Dear Mr. Market
DECEMBER 31, 2024
Dear Mr. Market: Ah, the start of a new yearthe smell of fresh planners, gym memberships, and resolutions destined to be abandoned by February. But not this year. Not for you. Why? Because when it comes to financial planning, you’re ready to write it downand studies show that writing down your goals makes you 42% more likely to achieve them. So, grab that pen and let’s get to work.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 2, 2025
A regular theme around these parts is “ Nobody Knows Anything. ” Specifically, nobody knows what will happen in the future. This is true about equity and bond markets, specific company stocks, and economic data series. We do not know which geopolitical hot spot will erupt in turmoil; we have no idea where or when the next natural disaster will hit.
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Calculated Risk
JANUARY 1, 2025
Earlier I posted some questions on my blog for next year: Ten Economic Questions for 2025. Some of these questions concern real estate (inventory, house prices, housing starts, new home sales), and I posted thoughts on those in the newsletter (others like GDP and employment will be on this blog). I'm adding some thoughts and predictions for each question.
Nerd's Eye View
DECEMBER 31, 2024
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 418th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Stacey McKinnon. Stacey is the chief operating officer of Morton Wealth, an RIA based in Calabasas, California, that oversees approximately $3 billion in assets under management for 1,300 client households. What's unique about Stacey, though, is how she has implemented a leadership training program for Morton Wealth to ensure that the firm's middle managers (many of whom were
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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
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 1, 2025
Podcasts Peter Lazaroff talks with Michael Batnick about lessons learned from the stock market in 2024. (peterlazaroff.com) Khe Hy talks with Dr. Jordan Grumet about finding your life purpose. (youtube.com) Taxes Trading crypto? Pay your taxes. (axios.com) Consider doing Roth IRA conversions for your heirs. (financialducksinarow.com) Returns Chasing higher bank interest rates is losing its appeal.
The Big Picture
DECEMBER 30, 2024
Arthur Zeikel was a founding principal of Standard & Poor’s/InterCapital, Inc., and served as Chairman of the Board. He eventually became president of Merrill Lynch Asset Management, leading the division with a value-oriented approach and a focus on long-term fundamentals. He was an adjunct professor at NYU STern School of Business. He co-authored Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management , now in its fifth edition.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 3, 2025
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with a recent survey indicating that a majority of advisors are viewing new client acquisition as their primary challenge in the current competitive environment for financial advice (followed by compliance and technology management) and suggests that, in addition to reviewing their marketing tactics to see if they are reaching their ideal target prospects, firms might consider evaluating the
Abnormal Returns
DECEMBER 31, 2024
Markets The U.S. stock market is set for its best two-year performance since 1997-98. (wsj.com) After a good start, energy sector performance has faded. (axios.com) Intel ($INTC) had its worst year as a public company. (cnbc.com) Gold had its best year since 2010. (msn.com) Finance Can Treasury primary dealers handle the ongoing funding calendar? (bloomberg.com) Traditional actively managed equity mutual funds saw record outflows in 2024.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 3, 2025
This week, we speak with Sunaina Sinha , Global Head of Private Capital Advisory at Raymond James. Prior to joining Raymond James, Sunaina founded Cebile Capital , which was acquired by Raymond James in 2021. She was named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Private Equity for 2 years in a row by Dow Jones Private Equity News. She also earned a spot as one of the Twenty Trailblazing Women in Private Equity in 2023.
Calculated Risk
DECEMBER 28, 2024
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best in 2025. The key reports this week are the October Case-Shiller house price indexes, the December ISM manufacturing survey and December vehicle sales. -- Monday, December 30th -- 9:45 AM: Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for December. 10:00 AM: Pending Home Sales Index for November. The consensus is for a 0.7% increase in the index. 10:30 AM: Dallas Fed Survey of Manufacturing Activity for December.
Speaker: Victor C. Barnes, CPA, MBA
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.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 3, 2025
Active ETFs continued to take a growing share of U.S. ETF inflows, rising to 24.6% in 2024 from 14.6% in 2022.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 3, 2025
Markets Good years in the stock market tend to cluster. (awealthofcommonsense.com) How international stock markets performed in 2024. (novelinvestor.com) Just because the stock market is expensive, doesn't mean you should sell everything. (fa-mag.com) Crypto Memecoins are a way to learn about trading and markets. (howardlindzon.com) Microstrategy ($MSTR) is upping the ante on board pay.
A Wealth of Common Sense
JANUARY 3, 2025
In 2022, it was a bad year for the markets. At the time I wrote about how it was maybe one of the worst years ever when you consider bonds had a bear market at the same time as stocks. Last year I wrote about how 2023 was agood year which was nice because sometimes bad years are followed by bad years. I followed that up writing about how good years in the markets tend to cluster: Well, the S&P 500 was up 25% in 202.
Calculated Risk
DECEMBER 31, 2024
S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for October ("October" is a 3-month average of August, September and October closing prices). This release includes prices for 20 individual cities, two composite indices (for 10 cities and 20 cities) and the monthly National index. From S&P S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index Records 3.6% Annual Gain in October 2024 The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S.
