December, 2015

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No Seriously, What If You Only Invested In Stocks When They Were Cheap?

The Irrelevant Investor

Last week I asked the question "what if you only invested in stocks when they were cheap?" The chart below got a lot of scrutiny, understandably so. It's hard to believe that stocks did better when they were above their average valuation versus when they were below. I'm happy to chow on some crow here, the chart below is indeed greatly flawed. I think the message I was trying to convey got lost in translation, so I wanted to take the opportunity to address this.

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TEDxWilmington | Sustainable Investing: What you didn't know could make you money.

Brown Advisory

TEDxWilmington | Sustainable Investing: What you didn't know could make you money. ajackson. Sat, 12/05/2015 - 08:00. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at [link].

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What If You Only Invested In Stocks When They Were Cheap?

The Irrelevant Investor

Nobody likes to overpay, whether it's for food, clothing, a house, or stocks. The problem is people don't treat stocks the way they do a car, groceries, or jeans. If a cucumber goes from $2 to $10, you wouldn't say "wow, I need to buy some before it goes to $20." You would simply substitute it for another vegetable. However, if a stock rose 400% there are plenty of people who would pile on, anticipating a greater fool will come along after them.

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My 2015 Favorites

The Irrelevant Investor

Wow, this year went really fast. It feels like just yesterday that the Fed finally decided to raise rates. I wanted to share some of my favorite things from 2015. Podcast: I am lucky to be able to help Barry prepare for Master's in Business. Some guests I'm more excited about than others. I would put Ken Feinberg in the "others" category. I was wrong.

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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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Momentum Investing Predates the Civil War

The Irrelevant Investor

"There is nothing new in Wall Street. There can't be because speculation is as old as the hills. Whatever happens in the stock market today has happened before and will happen again" - Jesse Livermore Long before Cliff Asness wrote his dissertation on momentum, Alfred Cowles and Herbert Jones discovered that stocks tended to move in the direction in which they came from.

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In a Tight Range

The Irrelevant Investor

As we await for the inevitable(?) first rate hike since 2006, let's take a moment to review what type of year it's been for U.S. Stocks. The S&P 500 has done a whole lot of nothing this year and currently is up just 0.04%. Looking at this minuscule number helps clarify what we already know, that so much of the day-to-day stuff on the screen and on TV is just noise.

Numbers 52

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Do Expensive Stocks Price In Future Growth?

The Irrelevant Investor

One of the common themes among the very best performing stocks is that they are attached to a high price-to-earnings ratio. It makes sense that the fastest growing companies deserve a higher multiple than the average stock. You'll notice in the table below that nine out of ten of the strongest stocks over the past decade traded at a higher average multiple than the S&P 500.

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Calling It Versus Nailing It

The Irrelevant Investor

It's one thing to call a trade, it's another thing entirely to profit off that call. First, there's the issue of timing. Then you have to be able to execute; when to get in, press your bet, take profits, etc. The excerpt below is from Gregory Zuckerman's The Greatest Trade Ever (emphasis mine). Investment advisor Peter Schiff seemed in an ideal position to benefit from real estate troubles.

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Can Stock Market Forecasters Forecast?

The Irrelevant Investor

Long before Jim Cramer's record was being dissected, Alfred Cowles was skeptical of the claims made by stock market pundits. Cowles, who later founded the Cowles Foundation for Research and Economics , spent years working on a paper published in 1933, "Can Stock Market Forecasters Forecast? His mission: "It seemed a plausible assumption that if we could demonstrate the existence in individuals or organizations of the ability to foretell the elusive fluctuations, either of particular stocks, or

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Anchoring Expectations

Brown Advisory

Anchoring Expectations. achen. Wed, 12/02/2015 - 12:50. Stock market corrections can prompt investors to impulse selling or other moves that are often harmful to their long-term financial well-being. By walking through four steps with a client, we can refocus his or her mindset on the fundamental issues that help safeguard financial stability and achieve steady outperformance.

Taxes 52
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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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Diamonds In The Rough

Brown Advisory

Diamonds In The Rough. achen. Wed, 12/02/2015 - 12:58. Weak commodity prices and flagging emerging market economies have dimmed the outlook for energy and metals companies, and are shaking up the high-yield bond market. Through conservative, bottom-up analysis, we are taking advantage of current market dynamics to buy attractively priced debt in companies with solid revenues and limited vulnerability to an economic downturn.

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Off the Beaten Trail

Brown Advisory

Off the Beaten Trail. achen. Wed, 12/02/2015 - 13:46. Investors should expect the market swings of 2015 to carry over into the new year, driven largely by concerns over weak global growth. We are recommending that clients consider high-yield bonds and other asset classes that can offer the prospect of solid gains that diverge from the path of traditional stocks and bonds.

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Thinning of the Herd

The Irrelevant Investor

There has been a lot of talk lately about the lack of participation; how only a few stocks are actually rewarding shareholders while so many have been burning them. Winners have been few and far between but it's not as if the index is exactly on fire. While it's true that without Amazon and Google the market would be down, even with them, the S&P 500 is only up 1.5% for the year.

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Ensuring Legacies Last

Brown Advisory

Ensuring Legacies Last. achen. Wed, 12/02/2015 - 10:29. Heirs who are unprepared for an inheritance may find that a big windfall can quickly become a mixed blessing. An essential step in estate planning is making sure beneficiaries know all the responsibilities and challenges that accompany the management of increasing wealth. When an aging parent with an air-tight estate plan fails to prepare heirs for an inheritance, an act of kindness runs a high risk of backfire.

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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.