Fri.May 02, 2025

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Comments on April Employment Report

Calculated Risk

The headline jobs number in the April employment report was above expectations, however, February and March payrolls were revised down by 58,000 combined. The participation rate and the employment population ratio increased, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%. Earlier: April Employment Report: 177 thousand Jobs, 4.2% Unemployment Rate Prime (25 to 54 Years Old) Participation Since the overall participation rate is impacted by both cyclical (recession) and demographic (aging populati

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S&P 500 Snapshot: Longest Win Streak Since 2004

Advisor Perspectives

The S&P 500 notched its ninth straight days of gains this week, its longest winning streak since November 2004.

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When Does Housing Become THE Issue?

A Wealth of Common Sense

According to the National Association of Realtors, first-time homebuyers made of just 24% of recent transactions: That’s the lowest on record since the NAR has been collecting this data since 1981. Nearly three-quarters of recent buyers did not have a child under the age of 18 in their home, the highest share on record. It’s a terrible time to be a young person in search of a house.

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Aim to Keep Risk Modest and Quality High

Advisor Perspectives

In this article, Russ Koesterich discusses the ongoing uncertainty around tariffs and how investors can protect their portfolios against the potential for an environment of prolonged and heighted volatility.

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8 Ways to Torture Your CFO

The office of the CFO is rapidly evolving, with more and more demands being placed upon the finance and accounting team each year. Join us in this webinar, where we share 8 things to NOT do when it comes to helping the CFO office advance in supporting the business. Learning Objectives: This course objective is to understand how best to support an organization's finance leadership.

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Fannie and Freddie: Single Family Serious Delinquency Rates Decreased in March; Multi-Family Delinquency Rate Equals Highest Since 2011 (ex-Pandemic)

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Fannie and Freddie: Single Family Serious Delinquency Rates Decreased in March Excerpt: Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in March was 0.59%, down from 0.61% February. Freddie's rate is up year-over-year from 0.52% in March 2024, however, this is close to the pre-pandemic level of 0.60%.

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"Soft" Data Hits Hard: Why Does Sentiment Matter?

Advisor Perspectives

University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment is a so-called "soft" report, not reflecting "hard" data like GDP or CPI. It moved markets recently, so how much attention should investors pay?

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Vanguard Turns 50: How the Asset Management Giant Changed the Industry

Advisor Perspectives

Vanguard is well-known for making investing more accessible, affordable, and efficient for investors over the past 50 years.

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Q2 GDP Tracking: Back to Growth, Wide Range

Calculated Risk

From BofA (forecast, not tracking): GDP contracted by 0.3% q.q saar in 1Q, despite solid final demand (+2.3%). In our assessment, the surge in imports (which took 5.0pp off 1Q growth) due to front-running of tariffs was only partially reflected in stronger inventories and final demand. So we have revised our 2Q GDP forecast to reflect a reversal of this dynamic.

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April Showered with Tariff Talk, Market Volatility

Advisor Perspectives

Uncertainty reigned through April and likely will continue to do so, at least in the near term. Markets have reacted, both negatively and positively, to every headline coming out of Washington.

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Preparing for the TCJA Sunset: What Tax Advisors Need to Know

Harness Wealth

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)the 2017 tax code overhaul designed to boost economic growthis set to expire on December 31, 2025. Unless Congress intervenes, the TCJAs sunset will usher in a swathe of tax increases in 2026, with analysts estimating that over $4 trillion worth of tax hikes could take effect. Given the widespread tax consequences of the TCJAs sunset, were going to explore the specific provisions that are set to expire, outline essential tax planning strategies to help reduce the

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How to Streamline Payment Applications & Lien Waivers Through Innovative Construction Technology

Speaker: Dylan Secrest, Founder of Alamo Innovation and Construction Digital Transformation Consultant

Construction payment workflows are notoriously complex when you consider juggling multiple stakeholders, compliance requirements, and evolving project scopes. Delays in approvals or misaligned data between budgets, lien waivers, and pay applications can grind progress to a halt. The good news? It doesn't have to be this way! Join expert Dylan Secrest to discover how leading contractors are turning payment chaos into clarity using digital workflows, integrated systems, and automation strategies.

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Arta Finance: An AI-Powered Private Bank for the HENRYs

Wealth Management

Caesar Sengupta has big ambitions for his digital family office to the world. Backed by $90 million in venture capital, hes starting with low-minimum, private-bank-style investments for millennial millionaires.

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April Employment Report: 177 thousand Jobs, 4.2% Unemployment Rate

Calculated Risk

From the BLS: Employment Situation Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 177,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent , the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance. Federal government employment declined.

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Barred Advisor Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for $4M Fraud

Wealth Management

Andrew Corbman convinced several clients to loan him money, promising outsized returns and misleading them about his prior investment record (and not disclosing his disciplinary history).

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Heavy Truck Sales Mostly Unchanged YoY in April

Calculated Risk

This graph shows heavy truck sales since 1967 using data from the BEA. The dashed line is the April 2025 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) of 505 thousand. Heavy truck sales really collapsed during the great recession, falling to a low of 180 thousand SAAR in May 2009. Then heavy truck sales increased to a new record high of 570 thousand SAAR in April 2019.

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You upgrade everything else. Why not your close process?

You wouldn’t keep using a 2009 flip phone - so why settle for outdated close processes? It’s time for an upgrade. SkyStem's Guide to Month-End Close Software walks you through what today’s best tools can do (and what your team shouldn’t have to deal with anymore). Get smart, fast, and a whole lot less stressed when it’s time to close the books.

