The pandemic affected the economy in a variety of different ways, but combinations of unemployment and work from strategies caused a mass exodus from major American cities and New York has been no exception. However, UBS Group AG says that is about to change. They are recommending investments into REITs, e-commerce ETFs, and fintech/smart mobility in order to be a part of the comeback. A combination of higher vaccination rates and more tolerance for state and local governments to avoid shutdowns will help spur New York's comeback. They particularly cite Manhattan’s REITs for having a fruitful future.

FINSUM: More jobs than ever have moved fully remote and it's questionable whether the city lifestyle will be as appealing if it's not necessarily a requirement.

Sure the Fed is beginning to taper, and with that comes rising interest rates. However, for the end of 2021, it was the near-zero interest rates that pushed investors out of fixed-rate annuities, and into variable index annuities and RILAs. Fixed-rate annuity sales plummeted in the final quarter while the aforementioned variable products all grew by 10%. Sales in annuities grew by a staggering 16% in 2021, however, a lot of that growth was generated by a much lower 2020 due to the pandemic. Investors will look to shift back into fixed-rate products if rates begin to normalize or hit higher historical levels.

FINSUM: Look for fixed-rate annuities to make a come back in later 2022 because as interest rate hikes are coming and investors will capitalize on relatively higher real rates.

The fixed income ETF market took a hit in 2020, and it's been a very slow recovery. Still, active funds outperformed during this time period, and that trend could continue into 2022. A stand-out active bond ETF to consider is Fidelity Total Bond ETF. it’s seen stellar performance when compared to its peers and its managers are committed to ensuring liquidity. Another ETF to watch out for is Pimco enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF. This fund is more centered around stability and security with less risky management. However, avoiding high yield corporate debt and currency risk these factors can make it a safer alternative in the upcoming cycles.

FINSUM: Shorter duration active bond ETFs are really important to consider right now because they mitigate the single biggest risk that exists in bond markets: rising rates.

Fidelity made a splash with its announcement of a $5,000 minimum direct indexing product a couple of weeks ago, and there has been a rush by Vanguard, JPMorgan, and BlackRock to acquire direct indexing firms. Goldman has been a long-time investor provider of direct indexing services, in fact over 20 years ago. Goldman specialized in wealthier clients with a minimum investment of $250,000. Goldman offers software tools for clients to use to add and drop stocks from indices. Most of the time they do this for tax purposes but sometimes clients customize by dropping equity sinners like fossil fuels or prisons. Goldman's direct indexing is a form of active management with higher fees than passive funds, but certainly more futures.

FINSUM: The advent of direct indexing for all will be an interesting follow as lower minimums become the new norm.

The hedge fund universe is getting a facelift. It appears the old days of strategic macro or a single quant visionary are a distant memory. Most funds are pouring money into swathes of teams throwing new money at multistrategy. Moreover, it appears clients are increasingly okay with higher fees in exchange for access to a wider range of investments particularly those in more unconventional areas: currency trading, precious metals, and private equity. Funds like Citadel have seen their multi-strategy departments multiply, and it's one of the fastest and near only ways for hedge funds to grow. Multi-strategy has grown 50 percentage points faster than the rest of the industry since 2014Q1.

FINSUM: Diversity is the name of the game and it appears investors are turning to hedge funds to channel funds into a wider net than ever before.