Declining inflation rates have ignited a bullish frenzy in the equity markets after a turbulent start to 2024. Financial experts highlight the pivotal role played by waning price pressures in propelling the recent stock market surge. 

Fueled by promising inflation trends and the burgeoning artificial intelligence sector, analysts have revised their year-end targets upwards for major stock indices like the S&P 500. Consecutive record highs across key benchmarks reflect investors' optimism, bolstered by lower-than-anticipated inflation readings. 

Economists interpret the recent data as a harbinger of potential interest rate cuts, marking significant progress towards the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target. While the Fed projects a solitary rate reduction in 2024, market sentiment leans towards two cuts. 

Finsum: The key will be how many cuts, if rates fall the cap to the market is very high.

Asset managers believe the next two years might be ideal for investing in private real estate, despite recent market challenges. Clients are increasingly interested in risk-adjusted returns, prompting RIAs to explore private real estate opportunities. 

Core real estate, with its stable returns and lower leverage, is seen as favorable. Despite last year's focus on falling property valuations, sentiment is shifting as investors seek to time market entry. 

Private real estate offers attractive returns but requires patience due to slow cycles and the need for market stability. Potential buyers should be aware that the price gap between buyers and sellers remains a challenge.

Finsum: The old adage of buying the dip could be especially in play for this current moment in real estate.

The pandemic kept a lot of us cooped up and changed the battleground for the future of productivity, but there has been little doubt of how it has impacted the world of literature. There has been a huge outpour of high quality books the last two years that some attribute to the isolation of that era. Here are the best books of 2024 so far:

Non Fiction: The C.I.A.

• In his new book, Wilford examines how the United States, particularly through the C.I.A., sought to control global politics after World War II, often engaging in covert actions in newly independent states of the Global South, illustrating the paradox of anti-imperialism empowering covert U.S. influence during decolonization.

Fiction: The Ministry of Time

• Kaliane Bradley examines a Cambodian English minder in a near-future Britain grapples with falling in love with her charge, a nineteenth-century Royal Navy commander, while uncovering the mysteries of a government program that uses time travel to retrieve people from history, exploring themes of mortality and grief.

Wild Card: The Light Eaters

• Zoë Schlanger explores the burgeoning field of plant intelligence, detailing how plants sense, communicate, and respond to their environment, while also focusing on the scientists behind these discoveries and the transformative shifts occurring within botany.

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Finsum: These books offer wonderful conversations for potential clients and can be a bridge to new ideas. 

While commercial properties values have struggled mightily this year KKR is trying to instill shareholder confidence in its $1.2 billion private real estate investment trust. KREST’s struggles are not in isolation as many REITS have faced a two-year downturn due to rising interest rates and decreased investor capital. 

To counteract this, KKR announced a shareholder priority plan involving the potential cancellation of up to 7.7 million KREST shares if the net asset value per share drops below $27 by June 2027. This move would increase per-share value by reducing the number of outstanding shares. Additionally, KKR affiliates will inject $50 million of new capital into KREST, demonstrating their commitment to the trust and the real estate market.

 KKR's strategy mirrors actions taken by Blackstone last year, aiming to protect non-KKR shareholders from short-term declines while allowing them to benefit from potential real estate recoveries.

Finsum: While commercial real estate has most likely bottomed out, its still tough to say if it will ever recover or if this is the new normal. 

Fint Invest is the latest digital platform offering model portfolios tailored to retail investors, built around investment themes being developed by IronMarket Wealth. Fint Invest allows users to choose portfolios focused on climate change, disruptive technologies, or eSports, with risk levels determined by Oxford Risk’s assessment. 

Managed by IronMarket Wealth, these portfolios come with an annual fee of 1%, covering all associated costs. Co-founders of Algo-Chain and IronMarket Wealth's Wes Wilkes lead the investment committee, aiming to help the next generation invest more effectively. 

The app's portfolios, fully invested in ETFs, provide cost-effective and efficient options for thematic investing. Co-founders Curtis and AJ Pritchard, famous from Love Island and Strictly Come Dancing, are spearheading the marketing efforts to engage younger investors through educational initiatives with universities and schools.

Finsum: Celebrity pairing is interesting and could bring a new generation of investors particularly with these themes at their core.