August, 2018

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Animal Spirits: When Hitler Took Cocaine

The Irrelevant Investor

On this week's Animal Spirits, we discuss: Chicago, this is a bad idea. Monthly stipend of lump sum? Of course you're going to say winning the lottery improved your quality of life Crypto horror stories Wells.JP Morgan.and Boiler Rooms Free trading Trend following is having a hard time The best consumer environment ever Walmart going after Kindle Less high school students are playing football Julius Thomas quit football to pursue psychology The new way to consume sports writing The sell signal

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Diversification by Design: Why We Don’t Hug the Muni Benchmark

Brown Advisory

Diversification by Design: Why We Don’t Hug the Muni Benchmark ajackson Thu, 08/23/2018 - 08:02 The total municipal universe has over one million individual securities. Most muni indexes hold tens of thousands of bonds—the benchmark for our National Muni strategy, for example, is the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal 1-10 Year Blend Index, and it holds a constantly changing roster of more than 30,000 securities.

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These Are the Goods

The Irrelevant Investor

Articles Elliott has lost money in only two of its forty-one years of existence By Sheelah Kolhatkar Corrections and bear markets in emerging markets have outnumbered those in the U.S. by a factor of more than 2-to-1 By Ben Carlson Earnings during the past 1 year and 2 years have risen faster than the S&P index itself By Urban Carmel Just because you have never experienced something doesn’t mean it will never happen By Carolyn Gowen Writing is about more than words By Nick Maggiulli The race

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The Bad Actors

The Irrelevant Investor

I saw three reports of financial abuse in the last week. One of the stories occurred at Wells Fargo, which keeps coming up with new ways of ripping off its customers. There is no way that Wells found the 14,000 least ethical financial advisors in the industry. What they found is the simple fact that humans respond to incentives. Bethany McLean and Ethan Wolff-Mann at Yahoo!

Ethics 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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Diversification by Design: Why We Don’t Hug the Muni Benchmark

Brown Advisory

Diversification by Design: Why We Don’t Hug the Muni Benchmark. ajackson. Thu, 08/23/2018 - 08:02. The total municipal universe has over one million individual securities. Most muni indexes hold tens of thousands of bonds—the benchmark for our National Muni strategy, for example, is the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal 1-10 Year Blend Index, and it holds a constantly changing roster of more than 30,000 securities.

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Animal Spirits: Why Andy Dufresne Would be a Good Portfolio Manager

The Irrelevant Investor

On this week's Animal Spirits, we discuss: Old-money billionaires are chasing new tech riches The stories war The shrinking public stock market "Not a public company" The Netflix of fitness Tech billionaire busted for drug trafficking Listen here Tweets mentioned [link] [link] [link] [link] Recommendations Rocket Men Walt Disney: An American Original Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Our Worst The post Animal Spirits: Why Andy Dufresne Would be a Good Portfolio Manager appeared firs

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Four Companies Are Spending Hundreds of Billions Building The Cloud

Brown Advisory

Four Companies Are Spending Hundreds of Billions Building The Cloud. ajackson. Mon, 08/20/2018 - 10:11. The titans of technology have continually led the news cycle in recent years, as their reach has extended—for better or worse—into every corner of our lives. The big tech companies also have been generating exceptional stock returns: Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have together driven an outsized proportion of S&P 500 ® Index returns over the past several years.

Assets 52
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These Are the Goods

The Irrelevant Investor

Articles We all have it now By Nick Maggiulli Investing is a difficult game, to begin with, but it becomes doubly so, when it becomes personal By Aswath Damodaran Since this is an extraordinary claim, it requires extraordinary evidence By Barry Ritholtz Two camps of ardent supporters and dissenters quickly banded together By Jamie Catherwood Cheap (expensive) stocks tend to be followed by above-average (below-average) forward returns, regardless of where bond yields are By Charlie Bilello Colleg

Numbers 52
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Animal Spirits: Funding Secured

The Irrelevant Investor

On this week's Animal Spirits, we discuss: Why did I say "funding secured" Why do companies go private? Are buybacks starving the economy? No, but it's complicated And earning-per-share bonuses need to be adjusted for buybacks The housing crash disproportionately affected the middle class The CAPE ratio arguments are usually black or white. This one isn't. 80% chance of a market crash next year Listen here: Charts mentioned Tweets mentioned [link] [link] Recommendations Mountains Beyond Mountai

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These Are the Goods

The Irrelevant Investor

Articles You can’t call your doctor or advisor everyday asking questions. You need to learn how to cope on your own. By Tim Mullooly Financial planning in the absence of an investment strategy designed to implement the plan is a f ing fortune cookie. By Josh Brown You’re always trading one risk for another, not eliminating it. By Ben Carlson The conscious wrestles with questions.

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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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Animal Spirits: Despite All Logic

The Irrelevant Investor

On this week's Animal Spirits, we discuss MoviePass becoming profitable, despite all logic This is some press release Cutting the chord and Disney's new streaming service Busting some pension myths The pension hole is the size of Germany's economy Bankruptcy booms among older Americans Creating an ideal liquid alt 1 in 8 divorces is caused by student debt.

