Raphael Stevens

Diversification, goes an adage attributed to the late Harry Markowitz, is the only free lunch in investing. The idea later helped him win a Nobel prize for economics. Markowitz’s genius was to realise that a portfolio spread across lots of assets could have the same potential for returns as a more concentrated one, but with less scope for losses. In other words, diversification allows investors to take less risk without sacrificing reward—quite some freebie. More

Mimosas have a simple recipe: one part champagne, one part orange juice. Soon, though, the tipple may be even less affordable—and not because sparkling wine is ever more expensive. Concentrate orange-juice futures in New York, which soft-drink producers use to hedge against price swings, have quadrupled since late 2021. They hit an intraday high of $5.80 a pound on September 9th, their fifth record in a week. More

It has been a tumultuous few months for the International Monetary Fund’s borrowers. In June protests brought thousands onto the streets in Kenya after William Ruto, the president, laid out the spending cuts required to convince the IMF to disburse the latest instalment of the country’s $3bn bail-out. Two months later, Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh, which also has a programme with the fund, was ousted when reforms to the country’s bureaucracy sparked riots. More

When China’s ruler, Xi Jinping, began calling for “common prosperity” in 2021, he made investors nervous. The stated goal was to reduce inequality. But the term became wrapped up with something edgier: a morale-destroying campaign to browbeat billionaires into displays of charity, tighten regulations on big tech firms and curb what Mr Xi called the “disorderly expansion of capital”. More

Bunq, the Dutch digital bank, told CNBC it plans to increase its global headcount by over 70% in 2024.
It’s expected to help the fintech expand into new regions including the U.K. and the United States, where the company is applying for local licenses.
It comes as other companies, including PayPal and Klarna, have significantly reduced their workforces amid a tougher environment for fintech.

Dutch digital bank Bunq is plotting re-entry into the U.K. to tap into a “large and underserved” market of some 2.8 million British “digital nomads.”
Pavlo Gonchar | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Dutch challenger bank Bunq told CNBC that it plans to grow its global headcount by 70% this year to over 700 employees, even as other financial technology startups have decided to cut jobs.
Bunq, which operates in markets across the European Union, is looking to expand into new regions including the U.K. and the United States, taking on the fintechs already in those countries, including the likes of Britain’s Monzo and Revolut, and American neobank Chime.

Bunq said it needs corresponding talent in those regions to support its global expansion ambitions. To that end, the firm said it plans to see out the year with 735 employees globally — up 72% from its 427 members of staff at the start of 2024.
“Bunq focusses on digital nomads who tend to roam the world,” Ali Niknam, Bunq’s CEO and co-founder, told CNBC via emailed comments.
So-called “digital nomads” are defined as people who travel freely while working remotely, using technology and the internet to work abroad from hotels, cafes, libraries, co-working spaces, or temporary housing.
“We’d love to be able to service our users wherever they go — given the regulatory environment we’re in, this results in us having to have a lot of extra people to make this happen,” Niknam added.

Bunq is currently in the process of applying for banking licenses in both the U.S. and U.K. Last year, the firm submitted an application for a federal banking license. And in the U.K., Bunq is awaiting a decision from financial regulators on an application to become a licensed e-money institution, or EMI.

The digital bank said it was actively looking to hire across sales and business development, product marketing, PR, affiliate marketing, and market analysis, as well as user support, development, and quality assurance.
Many of these positions will be part of a “tailored digital nomad” program that allows staff to work from anywhere in the world, Bunq said.
However, the firm stressed it’s not closing down office space and that many new hires would work in its offices, including in Amsterdam, Sofia, Istanbul, Munich, Paris, Dublin, Madrid, London, and New York City.

A contrast from jobs cuts at other fintechs

Over the past two years, one of the biggest stories in both the fintech and broader technology industry has been companies slashing jobs to cut back on the massive spending implemented during in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

The operating environment for fintech firms has gotten tougher, meanwhile, with inflation knocking consumer confidence and higher interest rates making it harder for startups to raise money.
In January last year, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase slashed 950 jobs. It was followed by payments giant PayPal, which reduced its global headcount by 2,000 people in early 2023, and then by another 2,500 jobs in early 2024.
Meanwhile, some fintechs are looking to artificial intelligence to take on a growing number of roles.
Swedish buy now, pay later firm Klarna, for instance, said last month that it was able to reduce its workforce from 5,000 to 3,800 over the past year from attrition alone. It added that it is looking to further cut employee numbers down to 2,000 through the use of AI in marketing and customer service.
“Our proven scale efficiencies have been enhanced by our investment in AI, which has driven down operating expenses and improved gross profits,” the company said in first-half earnings.
Klarna said that its average revenue per employee had risen 73% year-over-year, thanks in no small part to the internal application of AI.
Bunq’s Niknam said he doesn’t see AI as a way to help firms reduce headcount, however.
“We’ve been deploying AI systems and solutions years before they became mainstream, [but] in our experience AI empowers our employees to be able to do better by our users, more effectively and efficiently,” he told CNBC.
Bunq earlier this year reported its first full year of profitability, generating 53.1 million euros ($58.51 million) in net profit in 2023. The business was last valued privately by investors at 1.65 billion euros. More

September is living up to its reputation as a volatile month, and this creates more challenges to the Big Tech trade. But one low-volatility ETF is still betting big on it.
Alliance Bernstein is behind the AB US Low Volatility Equity ETF. According to FactSet, its top three holdings include megacap winners Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet.

“Technology touches everything that we do in most facets of our life, but there are other industries in play,” Noel Archard, the firm’s global head of ETFs and investor solutions, told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. “So, we’re continuing to see a lot of interest in investing broadly.”
For comparison, FactSet lists the top holdings for Invesco’s Low Volatility ETF as stocks that are traditionally more stable: Berkshire-Hathaway, Coca-Cola and Visa.
Archard notes there’s still a place for historically less volatile stocks such as consumer staples and financials. He sees them as “bumpers” that can help mitigate risk.
For example, FactSet shows that Alliance Bernstein’s low-volatility ETF also includes exposure in names including Procter & Gamble and Fiserv.
“You sort of forget about volatility until it’s there, and then all of a sudden it becomes very front and center,” said Archard.

The AB US Low Volatility ETF is up 16% so far this year as of Wednesday’s close.
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