Abnormal Returns
MAY 3, 2024
Berkshire Hathaway Is Berkshire's energy business still a growth engine moving forward? (bloomberg.com) You can't talk Berkshire without talking about Apple ($AAPL). (wsj.com) Why Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) should buy Boeing ($BA). (bloomberg.com) Finance Regional banks are embracing their boring side. (bloomberg.com) SVB is selling its venture capital arm.
The Big Picture
MAY 4, 2024
The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads: • The Most Important Skill of the Future is Being ‘Indistractable’ How the difference between traction and distraction could transform your productivity. ( Nir and Far ) • this is a teenager : In 1998, a researcher named Vincent Felitti published a paper that drastically changeed the way we think about these kids and childhood.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Abnormal Returns
MAY 1, 2024
April 2024 The S&P 500 lost 4.08% in April 2024. (on.spdji.com) How major asset classes performed in April 2024. (capitalspectator.com) Hedge funds are overexposed to momentum. (ft.com) Strategy Catalysts matter. Good luck identifying them. (behaviouralinvestment.com) How to think about debt. (collabfund.com) Markets have to clear. (fortunesandfrictions.com) Companies Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) owners can thank Todd Combs and Ted Weschler for the Apple ($AAPL) investment.
The Big Picture
APRIL 28, 2024
In the northeast, Spring has fully sprung. Temps are expected to kiss 80 today, and after a mild winter, we have been enjoying abundant sunshine. The daffodils and tulips are up, the magnolias are blooming, and the pear and cherry trees are explosions of colors! All of that blue sky beckons us to hop in a roadster to enjoy the open road. My first high HP car was a BMW convertible, but the open-top car that set the standard was the 507.
Speaker: Nancy Wu, Head of Sales and Customer Success at SkyStem
Join us for an enlightening webinar as we delve into the transformative realm of modern accounting practices. In today's digital age, the convergence of outsourcing and automation has revolutionized how businesses manage their financial operations. In this webinar we will explore the synergistic potential of these two strategies to streamline processes, enhance accuracy, save cost and drive strategic decision-making.
Nerd's Eye View
APRIL 29, 2024
Financial advisors add value for their clients not only by helping them grow their wealth, but also by working with them to create a plan for how to use it. While much of this process may focus on the client's own lifetime planning needs (e.g., helping them develop a retirement income plan), it often also addresses the client's goals for their wealth after their death.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 29, 2024
Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 2.5% week-over-week. Inventory bottomed in mid-February this year, as opposed to mid-April in 2023, and inventory is now up 12.6% from the February bottom. Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of April 26th, inventory was at 556 thousand (7-day average), compared to 543 thousand the prior week.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 28, 2024
Top clicks this week You likely don't need a long-term bond fund. (wsj.com) Allan Sloan, "Don’t fall in love with your money fund." (barrons.com) Good luck trying to dial risk up and down at the right times. (collabfund.com) At what age do we say people are 'old'? (scienceblog.com) What are to make of the big, and persistent, valuation disparities between large and small caps.
Nerd's Eye View
MAY 1, 2024
A little over 20 years ago, when the Internet was still just a few years into gaining widespread use, the SEC understood its potential to transform how financial advisory firms conducted business with the ability to deliver advice digitally, lowering the barriers to serve clients across the country. However, the challenge for firms that wanted to use their websites to advise clients, but didn't otherwise qualify for SEC registration, was that they would ostensibly need to register in all 50 stat
A Wealth of Common Sense
APRIL 28, 2024
A colleague recently asked me to run the 30 year annual returns for U.S. stocks, bonds and cash. He just wanted the returns. I couldn’t help but slice and dice the numbers and overanalyze the data because that’s what we do here. Let’s dig in. First the annual return numbers for the S&P 500, 10 year treasuries and 3 month T-bills over the 30 years ending in 2023: Some thoughts about these numbers: St.
Advertisement
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.
Advisor Perspectives
MAY 3, 2024
Apple Inc. shares jumped the most in almost a year-and-a-half after the company posted stronger-than-expected sales last quarter and predicted a return to growth in the current period, sparking optimism that a slowdown is easing.
Abnormal Returns
MAY 2, 2024
Books An excerpt from “Rebellion: How Antiliberalism is Tearing America Apart — Again” by Robert Kagan. (wapo.st) A Q&A withJoseph Cox who is the author of "Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever." (semafor.com) An excerpt from "The Unexpected: Navigating Pregnancy During and After Complications" by Emily Oster and Nathan Fox.
The Big Picture
MAY 3, 2024
She was previously president of Honey, where she orchestrated the company’s sale to PayPal Holdings Inc. for $4 billion. She has been named one of Ad Age’s 100 Most Influential Women in Advertising. She previously held executive leadership positions at Microsoft, Yahoo!, Pinterest, SoFi, Demand Media. BusinessWeek nd the San Francisco Chronicle.
Nerd's Eye View
APRIL 30, 2024
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 383rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Troy Sharpe. Troy is the Founder and CEO of Oak Harvest Financial Group, an RIA based in Houston, Texas, that oversees approximately $750 million in assets under management for about 1,000 client households. What's unique about Troy, though, is how his firm's emphasis on driving organic growth through a multi-pronged marketing strategy, including a radio show, in-person semina
Speaker: Joe Buhrmann, MBA, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® Senior Financial Planning Practice Management Consultant eMoney Advisor
During an era of evolving consumer preferences, the banking sector is undergoing a profound shift. As customers continue to broaden their perspectives, banking professionals must support their customers' financial wellness by providing holistic financial advice that aligns with individual goals and circumstances. Without adapting, financial institutions will find that loyalty may crumble amid uncertainty.
