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Sometimes, the data is so overwhelming that little commentary is needed. From SPIVA , here is the data on large-cap fund performance in the United States, showing the percentage of all large-cap funds that over and underperformed the S&P 500 over various time frames: 1 Year: 65.24% of funds underperformed the S&P 500; 34.76% outperformed the S&P 500 3 Years: 84.96% underperformed; 15.04% outperformed 5 Years: 76.26% underperformed; 23.74% outperformed 10 Years: 84.34% underperformed;
The Department of Labor rescinded its 2022 guidance cautioning against cryptocurrency in 401(k) plans, reaffirming a neutral stance on digital assets in retirement accounts.
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 3.4% year-over-year in March Excerpt: S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for March ("March" is a 3-month average of January, February and March closing prices). January closing prices include some contracts signed in November, so there is a significant lag to this data.
Strategy Good luck trying to time the bond market. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Despite public opinion, the stock market spends at lot of time near all-time highs. (optimisticallie.com) ETFs Money just keeps pouring into ETFs. (wsj.com) Where is all that money coming from? (awealthofcommonsense.com) Finance Eliminating the PCOAB is a gift to fraudsters.
Automation generally supercharges any process and brings its value to the forefront. See how infusing automation such as ART (our month-end close solution), into your close can get you to the next level of closing. We will share a live demo of SkyStem's solution, ART and share the key elements of month-end close automation. Through ART, we'll take a look at: What month-end close automation entails Which process steps can and should be automated Benefits of achieving process automation, and Why i
Retirement has long been associated with leisure, relaxation, and winding down from a long career. But as more individuals confront the emotional realities of this life transition, many find that the absence of structure, socialization, and identity once provided by work can create a gap that traditional retirement planning doesn't fully address. In this guest post, Kathleen Rehl, a "ReFired" financial advisor and educator in legacy planning, shares a framework to help advisors guide clients thr
Click for video. Source: Paul Krugman I am in the 4th quarter of the HNTI promo tour, and we saved some of the best for last. Last week, Paul Krugman (Nobel Laureate, former NYT columnist) spoke with me about the new book. It was a fun chat about so many things! A surprise discussion was all of the ideas within HNTI that also applied to non-finance-related topics and issues.
Ritholtz Wealth Management relocates its Chicago office to The Salt Shed, emphasizing the importance of physical workspace in attracting talent and fostering collaboration.
Ritholtz Wealth Management relocates its Chicago office to The Salt Shed, emphasizing the importance of physical workspace in attracting talent and fostering collaboration.
From the NAR: Pending Home Sales Declined 6.3% in April Pending home sales decreased 6.3% in April , according to the National Association of REALTORS. All four U.S. regions experienced month-over-month losses in transactions. Year-over-year, contract signings rose in the Midwest but descended in the Northeast, South and West with the West suffering the greatest loss.
Top clicks this week Want to get wealthy? Own equity. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Great investors take (a lot) of notes. (polymathinvestor.com) Where is all that [ETF] money coming from? (awealthofcommonsense.com) Nothing great happens without conviction. (investing101.substack.com) You've been warned. On the dangers of private equity. (wsj.com) You think the U.S. has an index concentration problem?
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent survey of financial advisory firm employees found that about half of respondents are currently working in the office five days a week, with the remainder divided among hybrid formats or full-time work from home.
This week, I speak with Tom Barkin , Richmond Federal Reserve President & CEO. He previously spent 30 years at McKinsey & Company , eventually becoming Chief Risk Officer and Chief Finaacial Officer. He also sits on the Federal Open Market Committee. A transcript of our conversation is available here Tuesday. You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , and Bloomberg.
Where are top advisors focusing in 2025? AcquireUp’s 2025 Industry Index reveals it all. Based on insights from 200+ financial professionals nationwide, discover why 74% say seminars and referrals deliver the best ROI, how automation is helping advisors scale faster, and why only 8% are tapping into niche marketing (a major growth opportunity!). Whether you're refining your client acquisition strategy or scaling your practice, this report gives you the real-world data, benchmarks, and action ste
The FDIC released the Quarterly Banking Profile for Q1 2025: Net Income Increased from the Prior Quarter, Led by Higher Noninterest Income Quarterly net income for the 4,462 FDIC-insured commercial banks and savings institutions totaled $70.6 billion, up $3.8 billion (5.8 percent) from the prior quarter. The banking industry reported an aggregate return on assets of 1.16 percent in first quarter 2025, up from 1.11 percent in fourth quarter 2024 and up from 1.09 percent in the year-ago quarter.
Podcasts Barry Ritholtz talks with Morgan Housel about how to spend money. (ritholtz.com) Katie Gatti Tassin talks with JL Collins, author of the revised edition of "The Simple Path to Wealth: Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life." (podcast.moneywithkatie.com) Brendan Frazier talks retirement planning with Dan Haylett. (podcasts.apple.com) Scott Barry Kaufman talks with Sahil Bloom, author of "The Five Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.
Financial planning is inherently complex, especially when it comes to data gathering, analysis, and crafting well-reasoned recommendations. But delivering those recommendations in a way that clients can understand and act on is a separate skill. Advisors not only need to do the deep technical work, they also need to translate that complexity into clarity – a step that can be surprisingly time-consuming and cognitively demanding.