Economy 52
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Spin City: The New Wave of Deconglomeratization

Brown Advisory

Spin City: The New Wave of Deconglomeratization. ajackson. Wed, 08/08/2018 - 08:16. The biggest media story in the industrial space this summer has been the accelerating breakup of General Electric. For many decades, GE was the shining example for conglomerates everywhere—Jack Welch’s model of pursuing a #1 or #2 position across many industries was one of the most well-known business strategies in the world.

Assets 52
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Capital Conservation

Brown Advisory

Capital Conservation ajackson Tue, 08/07/2018 - 09:25 The managers of Brown Advisory’s Large-Cap Sustainable Growth strategy discuss how their sustainable investing approach has helped them preserve capital during down markets. “Sustainable investing” means different things to different people. Some sustainable investors want to make a positive impact on the world,others want to align their portfolio with a specific mission or set of values, and still others simply want to screen out businesses

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Capital Conservation

Brown Advisory

Capital Conservation. ajackson. Tue, 08/07/2018 - 09:25. The managers of Brown Advisory’s Large-Cap Sustainable Growth strategy discuss how their sustainable investing approach has helped them preserve capital during down markets. “Sustainable investing” means different things to different people. Some sustainable investors want to make a positive impact on the world,others want to align their portfolio with a specific mission or set of values, and still others simply want to screen out business

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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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These Are the Goods

The Irrelevant Investor

Articles Mix a little data with something you want to be true and you grab it with both hands By Morgan Housel Chart goodness By Tadas Viskanta If you can’t save money, your investment returns won’t matter. By Nick Maggiuilli Mean reversion is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in all of finance. By Ben Carlson The agony of defeat outweighs the euphoria of victory.

Assets 52
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The Longest Bull Market of All-Time?

The Irrelevant Investor

Does it really matter when a bull market begins? Whether you measure it from the low in 2009 or when new highs were made in 2013, isn't this just semantics? Bull markets are in the eye of the beholder, and when we mark the beginning is of little importance, unlike things like earnings and valuation and interest rates. Subjective and unimportant as it may be, I do think it can affect investor psychology, if only at the margin.

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Animal Spirits: What Worked On Wall Street

The Irrelevant Investor

On this week's Animal Spirits, Ben and I discuss Facebook's (2x) giant loss Twitter also had a rough day after earnings Being 30 What worked on Wall Street These funds don't want your money Gen X FTW We're all above average (survey) According to the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (survey) The race to zero State Street's SPY is seeing outflows But they have an idea So does Josh Contrarian signals Some cracks in the housing market So much Bronny I went on this crazy roller coaster Listen here

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What Are Your Thoughts?

The Irrelevant Investor

I think an NFL team can be turned around quicker than an NBA team. There is more parity in the NFL than the NBA. There are 3 or 4 NBA teams that can win the championship next year, there are a dozen NFL teams that can conceivably win the Super Bowl. You tend to see the same teams in the playoffs in the NBA year after year, this is not the case with the NFL.

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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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2018 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting

Brown Advisory

2018 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting ajackson Wed, 08/01/2018 - 09:30 The Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting is an opportunity for shareholders and analysts to pose questions to Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. They answered about 60 questions during the five-hour gathering. Thousands come to Omaha every May for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting to hear the insights of Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire since 1965, and his longtime business partner Charles Mung

Assets 52
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Investment Perspectives | Managing Risk

Brown Advisory

Investment Perspectives | Managing Risk ajackson Wed, 08/01/2018 - 10:37 In 1963, Bob Dylan warned us that the times, they are a-changin’—and while he wasn’t talking about capital markets, his words ring as true today for investors as they did for those growing up in the turbulent '60s. Market conditions may indeed be changing, and in ways that warrant a reassessment of portfolio positioning.

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2018 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting

Brown Advisory

2018 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting. ajackson. Wed, 08/01/2018 - 09:30. The Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting is an opportunity for shareholders and analysts to pose questions to Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. They answered about 60 questions during the five-hour gathering. Thousands come to Omaha every May for the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting to hear the insights of Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire since 1965, and his longtime business partner Charles M

Assets 52
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Investment Perspectives | Managing Risk

Brown Advisory

Investment Perspectives | Managing Risk. ajackson. Wed, 08/01/2018 - 10:37. In 1963, Bob Dylan warned us that the times, they are a-changin’—and while he wasn’t talking about capital markets, his words ring as true today for investors as they did for those growing up in the turbulent '60s. Market conditions may indeed be changing, and in ways that warrant a reassessment of portfolio positioning.

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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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Who’s Warren Buffett?

The Irrelevant Investor

"Who's Warren Buffett I asked?" That's what George Goodman ("Adam Smith") said to Benjamin Graham when he was asked to work on a new edition of The Intelligent Investor. [link] George Goodman introduced Warren Buffett to the world in this video below. I searched for it without luck a few years ago when I read this book, so I was very excited when I saw Michael Mauboussin unearthed it.

Banking 40
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The Scapegoat

The Irrelevant Investor

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." -Winston Churchill We have always been a country of haves and have nots. In 1937 John D. Rockefeller had a net worth of $1.4 billion, or 1/65th of U.S. GNP. Today, the three wealthiest people in America, Bezos, Buffett, and Gates, have as much money as the bottom half of the country.