When Jay Jacobs, director of research at Global X, and his team were looking to start new theme-based exchange-traded funds last year, a robotics and artificial intelligence ETF just made sense.

"I think a lot of times the finance world gets lost in its own jargon of risk adjusted returns and Sharpe ratios and risk factors," Jacobs told Markets Insider. "The story behind robotics and AI is very straightforward to everybody."

Jacobs is a chief mind behind the BOTZ, an exchange-traded fund from Global X which launched in September of 2016. BOTZ invests in companies that gain a majority of their revenue from robotics and artificial intelligence. The fund's market capitalization recently crossed over the $300 million mark.

The explosive growth of BOTZ makes sense. It combines the red-hot ETF market with skyrocketing tech stocks. Jacobs says it's the fastest growing funds he's been involved with in his four plus years with Global X. With returns of around 39.1% since the fund's inception last year, the growth is hardly surprising. 

BOTZ is comprised of 29 companies spread across four sub categories: industrial automation, non-industrial robotics, unmanned vehicles and artificial intelligence. It's weighted by market cap, with no single company comprising more than 8% of the fund, and no less than 0.3%, according to Jacobs.

The largest holding is currently Mitsubishi, followed by Nvidia and Keyence Corp, each making up about 7.5% of the fund. Those top three holdings are up an average of 77.4% since the inception of BOTZ. 

Global X has positioned BOTZ to be popular among a younger investing crowd. A strong majority of millennials, about 83%, are interested in thematic investing, compared to only 31% of the general population, according to a study done by the firm. When creating BOTZ, Jacobs said the team had millennial investors in mind. 

"We see that younger generations are the trendsetters, so if we see that millennials are the ones saying [AI] is real ... that's meaningful and it's going to start working its way up the chain," Jacobs said.

Formatting the fund as an ETF made sense as well. The ETF market for stocks has grown by 500% in the last eight years, in part because it allows for easy access to themes like AI and robotics. Investing in the fund is as easy as buying a stock.

"You get international exposure, which is critical for robotics," Jacobs said. "You get diversified exposure."

There are drawbacks to the Global X approach. Almost half of the fund's holdings are based in Japan, meaning events in the country could have an outsized effect on the fund. The fund is also missing some major players in AI, like Facebook and Google, which are leaders in artificial intelligence technology but excluded from the fund because they don't derive most of their revenue from the theme.

Still, a thematic fund like BOTZ allows investors to bet on a general idea instead of a specific company, which investors seem to like.

After all, "tech is only going to get better," Jacobs said.

SEE ALSO: The world's hottest investment market looks like a bubble — but it still has a ways to go

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On Christmas Eve, December 24, the price of leading cryptocurrencies fell by large margins. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Litecoin, along with every other cryptocurrency in the market with the exception of a few have declined substantially in value. Out of the 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies in the market, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple have recorded

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The post Cryptocurrencies Decline on Christmas Eve: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple Down 10% appeared first on CCN

On Christmas Eve, December 24, the price of leading cryptocurrencies fell by large margins. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Litecoin, along with every other cryptocurrency in the market with the exception of a few have declined substantially in value. Out of the 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies in the market, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple have recorded

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• Bank of America is the latest to join the tax-plan bonus party, paying $1,000 bonuses to roughly 145,000 employees.
• That works out to a $145 million payout by the Charlotte-based bank, which makes about $93 billion in annual revenue.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the latest company to offer employees a cash reward following the passage of the $1.5 trillion GOP tax plan. 

The bank will give $1,000 bonuses to its roughly 145,000 employees who make less than $150,000 a year, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. 

That works out to a $145 million payout by the Charlotte-based bank, which takes in about $93 billion in annual revenue.

A handful of companies have announced employee bonuses following the tax plan's passage this week, headlined by $200 million in bonuses AT&T announced Wednesday for 200,000 of its employees. 

Other companies who've joined the tax-plan after party: Boeing, Fifth Third Bank, Wells Fargo, Comcast NBC Universal, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Texas Capital Bank.

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• Goldman Sachs says to look at downtrodden small-cap stocks for stock-picking opportunities in the aftermath of GOP tax reform.
• When the dust around the tax bill settles, the firm says there will be plenty of chances for active managers to identify single stocks with upside potential.