Speaker: Claire Grosjean, Global Finance & Operations Executive
Finance teams are drowning in data—but is it actually helping them spend smarter? Without the right approach, excess spending, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities continue to drain profitability. While analytics offers powerful insights, financial intelligence requires more than just numbers—it takes the right blend of automation, strategy, and human expertise.
Here are some things I think I am thinking about this week: 1) Google’s VEO 3 is Mind Blowing. So far AI has been interesting, but not earth shattering. I use ChatGPT dozens of times a day and it is basically refined search. For me personally, I’d argue it’s turned me into a sort of hyper efficient financial advisor. I am kind of a Jack of All Trades, expert in none type of financial advisor, but ChatGPT makes me an expert in almost any financial field as I know all of the righ
From the Fed: Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, May 67, 2025. Excerpt: In considering the outlook for monetary policy, participants agreed that with economic growth and the labor market still solid and current monetary policy moderately restrictive, the Committee was well positioned to wait for more clarity on the outlooks for inflation and economic activity.
Podcasts Paul Krugman talks with Barry Ritholtz about his book "How NOT to Invest." (paulkrugman.substack.com) Jess Bost and Mark Newfield talk with Ashley Quamme about her journey to financial advice. (podcasts.apple.com) Charles Schwab Charles Schwab ($SCHW) is launching a new program aimed at helping financial advisors go independent. (thinkadvisor.com) Charles Schwab ($SCHW) is willing to step on some toes to take RIA mindshare.
Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 439th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Alvin Carlos. Alvin is the CEO of District Capital Management, an RIA based in Washington, D.C., that generates $850,000 of annual, primarily retainer-based, revenue serving 155 client households. What's unique about Alvin, though, is how he has grown his firm by using project management software Monday.com as a central hub for financial plan presentations and efficient client
The transcript from this weeks MiB: Ron Shaich, Au Bon Pain, Panera Bread & CAVA , 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. ~~~ 00:00:02 [Speaker Changed] Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.
Even as the advisor industry has embraced fee-based compensation models, nearly one-quarter of affluent investors still prefer a one-off, commission-based structure.
What this means: On a weekly basis, Realtor.com reports the year-over-year change in active inventory and new listings. On a monthly basis, they report total inventory. For May, Realtor.com reported inventory was up 30.6% YoY, but still down 16.3% compared to the 2017 to 2019 same month levels. Now - on a weekly basis - inventory is up 29.7% YoY. Realtor.com has monthly and weekly data on the existing home market.
Automation is transforming finance but without strong financial oversight it can introduce more risk than reward. From missed discrepancies to strained vendor relationships, accounts payable automation needs a human touch to deliver lasting value. This session is your playbook to get automation right. We’ll explore how to balance speed with control, boost decision-making through human-machine collaboration, and unlock ROI with fewer errors, stronger fraud prevention, and smoother operations.
IRRs The many problems with private equity IRRs. (on.ft.com) Doing the math on private equity performance. (valueandopportunity.com) Research Even the best performing stocks go through gut-wrenching drawdowns. (morganstanley.com) How macro effects move factor returns. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com) How Warren Buffett's performance can inform us about sustainable rates of return.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index® experienced its largest monthly increase in over four years in May. The index rose 12.3 points to 98.0 this month, marking the first monthly rise since November.
I had a great conversation with Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber on Trillions : In investing, there are many rules. And the rules are intended to help you, dear investor, make money. But if youve been around money and especially if youve been around a lot of money managing other peoples money, say you know that people make a lot of mistakes, too. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Barry Ritholtz, the co-founder, chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholt
Ashton Thomas Private Wealth adds Lance Millar and Stewart Preziose from SVB Private, forming Speritas Private Wealth Team with $900 million in AUM in San Francisco.
Based off SkyStem's popular e-Book, the book of secrets to the month-end close will be revealed in this one-hour webinar. Learn leading practices when it comes to building a strong and sustainable month-end close that has room to grow and evolve. Learn about the power of precise estimates, why reconciliations are critical to closing the books, how and when to automate, and how the chart of accounts play into your close process.
S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for March ("March" is a 3-month average of January, February and March closing prices). This release includes prices for 20 individual cities, two composite indices (for 10 cities and 20 cities) and the monthly National index. From S&P S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index Records 3.4% Annual Gain in March 2025 The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S.
When everyone discovered the new pope was from Chicago people immediately dug into Pope Leo’s back story. From Chicago. White Sox fan, not Cubs. Probably liked Portillos, Malort and Lou Malnati’s. It was also uncovered the Pope’s childhood home on the southside of Chicago was listed for sale. It was a relatively small house built in the 1950s with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, measuring in at 1,050 square fe.
Christian Goulding and Campbell Harvey, authors of the study "Investment Base Pairs," proposed a groundbreaking framework for portfolio construction that challenges traditional approaches in modern finance. Their research focused on leveraging cross-asset information to optimize investment strategies and improve returns across diverse asset classes.
By Antoinette Tuscano, MDRT senior content specialist A few years ago, MDRT Past President Tony Gordon was stopped by another MDRT member who had doubled his production and reached Top of the Table for the first time. It happened because this person took Gordons advice of asking clients want they want instead of telling them what they need. What people want is always greater than their needs, Gordon said, who is a Top of the Table member.
Like being inches from the end zone, many advisors are frustratingly close to their next level of success. You work hard. You put in the hours. But if your closing rate is stuck or your pipeline feels like a revolving door… something has to change. Most advisors are just one small shift away from dramatically increasing their revenue. The difference?
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