Housing prices rise 5.1%. The Dow drops nearly a hundred points in intraday trading. The state pension system is fiscally insolvent. Local taxpayers will vote on a $18 million bond referendum for school improvement projects. These economic and market headlines form the basis of daily decisions at financial firms, from retail and commercial banks to municipal funds.
Financial professionals can drive immense value from monitoring news – if they can get it early enough and in the right format. Yet staying on top of the high volume of financial news and information – local news, in particular – that’s broadcast each day is a near impossibility without the right tools. Google makes print and online news easy to find, but it doesn’t index every broadcast. And without local news segments, financial firms risk missing a key piece of the picture.
Just like other data sources, broadcast media monitoring data can be used to feed business decisions, financial and trading analytics platforms, and client portfolios. Here are five ways it can drive more profits for your firm.
Enhance client portfolios with news stories
For private banks, growth depends upon the strength of the customer relationship. And while giving well-heeled clients online access to their portfolios is today a basic service, wealth managers can stand out by integrating a broadcast news feed. By using an API to embed text from relevant news stories right into the customer portal or dashboard, they can keep clients informed and deliver a richer experience.
Give investment professionals unique market insights
Monitoring emerging news and trends is critical for both the buy- and sell-side. Press releases and trading data tell one part of the story, but hard-to-find local news data improves the accuracy of investment models. With an API, investment professionals can feed broadcast monitoring data into their proprietary analytics platforms and improve market intelligence.
Monitor news to manage risk and sustain growth
When it comes to economic news, it’s all local for commercial bankers. Macro trends such as recessions, expansions, inflation and volatility all matter of course, but the devil is in the local municipal and business environment. Loan decisions hinge on the state of local economies. If more municipalities follow Detroit’s lead into bankruptcy, for example, or if states raise taxes to fill budget gaps, the local market could weaken. Broadcast media monitoring allows bankers to track turbulent local situations as they unfold.
Identify strategic market opportunities
In the C-suite, broadcast media monitoring can help banking and investment executives identify new markets and stay on top of evolving issues. For example, a local news station might report the sale of a building by a key competitor, signaling a potential market exit. Broadcast media monitoring offers hard-to-find insights and early warnings, which can give financial executives the insight they need to move quickly and seize an advantage.
Drive cutting edge new product development
Customization is the next wave of product development. Broadcast media monitoring can feed data analysis models that help banks create products for increasingly specific customer segments. In addition, by monitoring competitors and markets both nationally and locally, product teams can keep an eye on the trends most likely to impact financial customers. For example, understanding consumer reactions to tech innovations, such as mobile, the Internet of Things, and payment models, can influence product design.
Without a doubt, news is market moving, and no financial business can operate without it. As these examples show, broadcast media monitoring gives financial firms access to hard-to-find market intelligence, enabling them to raise their game and edge out the competition. Request a free trial to learn more.
