Weekend Reading – JP Morgan Guide To Markets, Amundi Launches Target-Dated ETFs
Weekend Reading is a collection of Investment Research and Lifestyle topics from all corners of the Web. We source the highest quality insights from Wall Street and Main Street that you may apply to your investment process. Unlike the rest of Bankeronwheels.com, this series is provided without additional guidance. As usual, everything is to be used at your own risk. Below is the type of content we shortlist:
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Featured
UK’s Bank Brokers: Which One Is The Best For You? (Banker on Wheels)
Welcome to part 3 of Bankeronwheels.com’s Definitive Guide to choosing a Stock Broker in the UK. Investing remains an unchartered territory for most UK adults. Only 8% of them have a Stocks and Shares ISA. 97% percent of workplace pension account holders leave the money in the default option. A low growth, gloomy economic environment in recent years has not encouraged financial optimism. Narratives like ‘cash is safe’ or ‘investing is gambling’ are very widespread. The 2008 crisis did huge damage to the credibility of the financial services industry in the UK. So why use a bank as a broker and who does this?
Portfolio Construction
Asset Allocation
JP Morgan Guide to the Markets (JP Morgan)
JP Morgans Guide provides a data-driven analysis of key financial market indicators, including: the S&P 500 Performance & Valuations, a Macroeconomic Overview, Fixed Income & Interest Rates. Additionally, we dive into sector Insights and the Global Market Context. The report presents a structured view of economic and market conditions to support investment decision-making.
What is the safest investment asset? (Cambria)
What is the Safest Asset? Let’s say you’ve “won the game.” “Funded contentment”. That’s the description my friend Brian Portnoy uses to describe the purpose of wealth accumulation. Essentially, enough money to live the life you’ve dreamed about.The portfolio that helps you get rich isn’t necessarily the portfolio that’s going to help you remain rich. So what is the “safest” asset in the world? Is there such a thing?
Understand Financial Markets
- A watershed moment for bond yields (Joachim Klement)
- The Dynamics of Global Liquidity and Cycles with Michael Howell (Foundation for the Study of Cycles (FSC))
- Why Chinese Bond Yields Have Collapsed |Bull Case For Chinese Stocks and Bonds (Monetary Matters)
- Nine Lessons the Market Taught in 2024 (Alpha Architect)
- Michael Mauboussin: The One Job of an Equity Investor (Rational Reminder)
- Financial data and markets infrastructure: Positioning for the future (McKinsey)
High bond yields: here to stay? (Goldman Sachs)
Despite the start of long-awaited central bank easing cycles, G10 bond yields have reset higher in recent months, led by the US. What accounts for this unusual behavior, and will yields remain elevated amid tariff and broader economic developments? PGIM Fixed Income’s Gregory Peters, MIT’s Ricardo Caballero, and GS’ David Mericle and William Marshall express varying levels of sympathy for the drivers of this reset: a reassessment of the inflation/Fed outlook, the neutral rate, and the term premium.
How To Invest
- Wave Surfers, Tightrope Walkers, and Big Financial Losses With Larry Siegel (CFA Institute)
- How to navigate market turbulence (Vanguard)
- Investors who favored cheaper, proven funds fared best over the past two decades. (Morningstar)
- The Long-Term Depends on Your Time Horizon (A Wealth of Common Sense)
- Why Tactical-Allocation Funds Failed—Again (Morningstar)
Active Investing
Factor Investing
Discretionary Investing
- The Bermuda Triangle of Valuation (Aswath Damodaran)
- How to invest in an age of tariffs and growing trade tensions (JP Morgan)
- Optimism Among Gamblers & Investors? (Ritholtz)
- How investors can harness Trump-induced volatility (FT)
- Passive Funds: The Secret Ingredient to Smarter Active Portfolio Management? (CFA Institute)
- Absolute Return: The Party Is Just Getting Started (SSRN)
Alternative Asset Classes
Should You Invest In Gold In 2025? (Banker on Wheels)
Bankers are a rational bunch unless you talk to them about Football or Gold. Gold is a controversial topic, and there are a lot of misconceptions about it and facts that may surprise you. Some investors avoid it, since it does not generate any yield. But, portfolio managers and traders, including prominent ones, allocate personal savings to Gold. If we don’t subscribe to the doom predictions of gold bugs and take emotions out of the equation, is buying Gold a wise choice? Let’s look at the good, the bad, and the ugly behind Gold.
