Newsletter No. 498

05 # 4 9 8 | 1 9 . 0 5 . 2 0 1 7 字 裏 科 技 / T ech T alks 另類網招 Snap and Snatch S napchat是一個相片及貼文都會在一段短時間之 後自動删除的社交媒體，這項自動删除的特性令它 在青少年間迅速流行，因為和私下交談一樣，聲音 動靜都稍縱即逝，不留痕跡，年輕人大可不必擔心 父母在其面書或其他社交帳戶窺探其私隱。 顧名思 義，一 般社 交 媒體有助 拓 建 人 際網 絡，Snapchat更勝人之處在於其自動删除功能令 使用者更易放下戒心與別人溝通，因為就算說錯了 話、後悔送出了相片都問題不大，過了一段短時間後 半點證據不留，一切重新開始。 Snapchat在美國是使用率增長最快的社交媒體。 根據一項在2015年發表的研究，Snapchat每天有一億個經常使用者，大部分使用者年齡 介乎十四至三十四歲，每天發出的信息達四億條。這個龐大的市場當然吸引到不少市場營 銷專業，也包括高等教育界的。西維吉尼亞大學便是挖空心思以此來招攬新生的大學之一， 它推出過兩個項目，均證實對吸引準學生的注意和興趣甚有幫助。 西維吉尼亞大學於2015年尾舉辦了一次AskWVU答問活動，鼓勵其Snapchat上的追隨者 於當天的十二小時內提出詢問，結果收到超過六百個主要來自中學生的查詢，包括「校園的 膳食有甚麼選擇？」和「哪一所宿舍是最好的？」大學對每條問題都盡量直接回答，更會從 一些常見問題去發掘素材來炮製特輯故事。以任何社交媒體推廣，所有回應都應該即時及 直接地處理，而且可以化成新的內容。 另一個項目Takeove r Tuesday，每個星期二整整一天，西維吉尼亞大學都會把其 Snapchat帳戶的控制權交到一位同學手裡，由他／她主導內容，追隨者這天便以手機跟隨 這位同學，從課堂走到圖書館、飯堂、宿舍，第一手了解主修科目和校園生活情況。這種由下 而上的傳播模式，令校園的體驗更真實、更易為有興趣報讀的學生信納。 創意無限的數碼營銷在高等教育界也是隨處可見。 Snapchat, first launched in 2011, started out as a social media platform where pictures and texts would delete themselves after a short period of time. This approximates and accords with natural conversations where the sounds and the gestures are ephemeral. Its first success among teenagers was due in no small part to its users’ wish to evade parents who watch over their Facebook and other social media accounts. Social media are generally good for relationship building and Snapchat particularly so. It is accessible from mobile devices only and snaps are sent and received on an one-to-one basis. The impermanence of the snaps has made one’s whims, blunders and indiscretions transitory and forgivable, with the result that one would be more ready to let down one’s guards and get familiar or intimate with strangers. Snapchat is in fact the fastest growing social network in the US. According to one study published in 2015, it had 100 million daily active users, with 400 million snaps a day. The majority of its users are estimated to be between 14 and 34 years of age. The vast potential for marketing has not been lost on marketers, including those in the higher education sector. West Virginia University (WVU), among others, has used Snapchat innovatively for its student recruitment effort. Two of its Snapchat campaigns have been particularly successful in attracting and focusing the interest of prospective students. WVU held its ‘AskWVU’ question-and-answer session on a day in late 2015 to ask its Snapchat followers to send in questions. During a 12-hour period, the university received more than 600 questions from mostly high school students. Questions included ‘What food options are available on campus?’ and ‘Which dorm is the best?’ The university answered every question directly and created stories to address the issues discerned in frequently asked questions. Student recruiters should take heed that prompt and direct responses are required in any social media campaign and that enquiries are food for new contents. ‘Takeover Tuesday’ is another campaign in which, for a full day every Tuesday, WVU turns over the control of its Snapchat account to one of its students. What the student usually does is to take the followers through his/her life on a normal day on campus, from the classroom to the library and the dorm rooms. He/she would often answer questions about majors and campus life. This bottom-up approach has proved effective in presenting highly creditable and readily received accounts of campus life to prospective students. Innovative and ingenious digital marketing is seen everywhere in higher education. T.C. 財 金 淺 趣 / F inancially F riendly 再談託管服務 More on Custodian Service 個人投資者或散戶通常都使用股票經紀提供的託管服務。在這種情況下，股票經紀會相對 掌握買賣的全盤資料，包括買入價、賣出價及利潤等。 機構投資者則大多不欲見到這種透明度及獨家服務，所以主權基金、家族基金、對冲基金 等都會同時委任多過一個經紀及託管人，使任何一個經紀或託管人都不會得到全盤資料。 假設有一個家族基金CTMF，在處理其證券買賣上非常低調，它可以委聘三間經紀行 B1、B2及B3和兩間託管人公司C1及C2替其辦事。首先，CTMF透過B1買入一批滙豐股票， 並指示B1把股票交到C1託管。跟着，CTMF又透過B2買入另一批滙豐股票，並指示B2把 股票交到C2託管。最後，CTMF把其擁有的一定數量滙豐股票透過B3賣出，並指示B1及 B2把相關數量的股票交給B3以便完成交易。 在這個流程裏，B1及B2均做了一次買入交易，B3做了一次賣出交易，C1及C2則尚保管着一 些股票。沒有一個經紀或是託管人對數量、價格、利潤全面掌握，CTMF好像在其滙豐股票 的組合外面放下了一個帷幕，令外人參不透內裏乾坤。 不委任獨家代理人的另一個好處，是當服務質素下降或是服務費偏離市場水平時，CTMF 也可以轉換代理人，而不會嚴重影響其投資計劃。 從投資者的角度看，在委任投資代理人上作出適當的對沖，可以有更多好處及彈性。 Individual or retail investors typically buy or sell stocks using the custodian service provided by the broker. In such cases, the broker concerned would be in relatively full possession of the transaction details such as the buying cost, the selling price and profit made, if any. For various reasons, institutional investors may not want this transparency and exclusivity associated with engaging only one broker or custodian. Institutional investors including sovereign funds, family funds and hedge funds would use multiple brokers and multiple custodians so that the overall picture of costs and profits would be opaque to the dealing brokers and custodians. To illustrate, suppose a family fund, say, Chan Tai Man Foundation (CTMF), wishes to keep a low profile in its global securities dealings. It therefore engages brokers B1, B2 and B3 and custodians C1 and C2. CTMF bought some HSBC stocks at price X via B1 and instructed the stocks to be transferred to C1 for safekeeping. Later, CTMF bought some more HSBC stocks at price Y via B2 and instructed the stocks to be transferred to C2 for safekeeping. Still later, CTMF sold some of its HSBC stocks via B3 and instructed C1 and C2 to transfer the requisite HSBC stocks to B3 for settlement. At the end of this cycle, B1 and B2 each has one purchase transaction, B3 has one sale transaction, and C1 and C2 still have some stocks left in their custody. None of the brokers or the custodians has the full picture of the quantities, costs and profits involved. By employing multiple brokers and custodians, CTMF has cast a veil over its portfolio and transactions of HSBC stocks. Another advantage is that by keeping the choice of brokers and custodians non- exclusive, CTMF can be assured of the services it gets and the charges it pays are at a level acceptable to it. Firing one or more of its retinue of financial operators, if the service quality deteriorates or the transaction cost is no longer competitive in the market, would not seriously disrupt its investment plans or activities. From an investor’s point of view, hedging your bets in your financial operators definitely gives you advantages and flexibility.