US Fed Chair Powell which cited that the central bank had “no intention” to ban cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrencies market had previously been under pressure after China increases its regulatory crackdown on the market. Among the biggest winners in alt coins include Luna and Solana.

(Source: Quantifycrypto)

Luna which is the utility and governance token for the terra’s crypto network which is used to support Terra’s stablecoins and payment processing systems, and has hit a new all time high (despite many other cryptocurrencies still struggling to regain their lost grounds). (More on it here) Luna is now the 11th largest cryptocurrency at the time of writing.

Week Ahead

Start of 4Q- This is seasonally a stronger quarter for the markets. According to CFRA, the S&P 500 has averaged gains of 3.9% in 4Q and up out 4 out of every 5 years since World War II. (3Q was the worst quarter, so glad that we are over). However, before we get to the stronger months of the quarter, October has tended to be one of the most volatile months for markets

US Jobs Report – The upcoming US jobs report may set the directions for the market which is due to be released on Friday. Economists are expecting 475,000 jobs to be created in September. In August, 235,000 jobs were created which was 500,000 less than expected. The upcoming report will see if the miss in August jobs report was just a temporary blip or a start of a new trend, as investors also try to estimate the timeline of the tapering by the US Fed. The Fed is widely expected to announce a tapering in November. The 10 year US treasury yield has also risen from 1.31% to as high as 1.56%.