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I saw a chart this week from Bank of America that more or less sums up my entire investment philosophy: In the long run, stock prices go up. I view the stock market as a way to invest in innovation, profits, progress and people waking up in the morning looking to better their current situation. While I love the fact that this chart illustrates my long-term philosophy it’s a bit misleading.
Investors should embrace a genuine long-term perspective, extending their time horizons to at least 20 to 30 years. The traditional notion of long-term investing (five to 10 years) may fall short of realizing the full benefits of long-term strategies.
Here are five economic reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving. (Hat Tip to Neil Irwin who started doing this years ago) 1) The Unemployment Rate is Below 4% The unemployment rate was at 3.9% in October. The unemployment rate is down from 14.7% in April 2020 (the highest since the Great Depression). The unemployment rate is up from 3.7% a year ago (October 2022).
The claims of superior risk-adjusted performance by the PE industry are exaggerated. Given their lack of liquidity, opaqueness, and greater use of leverage, it seems logical that investors should demand something like a 3-4% IRR premium. Yet, there is no evidence that the industry overall has been able to deliver that. The Performance of Major Private Equity/LBO Firms was originally published at Alpha Architect.
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.
Over at Alphaville , Robin Wigglesworth looks at whether ‘Greedflation’ (aka price-gouging) meaningfully contributed to Eurozone inflation. Specifically, Bank of England research suggests that while they “find no evidence of a rise in overall profits in the UK” they did notice that “companies in the oil, gas and mining sectors have bucked the trend” with “some companies… much more profitable than others.”1 I was pretty skeptical about Greedflation initia
New York-based Arch, which aims to solve for the workflow and data problems behind alternative investments, has received funding from Focus Financial Partners, the founders of Vanilla and Altruist, and others.
Top clicks this week Six lessons from William Bernstein's "The Four Pillars of Investing." (humbledollar.com) Be wary shifting too much of your money into bonds. (humbledollar.com) There's nothing magic about asset allocation. (obliviousinvestor.com) Money market returns look good.almost too good. (wsj.com) Traders are buying the dip in the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF ($TLT).
Top clicks this week Six lessons from William Bernstein's "The Four Pillars of Investing." (humbledollar.com) Be wary shifting too much of your money into bonds. (humbledollar.com) There's nothing magic about asset allocation. (obliviousinvestor.com) Money market returns look good.almost too good. (wsj.com) Traders are buying the dip in the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF ($TLT).
The traditional way that most financial planning has been offered was for an advisor to create "The Plan": a comprehensive document outlining a client's financial strategy that was delivered either on a one-time basis or updated annually. However, as the industry has shifted towards an ongoing relationship model, advisors have felt compelled to demonstrate consistent value to their clients throughout the year.
Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 0.8% week-over-week. This is the latest in the year that inventory was still increasing! Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of November 3rd, inventory was at 567 thousand (7-day average), compared to 563 thousand the prior week. Year-to-date, inventory is up 15.5%.
We spend way too much time trying to predict the future (especially this time of year). Rather than engage in futility, let’s look at the coincident indexes in all 50 states over the past 3 months, via the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (October 2023). Note: I have been occasionally eyeballing this map since 2008 , and it does a good job of showing the overall trend of the economy (on an obvious lag).
Markets screamed higher yesterday after a benign CPI report showed a 0.0% monthly price increase and inflation falling to 3.2% year over year. After a big gap opening, latecomers piled in; many had been sitting on the sidelines following a challenging 2022, while others got panicked out during the 10% October drawdown. It was a classic fear-driven error, a combination of bad market timing and poor impulse control.
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.
The headline jobs number in the October employment report was below expectations, and employment for the previous two months was revised down by 101,000, combined. The participation rate and the employment population ratio both decreased, and the unemployment rate increased to 3.9%. Leisure and hospitality gained 19 thousand jobs in October. At the beginning of the pandemic, in March and April of 2020, leisure and hospitality lost 8.2 million jobs, and are now down 223 thousand jobs since Februa
From the Federal Reserve: The October 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices The October 2023 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) addressed changes in the standards and terms on, and demand for, bank loans to businesses and households over the past three months, which generally correspond to the third quarter of 2023.
For the second straight month, sponsors launched dozens of new ETFs. That included eight bond ETFs, one commodoties ETF, 45 equities-based ETFs, 12 target date/multi-asset ETFs and four others.
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.
Note: This index is a leading indicator primarily for new Commercial Real Estate (CRE) investment. From the AIA: Continuing Decline in Architecture Billings, AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index Reports The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reports that business conditions at architecture firms continued to soften in October. For the third consecutive month, the ABI score was under 50, indicating that a significant share of firms is seeing a decline in billings.
California-based accounting firm Windes will leverage Integrated Partners’ platform to provide more comprehensive services for complex clients through a new wealth management practice.
Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 0.5% week-over-week and is now up slightly year-over-year. This is the latest in the year that inventory was still increasing in this series! Inventory will start decreasing seasonally soon (for Thanksgiving and Christmas). Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research.
“Technology is not going to replace advisors, but advisors who do embrace technology are going to replace advisors who don’t,” said David Karr, chairman of Equitable Advisors.
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.
Realtor.com has monthly and weekly data on the existing home market. Here is their weekly report: Weekly Housing Trends View — Data Week Ending Oct 28, 2023 • Active inventory declined, with for-sale homes lagging behind year ago levels by 1.0%. For 19 straight weeks, the number of homes available for sale has registered below that of the previous year. • New listings–a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale–were up this week, by 5.6% from one year ago.
Source: Chartr We talked about this 2 weeks ago , but the nation missed a fantastic opportunity to refinance all of the outstanding US debt at much lower levels. Every corporate debt issuer and homeowner in America refinanced at lower rates — except for Uncle Sam. If you were in Congress from 2015-2021, you are the reason why HALF of the projected federal debt will soon be interest payments.
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
CEO Shirl Penney expects his independent advisor services platform to reach its goal by Independence Day of next year, and he still has plans to take the company public.
Industry sources say Focus Financial Partners' new private equity owner plans to merge the sprawling ecosystem of firms into a small number of its existing entities.
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.
Industry leaders speaking at AdviceTech.Live said they have spent significant sums of money on the development of AI to increase both automation and scale, but the human advisor remains central.
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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