Calculated Risk
MAY 2, 2024
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 April, Realtor.com reported inventory was up 30.4% YoY, but still down almost 36% compared to April 2017 to 2019 levels. Now - on a weekly basis - inventory is up 33.3% YoY. Realtor.com has monthly and weekly data on the existing home market.
Advisor Perspectives
APRIL 30, 2024
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index (HPI) rebounded to 423.0 in February, a new all-time high. U.S. house prices increased by 1.2% from the previous month and are up 7.0% from one year ago. After adjusting for inflation, the real index was up 0.8% month-over-month and up 5.1% year-over-year.
Wealth Management
MAY 1, 2024
The Federal Trade Commission's move to outlaw these clauses in contracts could affect millions of Americans. But litigation against the ban is already in motion.
Nerd's Eye View
MAY 3, 2024
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent study indicates that nearly a third of advisors in the independent broker-dealer channel have considered transitioning to the RIA channel during the past year as they seek higher payouts and not just "independence" but greater autonomy over how they run their businesses and serve their clients.
Speaker: Carolina Aponte - Owner and CEO, Caja Holdings LLC
In today's rapidly changing business environment, building a resilient balance sheet is crucial to the survival of any business. A resilient balance sheet allows a company to withstand financial shocks and adapt to changing market conditions. To achieve this, companies need to focus on key strategies such as maintaining adequate liquidity, managing debt levels, diversifying revenue streams, and prioritizing profitability over growth.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 30, 2024
S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for February ("February" is a 3-month average of December, January and February 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’s Upward Trend Persists in February 2024 The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S.
Advisor Perspectives
MAY 3, 2024
The weekly leading economic index (WLEI) is a composite for the U.S economy that draws from over 20 time-series and groups them into the following six broad categories which are then used to construct an equally weighted average. As of April 19th, the index was at 17.434, down 4.427 from the previous week, with 5 of the 6 components in expansion territory.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 29, 2024
Podcasts Ben Johnson and Julie Willoughby talk with Jen Abate, Head of Financial Institutions Group at Lazard Asset Management (morningstar.com) Cameron Passmore and Benjamin Felix talk with Meir Statman author of the new book "A Wealth of Well-Being: A Holistic Approach to Behavioral Finance." (rationalreminder.libsyn.com) The biz Goldman Sachs ($GS) is getting out of the robo-business by selling its Marcus Invest to Betterment.
Wealth Management
MAY 2, 2024
Attorney Matt Baum breaks down the facts on the latest FTC noncompete rule, the potential impact on an advisor’s business, current agreements, the ability to transition and more.
Speaker: Wayne Spivak, President and CFO of SBA * Consulting Ltd., Industry Writer, Public Speaker
If you’re lost in the world of spend management needs and your GAP analysis is lacking perspective on the future state of your business performance, listen up! With the advancement of technology, the implementation of spend management best practices and concrete GAP analyses is more streamlined and accessible than ever before. And while this may sound like great news for you and your clients, it won’t be worthwhile unless you have the latest techniques to back up your ambitions!
Nerd's Eye View
MAY 2, 2024
A career as a financial advicer can be remarkably rewarding, as it offers the opportunity to have a meaningful impact on clients' lives all while making a good living. However, the main hurdle that almost every advicer faces, particularly those who launch a practice from scratch, is that the early years are often a struggle as new advicers try to attract clients, generate revenue, and start to build their businesses.
Calculated Risk
MAY 3, 2024
The headline jobs number in the April employment report was below expectations, and February and March payrolls were revised down by 22,000 combined. The employment population ratio decreased, and the unemployment rate increased to 3.9%. Construction employment increased 9 thousand and is now 604 thousand above the pre-pandemic level. Manufacturing employment increased 8 thousand and is now 181 thousand above the pre-pandemic level.
Advisor Perspectives
MAY 3, 2024
There is a general belief that there are four big indicators that the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee weighs heavily in their cycle identification process. This commentary focuses on one of those indicators, nonfarm employment. April saw a 175,000 increase in total non-farm payrolls and the unemployment inched up to 3.9%.
Abnormal Returns
MAY 1, 2024
Podcasts Christine Benz and Amy Arnott talk with Meir Statman author of "A Wealth of Well-Being: A Holistic Approach to Behavioral Finance." (morningstar.com) Justin Carbonneau and Jack Forehand talk with Jared Dillian author of "No Worries: How to Live a Stress-Free Financial Life." (youtube.com) Peter Lazaroff talks with Sara Gelsheimer, Senior Wealth Manager at Plancorp, about the unique planning needs for women who are primary breadwinners.
Advertisement
All accounting teams know what it is like to dread the inevitable month-end scaries. If there was a way to feel less burdened and maybe even a little enthusiastic to work on your month-end close and reconciliation process, would you do it? No, don't answer that, of course you would! Automate your month-end close process by up to 40% with SkyStem's ART and see how much more alive you feel!
A Wealth of Common Sense
APRIL 30, 2024
It feels like we’re in a weird place from the perspective of the economy and financial assets. Housing prices seem too high. Consumer prices seem too high. Stock prices seem too high. Government debt seems too high. I understand why people are worried. These things are cyclical and the lines can’t go up and to the right forever. Bear markets, financial crises, recessions, etc. are features we cannot do away wi.
Random Roger's Retirement Planning
MAY 3, 2024
Barron's wrote about the mess of required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs. The age that we have to start is slowly going higher which is good thing but criticisms of RMDs being unnecessarily complicated are more than fair. The comments were useful as is often the case. One sentiment that popped up a few times was the threat of RMDs kicking people into higher tax brackets.
Wealth Management
APRIL 29, 2024
The brokerage regulator argued the firm’s automated process for approving options traders on its self-directed platform missed instances where clients submitted applications with conflicting information.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
204 
Let's personalize your content