Sat.Dec 02, 2023 - Fri.Dec 08, 2023

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When Does A Financial Coach Need To Register As An Investment Adviser? The “ABCS” Test To Determine Status

Nerd's Eye View

Over the past several years, the financial services industry has undergone a tremendous evolution in how financial advisers deliver and charge for their services. While commission-based models remain in use, fee-for-service models (including AUM, hourly, retainer, and subscription) have become increasingly popular. And because many service offerings have traditionally focused on areas like investments and securities recommendations, there has been little debate about the need to register as an a

Investing 246
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FINRA Fines Self-Directed Trading Firms $2.6M For Poor Oversight

Wealth Management

SoFi Securities, SogoTrade, M1 Finance and Open to the Public Investing will pay more than $1 million in restitution after clients were promised fees from lending securities they allegedly never received.

Clients 359
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MBA: Mortgage Applications Increased in Weekly Survey

Calculated Risk

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications increased 2.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 1, 2023. Last week’s results include an adjustment for the observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Also on the site On the end of the influential The Reformed Broker blog. (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week Why market timing is so difficult. (ritholtz.com) On the Magnificent 7 vs. Other 493 narrative. (investmenttalk.co) Jason Zweig, "More than almost anyone I’ve ever known, Munger also possessed what philosophers call epistemic humility: a profound sense of how little anyone can know and how important it is to open and change your mind.

Numbers 304
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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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The Charlie Munger Manifesto (via Vishal)

The Big Picture

The Charlie Munger Manifesto / PDF The post The Charlie Munger Manifesto (via Vishal) appeared first on The Big Picture.

Investing 299
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Former Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Stifel Advisor Convicted in $4M Health Care Fraud

Wealth Management

Kaival Patel was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire and health care fraud to pocket money raised from fraudulent compound medication prescriptions, according to the DOJ.

Medical 348

More Trending

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Personal finance links: no secret tricks

Abnormal Returns

Podcasts Morgan Housel and Doug Boneparth discuss Charlie Munger's legacy. (open.spotify.com) Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak talk all things retirement with Dan Haylett. (morningstar.com) Retirement The case for (and against) taking Social Security early. (humbledollar.com) Why some people choose to come out of retirement. (humbledollar.com) How many more years do you have to live (on average)?

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ATM: Investing Skill vs. Luck 

The Big Picture

 Investing Skill vs. Luck with Michael J. Mauboussin, Counterpoint Global (Dec 6, 2023) Is it better to be lucky or good? How much of a role does luck pay in investing? And how can you tell the difference between chance and skill? In this episode of At the Money, I speak with Michael Mauboussin. ~~~ About Michael J. Mauboussin: Michael Mauboussin is head of Consilient Research at Counterpoint Global, Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Investing 275
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Pontera Raises $60M Led By ICONIQ Growth

Wealth Management

This is the held-away asset management platform's second capital raise since pivoting and changing its name from FeeX in February 2022.

Assets 317
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ICE (Black Knight) Mortgage Monitor: "Home prices continued sending mixed signals in October"

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: IICE (Black Knight) Mortgage Monitor: "Home prices continued sending mixed signals in October" A brief excerpt: And on Florida inventory: Florida has experienced some of the largest inventory gains in recent months • In fact, six of the nine markets seeing the strongest inventory growth over the past three months – Palm Bay (+22pp), Lakeland (+21pp), Tampa (+19pp), Cape Coral (+18pp), North Port (+16pp) and Orlando (+14pp) – are located in th

Sales 311
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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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Wednesday links: the dull game

Abnormal Returns

Strategy Why investors may regret earning 5% on cash. (allstarcharts.com) The more room you can put between yourself and your investments, the better. (yield-to-maturity.beehiiv.com) Why investors are attracted to low probability games. (behaviouralinvestment.com) Technology Google ($GOOGL) has finally unveiled Gemini, its new AI model. (venturebeat.com) Eight charts that explain 2023 including the rise of the chatbot.

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Monthly NFPs Are Rounding Errors

The Big Picture

You may have missed the most important data point in today’s Employment report. It wasn’t that Nonfarm payrolls increased by 199,000 in November, somewhat higher than expected; nor was it the unemployment rate, which fell to 3.7% in November, from 3.9% in October; nor was it that Wages continued to rise at a modest pace, with average hourly earnings up 0.6%.

Numbers 264
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Welcome to the Jungle: Mark Hurley Says the Party’s Over For Wealth Management

Wealth Management

The independent wealth management space is becoming less a friendly club and more a pitiless jungle, with big firms squeezing smaller competitors, poaching talent and where organic growth, not M&A, will drive firm value.

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Housing December 4th Weekly Update: Inventory Down 1.8% Week-over-week, Up 1.0% Year-over-year

Calculated Risk

Altos reports that active single-family inventory was down 1.8% week-over-week and is now up 1.0% year-over-year. Inventory will decrease seasonally for next several weeks (for the Holidays). Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of December 1st, inventory was at 556 thousand (7-day average), compared to 566 thousand the prior week.

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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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Research links: tracking performance

Abnormal Returns

Active management Active investing has a tax problem. (alphaarchitect.com) Why the active management space may be bigger than currently measured. (papers.ssrn.com) Replication Managed futures strategies are ripe for replication. (caia.org) How to replicate fund performance using index and smart beta funds. (insights.finominal.com) Factors What happened to the momentum effect?

