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When the artist Beeple sold a digital work of art for $69 million, it caught the world’s attention especially because that one-of-a-kind digital art was a non-fungible token (NFT). In this episode, we’re taking a look at this emerging blockchain technology and exploring how NFTs are transforming digital artwork. What We Discussed in This Episode:

The tech industry was undergoing a period of introspection even before the COVID-19 pandemic began. While the crisis spotlighted the importance of the tech industry and existing technology, the future is still rooted in the core purpose of innovation with intent. The tech industry is poised for growth in 2021, and optimization is the path to realizing opportunity.

Custom separately managed accounts (SMAs) may seem to many like the newest in the line of innovations in the investment industry. However, the benefits of portfolio customization go far beyond security selection. At its core, it allows an investor’s portfolio to be managed consistent with their specific rules, exclusions, or tax situations. With efficiency and flexibility, SMAs can also adapt to the twists and turns of an investment journey.

COVID-19 is exacerbating ongoing geopolitical and societal challenges, and the existential crisis of climate change looms large. In this 16th edition of the Global Risks Report, it highlights the implications of major risks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and an emerging risk landscape spanning from the digital divide to navigating global fractures to considering strategic investments to avoid catastrophic outcomes.

Few investor concerns are as fundamental as portfolio performance. How to evaluate it is one of the most common questions posed by private wealth clients. It starts with the benchmarking process—the evaluation of investment decisions and their results. But to truly evaluate your portfolio, it pays to drill down deeper and focus on the three steps needed to determine which decisions have been successful and which need improvement.

Although the future is unpredictable, we do know that financial planning can allow families and their advisors to operate from a position of strength and resilience, no matter the changes that lie ahead. In this video, the Baird economic analysts and financial planning specialists look at how the economic landscape impact your finances in 2021 while highlighting wealth planning opportunities to consider.

Investors shouldn't let taxes prevent them from choosing better investment options. Transitioning to a tax-managed SMA may help minimize upfront tax cost and provide opportunities over time to reduce tracking error against a preferred benchmark. The combination of this tax efficiency, along with ongoing tax management, allows investors with different tax and investment situations to more readily achieve their near-term and long-term asset allocation and investment goals.

When an off-the-shelf solution doesn’t cut it, responsible investors can turn to customized separately managed accounts (SMAs) to build portfolios that align with their values, including expressing their individual ESG views. With an SMA, investors can also gain the market exposure they’re seeking through portfolio construction, active ownership, or a combination of the two.

Investors look to the municipal market for both quality and diversification. They were rewarded in 2020 when the municipal market proved resilient despite a challenging economic environment. The strength of the municipal credit quality surprised many. And the CARES Act provided much-needed support to a municipal bond market reeling from COVID-19. What’s coming next now that the Biden administration is setting to work?

Inflation is almost always a topic of discussion when thinking about and planning for the future. This paper explores the many factors that affect the inflation rate, whether an uptick in inflation is helpful or harmful, and the cyclical forces that could push toward higher inflation. Despite all the theory and prognostication, no one knows exactly where inflation is headed.