Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 23, 2025
Books An excerpt from "Gambling Man: The Secret Story of the World's Greatest Disruptor, Masayoshi Son" by Lionel Barber. (politico.com) An excerpt from "The Siren's Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource" by Chris Hayes. (theatlantic.com) A Q&A with Mnica Guzmn, author of "Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 21, 2025
The transcript from this weeks, MiB: Jonathan Clements on Why Dying is Hard Work , is below. You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here. ~~~ This is Masters in business with Barry Ritholtz on Bloomberg Radio Barry Ritholtz : This week on the podcast.
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The Big Picture
JANUARY 20, 2025
@TBPInvictus here: Last year finished with a flourish. The work I do here was directly responsible for the Hoover Institution retracting six (yes, 6) of its articles. Whether it was shoddy data analysis or a deliberate attempt to misinform, I found it offensive and brought the receipts as to the fundamental errors in the economic analysis. Most of the retractions concerned California’s April 1, 2024, increase in the minimum wage for “quick-serve restaurants” (QSR, also known as
Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 20, 2025
There is no shortage of written content available for financial advisors to enhance their technical skills, grow in their careers, and run more successful planning practices, from books to research studies to long-form written content. Of course, given the demands of their busy schedules , finding time to dig into this content can be a challenging endeavor.
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It's the time of year to give our close process some TLC. Join us in this one hour webinar where we discuss how to adopt leading practices and infuse technology into the month-end close process to improve our experience and increase our productivity during month-end and quarter-end close. Learning Objectives: This course's objective is to understand how the month-end close can be improved with automation and adoption of leading practices.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 22, 2025
Note: This index is a leading indicator primarily for new Commercial Real Estate (CRE) investment. From the AIA: ABI December 2024: Business conditions end the year on a weak note The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score fell to 44.1 for the month as the share of firms reporting a decline in firm billings increased. Firm billings have now decreased for the majority of firms every month except two since October 2022.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 22, 2025
In 2024, 40% of the new ETFs listed in the U.S. used derivatives as a significant component of their investment strategy, up from 20% in 2014.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 17, 2025
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that at a time when brokerage firms' cash sweep programs come under increased scrutiny (and as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates), Charles Schwab (the largest RIA custodian) continues to slash sweep rates for client cash (down to 0.05%), well below the rates available on other cash-like products, leaving advisors on the platform with the task of determining wheth
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 21, 2025
Alternatives Why CTA volatility is falling over time. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com) Hedge fund fees have historically taken up nearly 50% of gains. (institutionalinvestor.com) Research How do the three big arguments against passive investing hold up? (ofdollarsanddata.com) The Russell 2000 is not a great index. (scheplick.com) Quality value stocks perform well in the wake of an inflation shock.
A Wealth of Common Sense
JANUARY 21, 2025
One of my favorite ongoing economic stats is the fact that the U.S. economy has been in a recession for just two months out of the past 15-and-a-half years. We’ve been in a recession just 1% of the time since the end of the Great Financial Crisis in the summer of 2009. Sure, there have been some bumps along the way but the U.S. economy has been remarkably resilient throughout the 2010s and 2020s.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 23, 2025
The combined startups will provide advisors with seamless health planning from analysis to enrollment once integrations are complete.
Speaker: Sierre Lindgren
Fraud is a battle that every organization must face – it’s no longer a question of “if” but “when.” Every organization is a potential target for fraud, and the finance department is often the bullseye. From cleverly disguised emails to fraudulent payment requests, the tactics of cybercriminals are advancing rapidly. Drawing insights from real-world cases and industry expertise, we’ll explore the vulnerabilities in your processes and how to fortify them effectively.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 20, 2025
@TBPInvictus here: Last year finished with a flourish. The work I do here was directly responsible for the Hoover Institution retracting six (yes, 6) of its articles. Whether it was shoddy data analysis or a deliberate attempt to misinform, I found it offensive and brought the receipts as to the fundamental errors in the economic analysis. Most of the retractions concerned California’s April 1, 2024, increase in the minimum wage for “quick-serve restaurants” (QSR, also known as
Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 22, 2025
Financial advisors often engage with a variety of prospects, each with unique needs and motivations. Some prospects approach an advisor with an immediate 'problem to be solved', such as a fast-approaching retirement date. These situations often narrow the focus of the prospecting conversation, giving the advisor a clear opportunity to affirm their value (e.g., "I help clients in retirement by doing X, Y, and Z.").
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 23, 2025
Strategy Bonds vs. bond funds: you're still exposed to interest rate risk. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Why your portfolio may need rebalancing. (morningstar.com) Just because you can launch a meme coin doesn't mean you should. (howardlindzon.com) Finance MicroStrategy ($MSTR) is the convertible bond king. (wsj.com) Ramp is expanding its offerings. (techcrunch.com) Even institutional investors can't get information on their private equity investments.
A Wealth of Common Sense
JANUARY 17, 2025
Derek Thompson wrote the story of the year so far at The Atlantic about how anti-social we’ve become as a society: Some facts and figures from Derek’s excellent piece: 74% of all restaurant traffic is takeout or delivery (up from 61% pre-Covid) The share of people have dinner or drinks with friends on any given night has declined by more than 30% in the past 20 years.
Speaker: Aaron Berson
Managing spend is more than a cost cutting exercise – it's a pathway to smarter decisions that unlock efficiency and drive growth. By understanding and refining the spending process, financial leaders can empower their organizations to achieve more with less. Explore the art of balancing financial control with operational growth. From uncovering hidden inefficiencies to designing workflows that scale your business, we’ll share strategies to align your organization’s spending with its strategic g
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
The yield on the 10-year note ended January 17, 2025 at 4.61%. Meanwhile, the 2-year note ended at 4.27% and the 30-year note ended at 4.84%.
Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 23, 2025
Since the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the mainstream technological landscape, conversations about which areas of the financial planning industry would be most likely impacted by AI have proliferated. These discussions have ranged from questioning whether everyone would be out of a job in five years to wondering if anything of substance would change at all.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 22, 2025
Markets Have we entered a new era for interest rates? (bonddad.blogspot.com) Why yield curve disinversions matter. (econbrowser.com) Strategy The U.S. economy is spending less time in recession. Markets are paying attention. (awealthofcommonsense.com) How U.S. capital markets have devolved over time. (disciplinefunds.com) Investing is hard because the future is uncertain.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 23, 2025
Dan Bolton said Wealth.com is building something truly remarkable. Most recently, he was a vice president of corporate marketing for Nitrogen (formerly Riskalyze).
Speaker: Duke Heninger, Partner and Fractional CFO at Ampleo & Creator of CFO System
Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Duke Heninger, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
Despite challenges, the U.S. market saw strong returns in 2024 with a "soft landing" for the economy, leading to key questions and emerging themes for investors in 2025.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 18, 2025
I wanted to share a quick update as to what’s been keeping me occupied during the run up to the release of the new book. The past few weeks have been pretty busy and full of surprises. We have been designing a dedicated website for the How Not to Invest book, and working with the team at Off Menu has been much more fun than I expected. But the biggest surprise has been the booksAudible version.
Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 21, 2025
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 421st episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Daniel Friedman. Daniel is the CEO of WMGNA, a hybrid advisory firm based in Farmington, Connecticut, that oversees approximately $270 million in assets under management for 200 client households. What's unique about Daniel, though, is how his firm has expanded its tax focus to include "in-house" tax return preparation for its clients as a one-stop shop, but actually outsource
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 17, 2025
Listening How Google's Daily Listen turns your interests into a short podcast. (engadget.com) Do you really want to listen to AI podcast hosts? (forbes.com) Economy Danny Crichton talks with Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber authors of the new book "Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation." (podcasts.apple.com) Katie Gatti Tassin talks about the economics of weight loss drugs.
Speaker: Abdi Ali, Sr. Lease Accounting Consultant
Join this insightful webinar with industry expert Abdi Ali, who will discuss the challenges that can arise from managing lease accounting with spreadsheets! He will share real-world examples of errors, compliance issues, and risks that may be present within your spreadsheets. Learn how these tools, while useful, can sometimes lead to inefficiencies that affect your time, resources, and peace of mind.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
The yield differential between the firms' bank deposit sweep programs and other alternatives was nearly 4% higher, according to SEC claims.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 20, 2025
Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 1.2% week-over-week. Inventory always declines seasonally in the Winter and usually bottoms in late January or February. If the previous week was the seasonal bottom, that would be very early in the year, but that has happened before. The first graph shows the seasonal pattern for active single-family inventory since 2015.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 22, 2025
At the Money: Compounding Health and Wealth , with Phil Pearlman (January 22, 2025) We understand how wealth compounds over time, but did you know you can also compound your health? Full transcript below. ~~~ About this weeks guest: Phil Pearlman, is former Chief Behavioral Officer at the Bank of the Ozarks and founder of the Pearl Institute. For more info, see: Personal Bio Professional Site Prime Cuts Newsletter LinkedIn Twitter ~~~ Find all of the previous At the Money episodes here , and i
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 22, 2025
Gas prices jumped to their highest level in three months this week. As of January 21st, the price of regular and premium gas were up 7 and 6 cents from the previous week, respectively. The WTIC end-of-day spot price for crude oil closed at $75.83, down 1.9% from last week.
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Change is difficult, whether in our private or work life. However, without change, growth and learning are difficult not to mention keeping up with the market and staying competitive. We have all worked for or ourselves are the bosses that prefer to keep the status quo. We will discuss how to address the "change challenge" to enable you to be a changemaker and a graceful recipient of change.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 20, 2025
Podcasts The 22 financial adviser podcasts to listen to in 2025. (kitces.com) Brendan Frazier talks using behavioral finance with Dan Egan, Betterments Director of Behavioral Science. (podcasts.apple.com) Dan Haylett talks with Susan Latremoille author of"The RichLife Managing Wealth and Purpose, Its Not Just about the Money The Whole Life Approach to Wealth Management.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
Also, Advisor360 acquires Parrot AI, Wealthtender introduces a testimonial marketing tool and Bloomberg rolls out AI-produced news summaries.
Discipline Funds
JANUARY 17, 2025
Here are some things I think I am thinking about this weekend. 1) Buy Versus Rent. I enjoyed this conversation between Ben Carlson and Duncan Hill about buying versus renting. I’m increasingly convinced that almost every asset purchase we ever make is just a temporal decision. How do your assets relate to your liabilities and expenses across time.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 24, 2025
This week, we speak with Mike Freno , Chairman and CEO at Barings. The firm is owned by Mass Mutual, and half of its $431 billion in invested assets are from the insurance giant, with the rest coming from institutional investors. Over 20 years with the firm, Freno has held various positions including Managing Director, Head of Global High Yield, and Head of Global Markets.
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As we step into 2024, the lending landscape evolves rapidly with technology, regulations, and market dynamics driving change. For banks and financial institutions to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of their customers, these drivers must be understood and engaged with. Lenders can anticipate significant transformation fueled by technological advancements, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer behaviors.
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