If the biggest firms on Wall Street can agree on one thing these days, it's that the GOP tax bill is going to boost equities in 2018.

JPMorgan recently posted a year-end S&P 500 price target of 3,000 — tied for the most bullish call out there — while citing the positive effect of tax reform. Meanwhile, UBS said earlier this month that the benchmark could hit 3,300 next year, which would mark a 25% surge from when it made the forecast.

But Goldman Sachs has dug a little deeper and identified a way for diligent equity investors to make a killing on a single-stock basis in the wake of the tax bill's successful passage.

It involves small-cap stocks, which are usually more domestically exposed than their multinational counterparts. Because of their US focus, they soared immediately after the presidential election in 2016, and acted as a proxy for sentiment around the tax bill for much of 2017.

But they've been underperforming in recent months due to risk around the limiting of interest deductibility, as well as speculation they won't benefit much from tax cuts, according to Goldman. As such, the firm sees a huge opportunity for active managers to come in and scoop up exposure at bargain prices.

"The complexity of the new tax code means there is much more work and potential benefit ahead for stock pickers as they uncover the specific implications of the tax code for individual industries and companies," Goldman Sachs strategists led by Ben Snider and David Kostin wrote in a client note."The represent opportunities for investors willing to sift through the chaff."

But the money-making possibilities don't end there. Goldman says that investors willing to be patient should be able to ride the wave higher in high-growth areas that have fallen out of favor in recent weeks. That includes many of the mega-cap tech companies that have seen recent losses as investors have sold stock to fund purchases of shares in companies seen benefiting most from tax cuts, like banks.

Their "fundamental appeal should outweigh the impact of tax reform," says Goldman. Based on forecasts compiled by Bloomberg, the tech sector will grow earnings by 24% in 2018. That's the second-most in the S&P 500, trailing only energy, which adds credence to the firm's suggestion.

Looking more broadly, Goldman sees tax reform as a whole boosting S&P 500 earnings by 5% in 2018. They acknowledge that it's a moving target, and that much will depend on how corporations end up using tax proceeds. One important distinction that the firm makes is that some activities — like cutting prices and raising wages — could ultimately be positive for companies, but won't be accretive to earnings.

Overall, the tax reform aftermath is a puzzle that investors have been left to solve. And as they go foraging for ideas, the recommendations outlined by Goldman offer a great starting point.

SEE ALSO: GOLDMAN SACHS: Here's how to make a killing in early 2018

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• Hollie Grant is a personal trainer, pilates instructor, owner of the PilatesPT studio in London, and founder of "The Model Method."
• Her clients have included Jourdan Dunn, Ella Mills, and Melissa Hemsley.
• During Christmas season she said the most important thing is to "start the day on the right note" with a breakfast full of fibre and vegetables.
• However, she believes people shouldn't see food or alcohol "as the enemy" and shouldn't restrict themselves over the holidays.

Festive food and drink is one of the best parts of the season, but if we approach indulgence the wrong way, we could end up overdoing it and feeling unnecessarily guilty — or bloated and hungover.

Hollie Grant — personal trainer, pilates instructor, owner of London studio PilatesPT, and founder of "The Model Method" — reminded Business Insider that part of the holiday period is about being realistic.

"It's the Christmas period, there will be work drinks and having the family over, and [it's about] not beating yourself up over it, being allowed to have cake and have a few drinks," she said.

"It’s okay to not see food or alcohol as the enemy and just see it as part of a balanced diet. If people have too rigid a structure, it’s too easy to binge and purge, and then binge and restrict."

A former pastry chef herself, Grant says she would never tell a client to completely avoid eating a food they love.

"We don't believe in the diet approach," she said, instead adding that people should "think about putting as many good things into your body as you can."

However, she did have a few suggestions for setting your body and digestive system up for success over the holidays.

Fuel up for the day — then enjoy it

"Always start the day — if you're having breakfast — on the right note," Grant said.

"Make sure you’re getting lots of vegetables and fibre in the the beginning. Then even if you're going out in the evening and it’s greasy food and alcohol, you’ve got some fibre and some vegetables."

Some of Grant's go-to breakfasts include black beans with coriander guacamole and poached eggs....

...as well as corn and lime fritters with avocado, rocket, and sriracha sauce; or smoked salmon, egg, and turmeric muffins.