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MiB: Michael Fisch, American Securities

The Big Picture

This week, we speak with Michael Fisch , CEO and co-founder of American Securities , a $27-billion dollar private equity firm. He is a managing member of the general partners of the American Securities Partners’ series of private equity funds and a member of the investment committee of AS Birch Grove. He was previously a partner in two private equity funds, a consultant in the Paris office of Bain & Co., and worked in the mergers and acquisitions department of Goldman Sachs.

Retail 255
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Summit Financial Buys Stake in The Savvy Investor’s East Coast RIA

Wealth Management

Under its minority investment model, Summit will provide cash, equity and exclusive privileges to Prostatis Financial Advisors Group.

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Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims Increase to 220,000

Calculated Risk

The DOL reported : In the week ending December 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 220,000 , an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 218,000 to 219,000. The 4-week moving average was 220,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average.

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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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Thursday links: embracing imperfection

Abnormal Returns

Rates 10-year Treasury yields are down nearly 100bp from their peak. (axios.com) 30-year mortgage rates have dropped from 8% back to 7%. (housingwire.com) Companies P&G ($PG) is still writing down the value of Gillette. (wsj.com) What phrases and words companies stood out in conference calls in 2023? (ft.com) VC SimpleClosure, a start-up that helps other start-ups wind down their operations, is doing a booming business.

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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (December 9-10)

Nerd's Eye View

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that a new study from research firm Cerulli has found that investors' willingness to pay for financial advice has risen over the last 15 years, with more investors reporting using a financial advisor (and a decreasing share considering themselves "self-directed"), in spite of the proliferation of DIY investing options in the internet era – which highlights the value that

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Heckenberg’s New PE Firm Makes First Investment in $2.6B AlphaCore Wealth Advisory

Wealth Management

Constellation Wealth Capital has purchased a minority stake in AlphaCore Wealth, an alts-focused, technology-driven California RIA.

Investing 306
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BLS: Job Openings Decreased to 8.7 million in October

Calculated Risk

From the BLS: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary The number of job openings decreased to 8.7 million on the last business day of October , the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, the number of hires and total separations changed little at 5.9 million and 5.6 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.6 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) changed little. emphasis added The following graph shows job openings (black line), hires (dark blue), L

Numbers 301
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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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Friday links: consistent outperformance

Abnormal Returns

Strategy What happens after a 20% up year for the stock market? (awealthofcommonsense.com) No investor, or investment strategy, is perfect. (morningstar.com) Fund management The factor ETF space has gotten crowded. (riabiz.com) Blackrock ($BLK) is building its own AI tools. (pionline.com) Books Amy Edmondson has won the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award for "Right Kind of Wrong: Why Learning to Fail Can Teach Us to Thrive.

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The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech (December 2023)

Nerd's Eye View

Welcome to the December 2023 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors! This month's edition kicks off with the news that Black Diamond has announced the launch of its own CRM system, targeting advisors at mid-size firms who have data complexity and workflow needs greater than what more basic CRM options can accommodat

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The Ten Best Business Books of 2023 for Advisors

Wealth Management

This year’s crop includes major books by two of the best business writers working today.

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CoreLogic: US Home Prices Increased 4.7% Year-over-year in October

Calculated Risk

Notes: This CoreLogic House Price Index report is for October. The recent Case-Shiller index release was for September. The CoreLogic HPI is a three-month weighted average and is not seasonally adjusted (NSA). From CoreLogic: US Home Price Growth Continues Slow But Steady Increase in October, CoreLogic Reports • U.S. single-family home prices increased by 4.7% year over year in September, the 141st straight month of annual appreciation. • CoreLogic projects that annual home price growth will rel

Sales 299
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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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Longform links: acting extroverted

Abnormal Returns

Books An excerpt from "The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism" by Tim Alberta. (politico.com) A Q&A with Sam Wasson author of the new book "The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story." (insidehook.com) Venture capital No one should be surprised by the drama surrounding OpenAI after learning about its origins.

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#FA Success Ep 362: Developing Associate Advisor Compensation Plans And Career Tracks To Scale Capacity Past $1.5B AUM, With Jeff Brown

Nerd's Eye View

Welcome back to the 362nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Jeff Brown. Jeff is the President of Stratos Private Wealth, an RIA based in San Diego, California, that oversees almost $1.5 billion in assets under management for just over 350 client households. What's unique about Jeff, though, is how his firm has developed associate advisor compensation plans and career tracks, with well-defined Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 performance indicators of

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DFPG Investments Debuts Diversify Advisor Network

Wealth Management

The alts-focused investment manager reorganizes to expand affiliation options and welcomes three recruits with more than $560 million in assets.

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Asking Rents Down 1.1% Year-over-year

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Asking Rents Down 1.1% Year-over-year A brief excerpt: Here is a graph of the year-over-year (YoY) change for these measures since January 2015. Most of these measures are through October 2023, except CoreLogic is through September and Apartment List is through November 2023. The CoreLogic measure is up 2.6% YoY in September, down from 2.9% in August, and down from a peak of 13.9% in April 2022.

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Stop Falling Short When It Matters Most—The Elite Advisor’s Playbook to Success

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?