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How To Price Subscriptions

Wealth Management

A practical implementation guide of how financial advisors can implement a subscription payment model to clients beyond just charging the AUM fee.

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Lightspeed is Latest Firm to Shift Away From Classic VC Model

Advisor Perspectives

Lightspeed Venture Partners, one of Silicon Valley’s largest venture capital firms, has changed its regulatory status to broaden its range of investments — following similar moves by Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst as they shift away from the traditional VC playbook.

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Deals & Moves: Savant Adds RIA with Tax Services; Mariner Snags $325M Firm

Wealth Management

In addition, Ceteras RIA TRPG brings on three advisors overseeing $180 million, while LPL picks up an advisor who had been overseeing $250 million with Raymond James.

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Apple Hit With Two Downgrades as Tariff and Growth Worries Grow

Advisor Perspectives

Apple Inc. received at least two downgrades on Friday, following quarterly results that reinforced concerns over tariffs and its growth potential.

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Your Accounting Expertise Will Only Get You So Far: What Really Matters

Speaker: Victor C. Barnes, CPA, MBA

In the climb from contributor to leader, the rules quietly change. If you’re aiming for the summit, the air gets thinner—and what got you here won’t be enough to get you to the top (a concept first popularized by Marshall Goldsmith in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There ). What made you successful early in your finance career—technical accuracy, sharp analysis, flawless execution—won’t be what carries you to the next level.

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New RIA Launch Highlights the Challenges for Young Advisors

Wealth Management

Matt Jaskolkas experience at prior firms led him to launch his own RIA, Jaskolka Financial, pointing to the challenges that still persist for young advisors.

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US Stock Futures Extend Gains After Strong Jobs Report

Advisor Perspectives

US stock futures rose Friday, putting the S&P 500 Index on track to post the longest winning streak in more than 20 years after a government report showed buoyant hiring in April, providing evidence of resilience in an economy beset by trade pressures.

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Facts Vs Feelings Take 5 – GDP is Negative, Should You Sell in May?

Carson Wealth

In this episode of Carsons Take Five, Ryan and Sonu break down the headline-grabbing GDP miss of -0.3% and ask the big question: Should you sell in May? They explain why the negative GDP number doesnt mean the U.S. is in a recession, diving into the components of growth and what really caused the drop. They also explore the “Sell in May and Go Away” investing clich, showing why seasonality isnt always a reliable guide and why a diversified, informed strategy is more important than ev

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AI’s Great Flattening: What Happens when Everyone Is State-of-the-Art?

Advisor Perspectives

In the early years of the artificial intelligence (AI) race, performance benchmarks told a clear story: a handful of frontier models, developed by a few dominant labs, consistently outperformed the rest. In 2024, that changed.

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Live Demo - Supercharge your Month End Close

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

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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (May 3–4)

Nerd's Eye View

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that CFP Board announced this week that it will raise its annual fee for new and renewing certificants by $120 to $575 in order to help fund its public awareness campaign to promote the CFP brand with the public and encourage consumers to seek out CFP professionals when looking for a financial advisor.

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Staying Diversified When Turbulence Makes Cash Tempting

Advisor Perspectives

A tense global trade war, policy uncertainty and other investor concerns in recent weeks have unleashed the sharpest market swings in years, with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) spiking to 52.3 on April 8.

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A New Approach to Regime Detection and Factor Timing

Alpha Architect

The financial research literature has found that the performance of assets (and factors) can vary substantially across regimes - factor premiums can be regime dependent. Unfortunately, the real-time identification of the current economic regime is one of the biggest challenges in finance. A New Approach to Regime Detection and Factor Timing was originally published at Alpha Architect.

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Vanguard’s VOO, World’s Biggest ETF, Nabs Record Flows in April

Advisor Perspectives

The world’s biggest exchange-traded fund just got its biggest endorsement yet.

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How To Overcome Change Fatigue In Finance With Neuroscience-Backed Strategies

Speaker: Kim Beynon, CPA, CGMA, PMP

The most overlooked, yet most critical, element of transformation is preparing people for change. Automation and AI aren't just technical upgrades, they’re cultural shifts which can challenge identities. That’s why change management isn’t a side project—it’s the foundation. In finance, where precision and process rule, navigating change can feel especially disruptive.

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Friday links: seeing the future

Abnormal Returns

Markets The Taiwan dollar is soaring in value. (bloomberg.com) China is diversifying away from US Treasuries but there are only so many places they can go. (ft.com) Strategy Beware analysts espousing certainty. (klementoninvesting.substack.com) Who are you listening to? (spilledcoffee.co) Media Why Wall Street types love JC Chandor's 'Margin Call.' (semafor.com) New York Magazine is now publishing one of its daily newsletters on Substack.

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Amazon Braces for Tougher Business Climate as US Tariffs Hit

Advisor Perspectives

Amazon.com Inc. said it’s bracing for a tougher business climate in the coming months, echoing concerns from a range of companies that tariffs and related economic turmoil could crimp consumer spending.

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10 Friday AM Reads

The Big Picture

My end-of-week morning train WFH reads: Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market : A new sign that AI is competing with college grads.( The Atlantic ) If you think Americans are mad now, just wait a few months : Some guesses as to how long it will take the real pain to arrive. ( Noahpinion ) see also Trump Says He’s Off to Best Start as President.

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US Payroll Gain of 177,000 Shows Uncertainty Yet to Dent Hiring

Advisor Perspectives

US job growth was robust in April and the unemployment rate held steady, suggesting uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade policy has yet to have a material impact on hiring plans.

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2025 Industry Index: How Top Advisors Are Scaling Smarter (and Faster) This Year

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