Wall Street
Bad Bets
ETFs
UCITS ETFs
Amundi unveils Target Dated ETFs (ETF Stream)
Amundi has launched a suite of multi-asset target date ETFs to tap retail investors seeking ready-made portfolios to underly savings plans on digital platforms. The initial offering of four ETFs is listed on Euronext Paris and Deutsche Boerse with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.18%. The new quartet are: - Amundi Lifecycle 2030 UCITS ETF (LC30) - Amundi Lifecycle 2033 UCITS ETF (LC33) - Amundi Lifecycle 2036 UCITS ETF (LC36) - Amundi Lifecycle 2039 UCITS ETF (LC39)
US ETFs
Margin Management in Return Stacking (Return Stacked)
Return stacking is an investment approach that seeks to enhance diversification by layering non-correlated strategies, such as managed futures, on top of traditional exposures. While this strategy aims to improve risk-adjusted returns, it involves futures contracts that require margin management to mitigate risks like margin calls during volatile markets.
Wealth Management
Personal Finance
- The 5 Types of Wealth (Two Percent)
- How, When, And Why To Talk To Your Kids About Your Money: Timeless Wisdom From Warren Buffett (Financial Life Planning)
- Meet the woman who lives without money: ‘I feel more secure than when I was earning’ (Guardian)
- Is $1 Million Still a Lot of Money? (Of Dollars and Data)
Platforms
(Early) Retirement
Financial Advice
Design Your Lifestyle
Personal Development
Seth Godin is the author of 21 internationally bestselling books, translated into more than 35 languages, including Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow. His latest book is This Is Strategy. A home run for Seth? Includes: What the word “strategy” means to Seth, Real-world examples of good business strategies, the core ingredients of enacting a successful strategy, how early successes make later successes more likely & much more.
Health & Wellness
Careers & Entrepreneurship
- Two hundred UK companies sign up for permanent four-day working week (Independent)
- Shoveling Shit & Building Empires: The Cheat Codes to Startup Success (Trends with Friends)
- Why I'd never apply for a job online again (Hot Takes)
- Digital Nomad Visas—New Zealand Launches New Long-Term Working Visa (Forbes)
- The corporate 9-to-5 is dead. Finally. (Khe Hy - RadReads)
Travel
Work, Play, and Surf: 5 Beach Getaways for Digital Nomads from Okinawa to Koh Lanta (Banker on Wheels)
In 2022 & 2023, Raph and I worked remotely from Digital Nomad places in Asia and Europe. Sometimes illusionary in a corporate environment, work-life balance can also be tricky on the move. We tested different coworking spaces, but sometimes adapted a work-from-home style when options were limited. Time off while travelling can be incredibly rewarding. We wanted to bring out unique activities each place offers to make your choice easier if you have no family obligations, are in a flexible job like Tech or Digital Marketing and are keen to embark on a new adventure.
Tech & Economy
Economy
- Norway’s wealth fund reports record profits. It’s now worth $319,900 per citizen. (sherwood news)
- The Top 10 Global Risks That Will Define the Future (Visual Capitalist)
- Asia’s $40 Trillion Economy (Visual Capitalist)
- Philip Lane on the Big Problems Facing the Euro-zone Economy (Oddlots)
- Deglobalisation: Diversification rather than decoupling (Joachim Klement)
- Ray Dalio Tells Us 'How Countries Go Broke' (Bloomberg)
Tech & Science
- We will have to learn to live with machines that can think (FT)
- DeepSeek, TikTok, Temu: How China is taking the lead in tech (BBC)
- Mike Maples on 100-Baggers, David Swensen & the AI Revolution (Meb Faber)
- The Most Useful Thing AI Has Done (Veritasium)
- AI, demographics, and the U.S. economy (Vanguard)
And Finally
Europe’s Population May Fall by 150 Million People by 2100 (voronoi)
This map shows the projected change in population levels for every European country between now and the year 2100. Data is sourced from the UN World Population Prospects 2024, using their medium variant estimates. For the last few decades Europe’s birth rates have fallen below replacement rate (which keeps population levels the same), and this will only accelerate going into the future. As a result, most European countries will see their population fall between now and the year 2100.
Good Luck and Keep’em* Rolling!
(* Wheels & Dividends)
Trade Wars, Real Wars, but Equities Close To All-Time Highs: Is It A Good Time To Invest?
7 Reasons Why Japan May Be Your Next Cycling Adventure
Nomads in 2026: Genki vs SafetyWing – Which Travel Insurance Wins?
How You Can Cycle The World – A Practical Guide
Weekend Reading – Vanguard Cuts Fees across 15 ETFs & IBKR launches prediction markets
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