Random Roger's Retirement Planning

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Bill Bengen, known for deriving the 4% rule sat for a podcast with Sam Dogen , a well known FIRE proponent and blogger. The 4% rule is generally the accepted standard for a safe withdrawal rate in retirement to ensure the assets last for 30 years. Listen to the podcast. Their conversation was very illuminating. Get ready to be very surprised. Bengen retired as a financial advisor in 2013 but he also considers himself a researcher.

Retirement 52

Retirement Retirement Planning Clients Engineering 52

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 412th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Anjali Jariwala. Anjali is the Founder of FIT Advisors, an RIA based in Torrance, California (but works virtually with clients nationwide) and oversees $65 million in assets under management for 45 client households. What's unique about Anjali, though, is how she has tripled her annual revenue from $250,000 to $750,000 during the past 6 years, while only adding a net of 10 cli

Clients 244

Clients Financial Advisor Business Planning Taxes 244

Calculated Risk

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

From the NAR: Existing-Home Sales Grew 3.4% in October; First Year-Over-Year Gain Since July 2021 Existing-home sales rose in October, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales improved in all four major U.S. regions. Year-over-year, sales elevated in three regions but were unchanged in the Northeast. Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – expanded 3.4% from September to a seasonally adjusted annua

Sales 290

Sales 290

The Big Picture

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

Well, that was a lot more fun than I expected! I submitted the final manuscript for my new book, How Not to Invest , last week. The final edit will involve some back-and-forth, but the writing is finished. I recall “ Bailout Nation ” as more of a slog, in part because so much of it happened in real-time. I constantly rewrote entire chapters as various companies blew up.

Investing 217

Investing Investments Media 217

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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

Accounting

A Wealth of Common Sense

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

The best compliment I can offer any financial writer: I wish I had written that. I’ve had that thought about John Rekenthaler’s work numerous times over the years. I’ve always admired his common sense, straight-shooter approach to investment writing. Last week, Rekenthaler penned his farewell column for Morningstar. Instead of providing a retrospective on his own career, he wrote an ode to the U.S. stock.

Investing 140

Investing Investments Marketing Marketing 140

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

In recent years, AI has become an increasingly common feature in advisor technology. The possibilities at the intersection of AI and financial advice are exciting – faster processes, better connections, less time on ‘busy work’ – but also come with uncertainty about the future of the field. What might the field of financial advice even look like in 10 years?

Financial Advice 246

Financial Advice Clients Portfolio Marketing 246

Abnormal Returns

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Podcasts Sam Dogen talks the 4% rule with Bill Bengen. (sites.libsyn.com) Frazer Rice talks with Christine Benz author of "How to Retire" (podcasts.apple.com) Carl Richards talks money and more with journalist Kara Swisher. (50fires.com) Retirement Gray divorce can have a huge effect on your retirement. (nytimes.com) Taxes in retirement only get more complicated.

Estate Planning 162

Estate Planning Retirement Marketing Marketing 162

The Big Picture

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

 This week, we speak with Corey Hoffstein, CEO and CIO of Newfound Research. Corey pioneered the concept of ‘return stacking’ and is one of the masterminds behind the Return Stacked ETF Suite , which manages roughly $750 million across five ETFs. Corey’s work has been published in the Journal of Indexing and the Journal of Alternative Investments.

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Communication Government Investments Investing 182

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that amidst a rare change in leadership at Charles Schwab, the outgoing and incoming CEOs hinted at relatively minor changes during remarks for advisors at its annual IMPACT conference this week, including an increased focus on lending services for high-net-worth clients and a desire to expand direct access to cryptoassets.

Financial Planner 246

Financial Planner Retirement Retail Retirement Planning 246

Calculated Risk

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

From housing economist Tom Lawler: According to CME FedWatch , the “market-based” probability that the FOMC will cut its federal funds rate target by 25 bp at its December meeting is about 59%. Folks will also play close attention to the release of the FOMC’s Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) from meeting participants. Below is a table showing some of the key projections from the last four SEPs.

Economics 263

Economics Marketing Marketing 263

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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

Clients

Wealth Management

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

New tools automate the process of personalizing service and communications to improve the advisor-client relationship.

Financial Advisor 325

Financial Advisor Communication Clients 325

A Wealth of Common Sense

NOVEMBER 17, 2024

People are terrible at self-regulation and self-awareness when it comes to eating. One study asked people how much bread they ate after leaving an Italian restaurant. Nearly one-third of the diners couldn’t recall how much they had. And 12% of the people who ate bread denied having eaten any at all. When asked how much food they consumed in a meal, people of average weight assume they’ve eaten 20% less than th.

Portfolio 135

Portfolio Food 135

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Investment advisers are fiduciaries that owe a duty of care and loyalty to their clients. One component of this duty of care is an obligation to seek best execution of client securities transactions. While this requirement might sound relatively straightforward, the lack of a single definition for what this duty actually requires can make it challenging for advisers seeking to understand precisely what it means to comply with this responsibility.

