Diversions August 22, 2013

Back-to-School Likely to Cost Less

Fall spending on back-to-school supplies will tick down from its historic high in 2012, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

 

 

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Pent-up demand and a growing population of school children put 2012 back-to-school spending over the top and left parents this year with supplies that still work and a significantly shorter shopping list, according to NRF’s poll of 5,635 consumers.

Families with school-age children will spend an average of $634.78 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics, down from $688.62 last year. Total spending on back-to-school and back-to-college is expected to reach $72.5 billion.

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The biggest portion of back-to-school shoppers’ budgets will go toward apparel and accessories: 95% of those with school-age children will spend an average of $230.85 on fall sweaters, denim and other attire. Families will spend an average of $114.39 on shoes and an average of $90.49 on school supplies.

Fewer families with children in grades K-12 will purchase electronics (56%), and those investing in a new tablet or smartphone will spend slightly less than last year.

Eight in ten school shoppers say economic conditions will change their spending. Turning to the Internet to save money, 37% say they will do more comparative shopping online and 18.5% will shop online more often.

Almost a quarter of families (24%) with children in grades K-12 began shopping at least two months before school. Almost half (49%) will shop between three weeks and one month before school, 22% will shop one to two weeks before school, 3% will shop the week school starts and 27% will shop after the start of the season.

Though most school shoppers (67%) will visit their favorite discount store for school items as they did last year, 51.5% will shop at a clothing store, 41% will shop at an office supply store, 37% will shop online and 26% will shop at an electronics store. One in five will hit their local drug store and 14% will look for goods at thrift/resale stores.

Nearly three in five parents (60%) say their children influence at least half of their back-to-school purchases. Teens will dole out an average of $30.13 of their own money and pre-teens an average of $18.45 to help shop.

Deals & People August 21, 2013

LGIMA Announces New Hires

Todd Bitzer, Kenneth D. Chappatta, Nick Devine, Zed Francis and Brett M. Schechterman joined the senior team of Legal & General Investment Management America Inc. (LGIMA).
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Bitzer joins as a senior client portfolio manager. He has 25 years experience in asset management. Prior to LGIMA , he served as executive director at Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners. Previously, Bitzer has led various distribution functions at Janus Capital, Systematic Financial Management, Turner Investment Partners and Pacific Financial Asset Management. He began his career at The Travelers in 1988. Bitzer holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia.

Chappatta was named an information technology service delivery manager. For the past six years, he was the global director of information technology infrastructure and enterprise support for ACCO Brands. He has more than 20 years of project management experience leading infrastructure and application projects. Chappatta holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Elmhurst College and a master’s of business administration from DePaul University.

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Devine joins as a portfolio manager. Prior to LGIMA, Devine worked at Balyasny Asset Management as a senior trader and portfolio manager. Previously, he worked as a trader and analyst at British Petroleum in the integrated supply and trading group as well as an analyst at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Oklahoma.

Francis has been appointed as an LDI (liability-driven investing) portfolio manager. He is responsible for the day-to-day risk management of custom LDI portfolios. Previously, Francis worked at Chicago Fundamental Investment Partners, where he was a head equity and options trader responsible for hedging risk across various index products. He holds a bachelor’s degree in applied economics and management from Cornell University, awarded with distinction.

Schechterman joins as an investment analytics and reporting manager. Prior to his recent role as a global business and product manager for Bloomberg’s portfolio analytics business, he was the global head of fixed-income risk analytics and data management at UBS Global Asset Management. Earlier in his career, Schechterman held similar positions at BlackRock Solutions and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in economics from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s in business administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

LGIMA, in Chicago, is a registered investment adviser with more than $32 billion in assets under management.

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