Calculated Risk

MAY 1, 2025

From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending decreased: Construction spending during March 2025 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,196.1 billion, 0.5 percent below the revised February estimate of $2,206.9 billion. The March figure is 2.8 percent above the March 2024 estimate of $2,135.8 billion. emphasis added Both private and public spending increased: Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,688.0 billion, 0.6

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The Big Picture

MAY 1, 2025

I chatted with Jean Chatzky of Your Money Map about HNTI and some general investing concepts. As always, we did notget to all of them, but they were so thoughtful, I wanted to share them with you. *Lets start with the why. Many, if not most, investing books aim to teach people how TO invest. Your focus is giving readers advice on how NOT to invest. Why did you decide to take this approach?

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Retirement Investing Investments Numbers 190

Calculated Risk

MAY 1, 2025

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Inflation Adjusted House Prices 0.8% Below 2022 Peak Excerpt: It has been over 18 years since the housing bubble peak. In the February Case-Shiller house price index released this week, the seasonally adjusted National Index (SA), was reported as being 79% above the bubble peak in 2006. However, in real terms, the National index (SA) is about 12% above the bubble peak (and historically there has been an upward slope to real house prices).

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Numbers 147

Nerd's Eye View

MAY 1, 2025

Advisors spend a lot of time crafting their financial advice recommendations – and how they deliver those recommendations – for their clients. These ultra-personalized suggestions are central to what makes financial advice valuable and can have a significant impact on a client's life. So, what happens when a client doesn't act on that advice – especially when their inaction can compromise their financial and holistic wellbeing?

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Clients Financial Advice Communication 147

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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

Clients

Calculated Risk

MAY 1, 2025

Wards Auto released their estimate of light vehicle sales for April: Tariff-Induced Buying Pumps U.S. Light-Vehicle Sales for Second Month in April (pay site). Tariff-related buying lifted sales over the past two months to a seasonally adjusted annual selling rate of 17.6 million , well above the roughly 16.0 million they would have totaled otherwise.

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Sales 147

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

Learn which personal and business documents to retain, how long to keep them, and best practices for document management to protect your future and estate.

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Business Planning Planning Management 250

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

Sandy Bolton, former head of wealth management solutions at Ameriprise, has created SanWealth Partners, the second practice to join Indivisible Partners, the RIA launched by former Merrill Lynch executive John Thiel earlier this year.

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Wealth Management Management 228

Calculated Risk

MAY 1, 2025

The DOL reported : In the week ending April 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 241,000 , an increase of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 222,000 to 223,000. The 4-week moving average was 226,000, an increase of 5,500 from the previous week's revised average.

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Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

Discover how RIAs should leverage family office platforms to provide clients with sophisticated real estate investment strategies and enhanced portfolio protection.

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Portfolio Clients Investing Investments 216

Calculated Risk

MAY 1, 2025

(Posted with permission). The ISM manufacturing index indicated expansion. The PMI was at 48.7% in April, down from 49.0% in March. The employment index was at 46.5%, up from 44.7% the previous month, and the new orders index was at 47.2%, up from 45.2%. From ISM: Manufacturing PMI at 48.7% April 2025 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in April for the second month in a row , following a two-month expansion preceded by 26 straight months

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Manufacturing Economy Economics Management 127

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.

Management

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

Boston-based RIA CW Advisors grows to $14B AUM through strategic acquisitions of Wolf Group Capital Advisors and Parsons Capital Management.

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Assets Management 211

NAIFA Advisor Today

MAY 1, 2025

May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM), an important time to highlight the critical role disability insurance plays in protecting the financial well-being of American workers and their families. NAIFA is committed to raising awareness and educating about necessity and value of disability insurance. NAIFA proudly participates in Disability Insurance Awareness Month, a national initiative led by Life Happens.

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Insurance Education Clients 93

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

Explore how the potential approval of ETF share classes in mutual funds could transform investment options, enhance tax efficiency and reshape wealth management.

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Wealth Management Taxes Management Investing 205

Calculated Risk

MAY 1, 2025

Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. Thursday: At 8:30 AM ET, Employment Report for April. The consensus is for 130,000 jobs added, and for the unemployment rate to be unchanged at 4.2%.

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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.

Numbers

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

California-based Mission Wealth will continue to be majority owned by its employees, as it sells a minority stake to Great Hill Partners.