When it comes to alcohol, Grant suggests going "like-for-like," having one drink, then one glass of water, and not "mindlessly downing pints" — instead, make sure you drink something you really enjoy.

'The Model Method' is an effort to 'change perceptions'

Grant is, of course, also a proponent of pilates, which she says is "all about function and form, not about aesthetics and losing weight."

However, she believes that pilates on its own is not enough, and her "Model Method" — a plan available for online clients as well as clients she trains in person — incorporates HIIT (high-intensity interval training) as well.

She says the program — which has clients including the likes of "Deliciously Ella" Ella Mills, Melissa Hemsley, and Jourdan Dunn — is 50/50 HIIT and pilates/biometrics (using your body weight to jump).

"I started to introduce it into my client sessions with the pilates, and it seemed like the perfect fit," she said. "All sessions are based around that."

Grant's book — also titled "The Model Method" — is due for release on December 28. Grant describes it as an effort to "try to change perceptions of what people should be doing."

The book is divided into three sections: Nourish, which compares what people in the UK are eating to government recommendations, and provides recipes based around that; Strength, which explains what pilates is and why it's good for the body; and Sweat, which talks about the benefits of cardio exercise and HIIT.

Still, while maintaining a bit of exercise over the Christmas period is certainly the goal — and Grant's Method might be a good place to start — don't beat yourself up if you don't make it to the gym every day.

"A healthy relationship with food and exercise is where you don't see it as the enemy, [but as] something that's vital and enjoyable," Grant said. "Dieting and choosing to over-exercise because you hate your body doesn't work."

SEE ALSO: Instagram food star Deliciously Ella tells us the one kitchen staple she couldn't live without

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• Even after a rough week, bitcoin is trading at around $14,400.
• A recent research note points out how hard it is to justify that valuation.
• The scarcity of people willing to accept it means that its actual value might be nothing.

Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette and his team sent a research note to clients a few days ago suggesting that the real value of bitcoin might be ... $0.

That's zero dollars. (Bitcoin stood at around $14,400 at the time of writing.)

The paper (titled "Bitcoin decrypted") did not give a price target for bitcoin.

But in a section titled "Attempts to Value Bitcoin," Faucette described why it is so hard to ascribe value to the cryptocurrency. It's not like a currency, it's not like gold, and it won't scale. He concluded:

• Very difficult question to answer, but some points to consider

• Can Bitcoin be valued like a currency? No. There is no interest rate associated with Bitcoin.

• Like digital gold? Maybe. Does not have any intrinsic use like gold has in electronics or jewelry. But investors appear to be ascribing some value to it.

• Is it a payment network? Yes but it is tough to scale and does not charge a transaction fee.

• Bitcoin average daily trading volume of $3bn (last 30 days) vs $5.4 trillion in the FX market.

• Est. <$300mn in daily purchase volume vs. $17bn for Visa.

Faucette backed his argument with this chart of online retailers who accept bitcoin, titled "Virtually no acceptance, and shrinking":

"If nobody accepts the technology for payment then the value would be 0," Faucette suggested.

Of course, even if bitcoin can't be used to buy goods it is still largely exchangeable for fiat currency.

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Anonymous benefactor known as Pine bucks global wealth trend with million-dollar donation fund for worthy causes

What would you do if you had $86m? It’s a welcome dilemma for some of bitcoin’s early adopters thanks to the cryptocurrency’s meteoric rise, from less than $1,000 last year to a peak of almost $20,000 in December.

One generous bitcoiner has decided to follow the lead of Bill Gates and establish a philanthropic purse, the Pineapple Fund, because “once you have enough money, money doesn’t matter,” they say.

Blockchain poses as big a threat to banks as Facebook and Amazon did to conventional media firms

Humanity’s earliest, truly transformative general purpose technologies were the ability to cross-fertilise plants and cross-breed animals. Suddenly, it made more sense to farm than to hunt and gather. The surge in agricultural output meant humans could do other things than worry about survival; they could live in cities. Human civilisation began.

The story of the subsequent millennia has been how some 30 general-purpose technologies of equal power, ranging from the printing press to the steam engine, have driven similar leaps in transforming our economy, our lives and our civilisation. Today, we are living through another.

The future is bright following Wall Street's futures trading embrace, but education is emerging as a key hurdle ahead.