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Here’s a widely held belief: investment commentaries get in the way of the more high-profile initiatives that first attracted you to marketing.
In many respects, that’s true. But we think there’s more to the story.
While working on investment commentaries won’t likely lead to any awards, it’s a great way to learn about the industry and become a better marketer.
1. Learn more about the industry
Working on investment commentaries is a crash course on the investment industry. For people newer to the industry, you’ll learn about management styles, benchmarks, how the markets work, the impact of macroeconomics and much, much more.
For more experienced industry professionals, and involvement in investment commentaries makes regulatory changes a part of your day-to-day work. Admittedly, not the most exciting proposition. This regulatory awareness, however, helps you think about broader industry trends and how they may impact your profession in the future.
2. Expand your network
Every company has a different group of people working on investment commentaries. Trust us, there’s no universal template. And while that leads to some practical challenges, it presents a great opportunity – you’ll get to work with a diverse group across your company, from legal and compliance to marketing, investments and product.
There’s a little piece of irony here. Investment commentaries, such as MRFPs, appear to be a low-profile task, but they’re very high profile among certain teams within your organization. So, if you want to grow your network, working on investment commentaries is a good way to go about it.
3. Work under pressure
Month after month, quarter after quarter, year after year, disparate teams all across Canada and the world pump out investment commentaries. The timelines are tight and effective communication is essential to get the job done right. Calm, clear thinking is required from everyone on the team, as is a commitment to detail orientation.
These “soft” skills flourish under the ticking clock of an investment commentary project and they transfer over to all other marketing endeavours that you’ll take on.
4. Write for a new audience
If you’re a writer, investment commentaries may open your work up a completely new audience. Whereas most marketing materials are geared toward retail investors, a significant number of institutional investors (and other distribution channels) will read about your firm’s solutions through investment commentaries.
Institutional writing is higher stakes and the writing can be snappier and more technical. It also provides you with the opportunity to include some of that jargon you try to avoid when writing for a retail audience.
5. Focus on process
Investment commentaries are among the most process-driven marketing projects in the industry. We write, edit and project manage investment commentaries for a significant number of the world’s largest financial services firms. As such, we’re always learning about new ways to improve our clients’ processes.