Fri.Jun 16, 2023

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Update: Lumber Prices Down About 25% YoY

Calculated Risk

SPECIAL NOTE: The CME group discontinued the Random Length Lumber Futures contract on May 16th. I've now switched to a new physically-delivered Lumber Futures contract that was started in August 2022. Unfortunately, this impacts long term price comparisons. This graph shows CME random length framing futures through May 16th (blue), and the new physically-delivered Lumber Futures (LBR) contract starting in August 2022 (Red).

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Should Advisors Be Worried About Online Reviews? It Depends.

Wealth Management

While advisors should be informed and prepared as to risks and compliance issues, the opportunity with reviews is clear.

Insiders

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Americonned

The Big Picture

@TBPInvictus here: Contrary to 40+ years and counting of “trickle down” narrative, the reality is that the gap between the 1% and everyone else (let’s say the bottom 90%) has never been wider. It’s become a chasm, and the charts below tell the story. Here is the wealth share of the bottom 90% and the Top 1%, equalized in 1989: Here is both the share (scale at Left ) and level (scale at right) of total net worth held by the Top 1%.

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The Power of Thoughtful Financial Advice During Key Life Events

Wealth Management

Proactive engagement reflects a commitment to comprehensive financial wellness, creating a meaningful and long-lasting impact on clients’ lives.

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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

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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (June 17-18)

Nerd's Eye View

Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” - this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the SEC issued a risk alert highlighting areas of increased focus regarding its new marketing rule for upcoming examinations, including whether there is clear disclosure of whether the person giving a testimonial or endorsement is a client or investor, if the promoter has been paid, and if there are material conflicts of interest.

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Retirement Is Overrated for Many Advisors

Wealth Management

Statistically, continuing to work later in life is better for longevity as well as mental and financial health.

More Trending

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The WealthStack Podcast: The Future of Financial Wellness with Adam Holt of Asset-Map

Wealth Management

The founder and CEO of Asset-Map discusses the impact of advice engagement on client outcomes, such as financial wellness and satisfaction.

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Q2 GDP Tracking: Around 1.5%

Calculated Risk

From BofA: Today's data left our 2Q US GDP tracking unchanged at 1.3% q/q saar and decreased our 1Q tracker from 2.0% to 1.8%. [June 15th estimate] emphasis added From Goldman: [W]e lowered our Q2 GDP tracking estimate by 0.1pp to +1.7% (qoq ar) on the back of softer consumption growth. [June 15th estimate] And from the Altanta Fed: GDPNow The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2023 is 1.8 percent on June 15, down from 2.2 percent

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Is the 401(k) Industry a Threat or Opportunity for Wealth Management Firms?

Wealth Management

The convergence of RPAs and wealth management is not without some bumps in the road.

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The Bet

The Reformed Broker

Welcome to the latest episode of The Compound & Friends. This week, Michael Batnick, Ted Seides, Shana Sissel, and Downtown Josh Brown discuss the FOMC meeting, how investors are using alternatives these days, the venture capital market, what’s going on at Goldman Sachs, the Vision Fund’s $32 billion loss, quiet luxury, and much more!

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Data Talks, CFOs Listen: Why Analytics Are Key To Better Spend Management

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.

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401(k) Real Chat: Dick Darian and Peter Campagna of Wise Rhino Group

Wealth Management

Retirement industry thought leaders answer three probing questions on critical issues, providing an open, honest and candid dialogue.

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How Cheap (or Expensive) is the Stock Market Right Now?

A Wealth of Common Sense

I’ve never been a big fan of financial jargon because most of the time it’s used to impress people rather than help them understand what you’re talking about. Here’s a piece of jargon that never made much sense to me — fair value. Our fair value of the S&P 500 is 4,357 based on blah, blah, blah. Fair relative to what?

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RIA Roundup: Hightower Adds $3.2B in Assets

Wealth Management

In RIA news this week, Hightower announced its 3rd billion-dollar-plus acquisition this month, while SageView picked up a $5.2 billion retirement plan consulting business.

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Lawler: Early Read on Existing Home Sales in May

Calculated Risk

From housing economist Tom Lawler: Based on publicly-available local realtor/MLS reports released across the country through today, comprising over 225,000 transactions, I project that existing home sales as estimated by the National Association of Realtors ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.25 million in May , down 0.7% from April’s preliminary pace and down 21.3% from last May’s seasonally adjusted pace.

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What Your Financial Statements Are Telling You—And How to Listen!

Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker

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.

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Pimco to Pay $9M to Settle SEC Fee and Disclosure Probes

Wealth Management

The SEC said on Friday that Pimco failed to disclose key information to investors about how swaps could impact its PIMCO Global StocksPLUS & Income Fund between 2014 and 2016.

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3rd Look at Local Housing Markets in May

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: 3rd Look at Local Housing Markets in May A brief excerpt: This is the third look at local markets in May. I’m tracking about 40 local housing markets in the US. Some of the 40 markets are states, and some are metropolitan areas. I’ll update these tables throughout the month as additional data is released.

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Older Americans Robbed of $20B a Year by People They Know

Wealth Management

Nearly three-quarters of financial exploitation is done by family, friends or caregivers.

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Improving Performance by Avoiding Negatives of Index Replication

Alpha Architect

There are several significant, well-documented benefits of index funds. In addition to outperforming a large majority of actively managed funds, they tend to have low fees, low turnover (resulting in low trading costs and high tax efficiency), broad diversification, high liquidity, and near-zero tracking error (generally assumed to mean that they incur negligible trading costs).

