WSJ Wealth Adviser Briefing: REITs Get Clobbered, CIOs Get Expanded Roles, Gyms Test Winter Workouts

Below, some of the best analysis and insight from WSJ writers and columnists, the Dow Jones Newswires team and occasionally beyond, on investing, the wealth-management business and more.

CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK

Fed Had a Loan Plan for Midsize Firms Hurt by Covid. It Found Few Takers: The Main Street Lending Program let banks sell the government 95% of every credit extended, but some balked because would-be borrowers had lost so much business.

PLANNING & INVESTING

How the American Mortgage Machine Works: A lot has to happen to make 30-year mortgages at super-low interest rates possible. Investors should understand what each player in the process does, and what risks they take.

MARKET TALK

From Dow Jones Newswires

The Dogs of the Dow strategy–investing in the 10 DJIA stocks with the highest dividend yields–just logged a streak of historic underperformance. The past two years have been the worst for the strategy relative to the S&P 500 since 2001, according to Bank of America. The Dogs returned -8% last year, compared with an 18% return for the S&P 500. “After solid returns from 2010-2018, the Dogs of the Dow got fleas,” says Stephen Suttmeier, technical research strategist at Bank of America. “Two bad years have called into question the efficacy of the Dogs of the Dow, but if 2020 did indeed mark a big recessionary low like 2002 and 2009, the Dogs of the Dow could once again have their day.” ([email protected]; @gunjanjs)

Fueled by Covid-19-related demand surges, a number of packaged-food companies delivered “decent” beats on profit and raised their outlooks in recent quarters, per Bernstein analysts, yet shares barely moved up and even fell in some cases on that news. “We therefore conclude that unless the market gets jittery once again and there is yet another flight to safety, these names are likely to be left for dead for some time,” the Bernstein analysts say. For example, shares of Kraft Heinz opened last year valued at $32.13 and ended it at $34.66, according to FactSet, while Kellogg’s stock began 2020 priced at $69.16 and ended at $62.23. ([email protected]; @MicahMaidenberg)

BUSINESS & PRACTICE

Opioid Use Hits Construction Industry as Overdoses Soar: Physically challenging work often leads laborers to turn to addictive painkillers, and Covid-19 makes treatment more difficult.

City Apartment REITs Await the Return to the Office: Covid-19 hurt Equity Residential and UDR shares last year, with rents falling as some urban employees moved to rural and suburban areas.

IMPACT INVESTING

Oil and Gas, Utilities Biggest Opportunities for ESG Improvement: The oil-and-gas and utilities sectors have the largest opportunity to improve their environmental, social and governance profiles, a Bank of America survey says. The survey, which polled institutional investors at a BofA conference in December 2020, says that 49% of respondents believe oil-and-gas offered the biggest opportunity for ESG improvement, followed by utilities at 44%, consumer discretionary at 34% and materials at 31%.

TALKING POINTS

CIOs Enter 2021 With Expanded Role: Their quick response to the coronavirus crisis raised the status of information technology in many organizations.

TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE

Cold Sweat: Gyms Test Winter Workouts During the Pandemic: With indoor activities strictly limited, some fitness studios are finding unexpected enthusiasm for outdoor classes even as temperatures hover near freezing.

ABOUT US

The Wealth Adviser Briefing covers topics of interest to wealth managers, financial planners and other advisers. The content is curated by the Dow Jones Newswires team using articles from the Newswires, Barron’s, MarketWatch and The Wall Street Journal. The briefing is delivered to subscribers by email each workday morning at 6:30 a.m. ET. You can sign up here for email delivery.

We welcome feedback. Please email [email protected] or contact Dwight Oestricher at [email protected]