Speaker: Kim Beynon, CPA, CGMA, PMP
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.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 2, 2025
Advisor Chris Helton joins Raymond James independent b/d channel after 14 years with Synovus Securities.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 3, 2025
Business Matt Reustle talks with Jonathan Eng a Portfolio Manager at Causeway Capital Management about luxury goods maker Kering. (joincolossus.com) Eric Golden talks global logistics with Eric Johnson who is the Senior Technology Editor at the Journal of Commerce. (joincolossus.com) Jon Youshaei talks with Andrew Rea about the growth of the Babish Culinary Universe.
A Wealth of Common Sense
JANUARY 1, 2025
Our media team at The Compound does an excellent job of marrying quality production value with useful analytics. They recently shared with us the Spotify Wrapped data on Animal Spirits for 2024. Our most popular episode this year was titled When Your Friends Are Richer Than You. It’s always hard to tell the exact reason why people tuned in for something like this, but the episode title seems to have struck a chord.
Calculated Risk
DECEMBER 31, 2024
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Fannie and Freddie: Single Family and Multi-Family Serious Delinquency Rates Increased in November Excerpt: Happy New Year! Best wishes for 2025, Bill Single-family and multi-family serious delinquencies increased in November. Here are the multi-family 60+ day delinquency rate since 2006. Freddie Mac (blue) reports that the multi-family delinquencies rate increased to 0.40% in November, up from 0.40% in October, and down from the recent peak
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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
Wealth Management
JANUARY 3, 2025
This growing alternative asset class focuses on purchasing and leasing aviation assets and can provide diversified and uncorrelated returns.
Alpha Architect
DECEMBER 31, 2024
One critical, yet often overlooked, choice is how stocks are weighted in the objective function during training, with equally weighted (EW) approaches being the norm. This paper investigates how such choices impact cross-sectional return predictability and the performance of trading strategies derived from these predictions, focusing on the interplay between objective function design and model outcomes.
Steve Sanduski
JANUARY 1, 2025
For the 11th time, I begin the New Year with a word exercise thats designed to remind, motivate, and guide my behavior on my road to making the New Year my best year yet. Historically, Ive done the My 3 Words exercise, which are simply 3 words that set my theme for the year. My 3 words are printed at the top of my Daily Outcomes sheet (my prioritized to-do list) so I see them multiple times a day.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 2, 2025
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decreased Over a Two-Week Period in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications decreased 21.9 percent from two weeks earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 27, 2024. The results include an adjustment to account for the Christmas holiday.
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.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 2, 2025
Five technologies that will dictate the future of the industry beyond the Bitcoin hype.
Harness Wealth
DECEMBER 30, 2024
Employee equity compensation, such as Restricted Stock Units ( RSUs ) or Non-Qualified Stock Options (NQSOs), is a relatively common way for companies to attract and retain talent. However, as appealing as these forms of compensation may be, they can result in sizable and unexpected tax bills. In an effort to help employees manage their tax liabilities more effectively, the Internal Revenue Code offers provisions like the 83(b) election , which allows employees to pay tax on the fair market val
Midstream Marketing
DECEMBER 28, 2024
Key Highlights Are you a financial advisor and a business owner looking to stand out? Guerrilla Marketing , as stated by Morgan James Publishing, might be just what you need. This unique way of marketing focuses on being creative and making a big impact without a big budget. In this blog, we will look into Guerrilla Marketing, paying special attention to financial advisors.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 2, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Freddie Mac House Price Index Increased in November; Up 4.0% Year-over-year A brief excerpt: Freddie Mac reported that its National Home Price Index (FMHPI) increased 0.56% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis in November. On a year-over-year basis, the National FMHPI was up 4.0% in November, up from up 3.9% YoY in October.
Speaker: Cheryl J. Muldrew-McMurtry
Distributed finance teams are rewriting how the back-office runs, and attackers are taking notes. Disconnected workflows, process blind spots, and rising cyber threats are more than just growing pains—they’re liabilities. The challenge isn’t just going remote. It’s building resilient systems that protect accuracy, control, and speed across every transaction and touchpoint.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 3, 2025
Atlas Financial Advisors falsely claimed Morningstar had verified and validated the hypothetical performance of its proprietary Portfolio Shield strategies,according to the SEC. It is the Commission's latest enforcement action stemming from recently implemented RIA marketing rules.
Validea
DECEMBER 30, 2024
We’re back with our annual predictions episode, where we look back at our (surprisingly not terrible) 2024 market calls and make fresh predictions for 2025 (which will likely be very wrong). In this episode, we’re embracing the humbling experience of market forecasting to prove to everyone (and ourselves) why market forecasting is a waste of time.
Alpha Architect
JANUARY 3, 2025
Simple, easy-to-implement, systematic formula-based investing can still generate market outperformance, providing investors with efficient exposure to well-documented factor premiums. Investigating Simple Formulaic Investing was originally published at Alpha Architect. Please read the Alpha Architect disclosures at your convenience.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 3, 2025
Wards Auto released their estimate of light vehicle sales for December: U.S. Light-Vehicle Sales End 2024 With Long-Time High December, Q4 SAARs (pay site). Decembers 6% year-over-year rise in the daily selling rate capped off a fourth quarter rebound after demand dropped in Q2 and Q3. The return to growth was aided by rising inventory, increased retail incentives and lower interest rates, while pull-ahead volume of electric vehicles from expectations of cuts in government incentives could have
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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