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How to Avoid Pitfalls In Automation: Keep Humans In the Loop

Speaker: Erroll Amacker

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.

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BlackRock Tries for Spot-Bitcoin ETF With Fresh SEC Filing

Wealth Management

BlackRock on Thursday applied for the iShares Bitcoin Trust, at least the 33rd attempt by issuers for a spot-Bitcoin product.

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Michigan Consumer Sentiment Increased to 4-Month High

Advisor Perspectives

The June preliminary report for the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 63.9, up 4.7 (7.9%) from the May final. This morning's reading was above the forecast of 60.0. Since its beginning in 1978, consumer sentiment is 25.0% below its average reading (arithmetic mean) and 24.0% below its geometric mean.

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Small Towns With Big Heart: 5 Great Travel Destinations

Integrity Financial Planning

Traveling can be a great way to spend your time if you’re retired. When it comes to planning a vacation, small towns can offer a unique and unforgettable experience. From historic sites to outdoor adventures, charming small towns across America have something to offer everyone. Here are five of the best small towns to vacation to in America, based on recent travel trends and recommendations.

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BofA’s Hartnett Sees Big US Stock Rally Followed by Big Collapse

Advisor Perspectives

The S&P 500 may have entered a technical bull market last week, but Bank of America Corp.’s Michael Hartnett says it’s not the start of a new major rally in equities.

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Book of Secrets on the Month-End Close

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.

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: U.S. financial regulators say they’re tracking exposures to commercial real estate as vacancy rates rise, especially for office space

MarketWatch

A meeting Friday of the multi-agency Financial Stability Oversight Council focused in part on the potential risks in the commercial real estate (CRE) market, said a U.S. Treasury Department statement on the meeting. “While delinquency rates remain low, vacancy rates have been increasing, particularly in the office sector,” the statement said. “Regulators are taking steps to emphasize risk management and examine exposures to CRE loans at their regulated institutions.

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S&P 500 Snapshot: Fifth Consecutive Weekly Gain

Advisor Perspectives

The S&P 500 finished Thursday (6/15) with its highest close in almost 14 months, leading to its fifth consecutive weekly gain despite Friday's loss. The index is currently up 15.31% year to date and is 8.07% below its record close from January 3, 2022.

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Bond Report: Treasury yields head higher after Fed’s Barkin sees more rate hikes

MarketWatch

U.S. yields jumped Friday morning, led by the policy-sensitive 2-year rate, after one Federal Reserve policy maker reinforced the central bank’s message that more rate hikes are needed to bring down inflation. What’s happeningThe yield on the 2-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD02Y was 4.741%, up 9.3 basis points from 4.648% on Thursday.The yield on the 10-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD10Y was 3.768%, up 4.1 basis points from 3.727% on Thursday.The yield on the 30-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD30Y was 3.868%, up 2

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Underlying Inflation Gauge: Full Set Down 0.5%, Prices Only Down 0.4% in May

Advisor Perspectives

The latest Underlying Inflation Gauge full data set for May is 3.5%, down 0.5% from last month, while the prices-only measure is 3.0%, down 0.4% from last month. Current Headline CPI is now 4.0% and Core CPI is 5.3%.

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Stop Falling Short When It Matters Most—The Elite Advisor’s Playbook to Success

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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: Etsy approves stock buyback of up to $1 billion

MarketWatch

Etsy Inc. ETSY on Friday said its board approved a stock buyback plan for up to $1 billion, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares of the online marketplace are up 1% in extended trading Friday, but down 21% for the year. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Best Large Cap Dividend Stocks In India – List Of Top Stocks in 2023

Trade Brains

Best Large Cap Dividend Stocks : Large-cap stocks are often considered the best investment option for long-term investors and wealth builders who benefit from time. They provide better security, wealth creation, and market dominance over their sector, all green flags as to why they are the titans of their industry. Combining the improved stability and capital appreciation of large-cap stocks, and the added benefit of dividends, we have compiled a list of the best large cap dividend stocks in Ind

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: DraftKings offers to buy PointsBet’s U.S. business for $195 million, or 30% premium over existing offer from Fanatics

MarketWatch

DraftKings Inc. DKNG said Friday it has submitted a bid to acquire the U.S. operations of Australia’s PointsBet for $195 million in cash, or a 30% premium over the company’s existing agreement for a sale. In May, PointsBet said it had agreed to sell the business to Fanatics Inc. for $150 million. “While we continue to focus on operating more efficiently and driving substantial organic revenue growth in the United States, we will also look to prudently capitalize on compelling opportunities at at

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Economic Forecasting is a Waste of Time

Advisor Perspectives

Ignore the “noise” of the market and adhere to your well-thought-out asset-allocation strategy that acknowledges both the virtual certainty of recessions and bear markets while also recognizing that trying to time the market based on economic forecasts is likely to prove counterproductive.

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Demo SkyStem’s Award Winning Month-End Close Solution & Earn $100

Is your finance team bogged down by endless data requests and disorganized spreadsheets during the month-end close? It’s time to consider a better option – automate with ART! SkyStem’s solution works alongside your ERP to transform the close and account reconciliation process and speed up month-end work. Explore SkyStem’s ART - the award-winning account reconciliation automation platform - and receive a $100 Amazon gift card as a thank you for your time.