Tag Archives: New York Times

Goldman FinTech Fixation Sneaks Into Start-Up Space with Online Lending To Consumers

One of the biggest investment banks on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs, is making a change to its business model–adopting what seems to be tactics advanced by startups.

Soon, Goldman will offer loans online to both consumers and to small businesses as it looks to tap into a marketplace worth nearly $850 billion. The new unit will offer the loans through a website or an app — functioning like a virtual bank in one of the oldest companies on Wall Street. Without the costs of bank branches and tellers, Goldman can lend the money at lower interest rates while still making a profit. The company hopes to be ready to make its first loans next year.

It’s a big change for Goldman’s business model — before, the only people who could obtain a loan from the bank were its high-net-worth clients.

Goldman can establish a consumer lending business now because it converted from being an investment bank into a bank holding company during the financial crisis.  It also allowed Goldman the opportunity to interact more directly with consumers.

Goldman Sachs did not comment when asked about their business plan explored by this New York Times’ story. 

 

BlackRock New Bond ETF To Trade Like Common Stock

BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager with over $4.59 trillion in assets under management. iShares is a section of BlackRock that is in control of hundreds of ETFs. As noted on iShares page and continued to ring true today, Many people are turning to ETFs for diversified, low-cost and tax efficient investing. ETFs can be a powerful addition to your investment portfolio.

MarketMuse blog update is courtesy of the New York Times’ Landon Thomas Jr. with an extract from Thomas’s article, “BlackRock’s New Breed of Exchange-Traded Bond Fund Prizes Stability Over Swagger

While he may not live the life of a swaggering bond market pro, Mr. Radell, a bond manager at the fund giant BlackRock, is challenging a strategy that has rewarded some of his flashier peers: the pursuit of high-risk, high-return investments.

The weapon that Mr. Radell will be using is a new variety of exchange-traded fund, or E.T.F., which tracks an index of stocks or bonds but trades like a common stock, allowing investors to jump in and out.

For years now, these funds have been a hit with passive investors. Now, BlackRock is introducing a new breed of bond E.T.F. that aims to blend the best of active investing (security selection) with index investing (cost and consistency).

Scott Radell has been with BlackRock since 2003 and currently is in charge of more than 80 ETFs for BlackRock’s iShares. 

To read the entire article on the new bond ETF from BlackRock found in the New York Times, click here.