Investing 182

Investing Investments Marketing Marketing 182

Random Roger's Retirement Planning

MAY 1, 2025

But they are. For the last eight sessions anyway. In a recent post, I asked if it was over making it crystal clear that I had no idea and I still have no idea. There is always a working list of pros and cons to weigh out in trying to assess risk. No matter how bad things may appear there are always at least a few positives. Sometimes though, markets go up for no reason at all.

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Asset Allocation Management Taxes Portfolio 59

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

Copperwynd Financials entire team will join Lido, with the advisors becoming partners at the $29 billion RIA backed by Charlesbank and Constellation.

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Validea

MAY 1, 2025

Warren Buffett’s investment philosophy, cultivated over decades of exceptional market performance, centers on a simple yet powerful principle: “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.” This approach emphasizes acquiring businesses with durable competitive advantageswhat Buffett famously calls “economic moats”that can sustain superior returns for extended periods.

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Valuation Economics Management Investing 52

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.

Accounting

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

Maridea, founded in 2023 and managing $470 million in assets, was an attractive investment for its fee-only model and synergy with adjacent financial services, said 119th Streets managing partner.

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Fee Only Financial Services Assets Management 172

A Wealth of Common Sense

MAY 1, 2025

We also covered questions about the crazy moves in the stock market, bonds vs. high yield savings accounts, how to plan for a layoff and what to teach high school kids about personal finance. Further Reading: Is International Diversification Finally Working? The post The U.S. Dollar vs. Your Portfolio appeared first on A Wealth of Common Sense.

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Portfolio Accounting Planning Marketing 123

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

State Street Corp.s asset-management arm held preliminary talks with Carlyle Group Inc. about a potential tie-up to create a product that would combine public and private markets for individual investors.

Retail 162

Retail Assets Management Marketing 162

Indigo Marketing Agency

MAY 1, 2025

How to Turn Your Content Into a 24/7 Sales Team for Your Firm Do you wish you had an agency sales machine to run all day, every day? Imagine having a top-performing salesperson who never sleeps, never asks for a raise, and warms up prospects before they ever hit your calendar. Sounds too good to be true? Thats exactly what strategic content can do for your business: become a 24/7 agency sales machine.

Sales 52

Sales Financial Advisor Education Clients 52

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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.

Accounting

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

Webull expands advisory services by integrating BlackRock model portfolios, offering personalized investment strategies to its 23 million customers.

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Portfolio Investing Investments 161

Advisor Perspectives

MAY 1, 2025

Here is a summary of the four market valuation indicators we update on a monthly basis.

Valuation 59

Valuation Marketing Marketing 59

Wealth Management

MAY 1, 2025

A primer on M&A from Mindy Diamond and Jason Diamond of Diamond Consultants for advisors interested in building a business designed to be an attractive prospect for sale at maximum enterprise value.

Financial Advisor 161

Financial Advisor Consulting Sales 161

Advisor Perspectives

MAY 1, 2025

At the end of April, the inflation-adjusted S&P Composite Index was 145% above its long-term trend, down from 160% in March. This is the lowest variance in twelve months.

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59

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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?

Sales

Financial Symmetry

MAY 1, 2025

Key Takeaways With a stark shift in US tariff policy announced on April 2 and ongoing responses worldwide, investors are on edge. Pain that investors may be feeling from current volatility reflects markets setting prices such that expected returns are always positive. While drops in stock prices can be nerve-racking, markets have historically bounced back from downturns.

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Marketing Marketing Economics Economy 52

Advisor Perspectives

MAY 1, 2025

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 48.7 in April, indicating contraction in U.S. manufacturing for a second straight month. The latest reading was above the forecast of 48.0.

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Manufacturing Management 59

SEI

MAY 1, 2025

Wealth managers can act today to prepare their firms and clients for the potential regulatory shift to allow ETF share classes.

Wealth Management 52

Wealth Management Clients Management 52

Indigo Marketing Agency

MAY 1, 2025

How to Turn Your Content Into a 24/7 Sales Team for Your Firm Do you wish you had a financial advisor content marketing system to run all day, every day? Imagine having a top-performing salesperson who never sleeps, never asks for a raise, and warms up prospects before they ever hit your calendar. Sounds too good to be true? Thats exactly what strategic financial advisor marketing content can do for your business: become a 24/7 growth engine.

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Sales Financial Advisor Education Clients 52

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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.

Accounting