Fiduciary Duty 243

Fiduciary Duty Clients Commission Accounting 243

Calculated Risk

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Note: This index is a leading indicator primarily for new Commercial Real Estate (CRE) investment. From the AIA: ABI October 2024: Business conditions at architecture firms begin to moderate The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for the month was 50.3 , meaning that the share of firms that reported declining billings was essentially equal to the share of firms that reported increasing billings.

Clients 204

Clients Investments Investing Numbers 204

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.

Management

Wealth Management

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

The deal marks Robinhood’s entrance into the wealth management space, as it aims to connect its investors with human advisors.

Wealth Management 306

Wealth Management Management 306

Abnormal Returns

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

Podcasts Daniel Crosby talks with Christina Lynn about Motivational Interviewing in order to enhance the work of wealth advisors. (standarddeviationspod.com) Brendan Frazier talks with Doug and Heather Boneparth about the keys to success for a couple. (podcasts.apple.com) Bogumil Baranowski talks with Justin Castelli about living an authentic life. (justincastelli.io) Taxes Some speculation on what is next for the TCJA.

Wealth Management 147

Wealth Management Wealth Advisor Tax Planning Taxes 147

Alpha Architect

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

The bottom line is that returns to the low volatility anomaly have only justified investing when low-volatility stocks were in the value regime, after periods of strong market performance, and when they excluded high-volatility stocks that have low short interest (providing clues as to how to improve its performance). This may be why live funds have been generating large negative alphas once we account for common factor exposures.

Accounting 117

Accounting Investments Investing Marketing 117

Calculated Risk

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

From WardsAuto: November U.S. Light-Vehicle Sales to Improve on October’s Growth (pay content). Brief excerpt: November’s forecast SAAR of 16.2 million units is the highest since May 2021. With the month having an atypical fifth weekend, the extended timeframe means there is more upside than downside to November’s forecast – especially with retail volume already showing solid growth. emphasis added Click on graph for larger image.

Sales 162

Sales Retail 162

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.

Numbers

Wealth Management

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Five issues to consider.

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Abnormal Returns

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Bonds Shorting low quality credit is not the same as shorting equities. (mailchi.mp) What does the VIX tell us about corporate bond spreads? (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com) Bond and equity ETF liquidity is different. (papers.ssrn.com) Private credit Is private credit in a bubble? (alphaarchitect.com) Why publicly traded vehicles for private credit don't work as well.

Assets 147

Assets 147

Discipline Funds

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Here is one thing I think I am thinking about three times. 1) The money supply as the cost of capital. In a recent interview MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor was criticizing Warren Buffett’s cash management. Buffett has a colossal cash hoard of $325B sitting in T-Bills earning 4.5%. Saylor, on the other hand, invests his cash in Bitcoin. He justifies this “cash management” by arguing that his “cost of capital” is 15%.

Insurance 98

Insurance Government Assets Management 98

Calculated Risk

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

The key economic reports this week are Housing Starts and Existing Home sales. For manufacturing, the November Philly and Kansas City Fed surveys, will be released this week. -- Monday, November 18th -- 10:00 AM: The November NAHB homebuilder survey. The consensus is for a reading of 42, down from 44. Any number below 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good. -- Tuesday, November 19th -- 8:30 AM: Housing Starts for October.

Manufacturing 173

Manufacturing Sales Numbers Economics 173

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.

Accounting

Wealth Management

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Help prevent your elderly clients from falling victim to fraud.

Clients 290

Clients 290

Financial Symmetry

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

As 2024 comes to a close, it’s easy to get swept up in the holiday rush. Before your calendar fills with gatherings and gift exchanges, here’s a financial checklist to help you wrap things up and start the new year … Continued The post Prepare for the End of the Year With This Financial Checklist appeared first on Financial Symmetry, Inc.

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Validea

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

In a field where complexity often reigns supreme, Joel Greenblatt’s “Magic Formula” stands out for its remarkable simplicity. Using just two variables to select stocks, this approach has produced impressive returns while challenging conventional wisdom about what it takes to beat the market. The Formula Unveiled At its core, Greenblatt’s Magic Formula combines just two fundamental factors: Return on Capital (ROC): A measure of how efficiently a company uses its assets to

Investing 52

Investing Investments Portfolio Media 52

Calculated Risk

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Didn't Move Much Over The Weekend The average top tier conventional 30yr fixed rate was just a hair over 7% on Friday afternoon and the same is true at the start of the new week. As for the risk of more serious volatility, the only sure bet is that the first two weeks of December are the most important 2 weeks left in 2024.

Economics 147

Economics 147

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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.

Accounting

Wealth Management

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Clients increasingly view estate planning as a core element of holistic wealth management, not just a one-time task, according to a survey from online estate planning platform Vanilla.

Estate Planning 290

Estate Planning Planning Wealth Management Clients 290

International College of Financial Planning

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

At 46, I found myself at a turning point. My education had been in engineering, and I spent over two decades working in technical IT roles. For most of my career, money was just a paycheck—a way to cover expenses and stay secure. I never thought much about how to make it grow or work for me. However, everything started to change when I moved into IT consultancy.

Education 52

Education Financial Planning Consulting Management 52

Validea

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

In a landmark paper titled “Migration,” finance luminaries Eugene Fama and Kenneth French uncover the dynamic mechanisms driving two of investing’s most studied phenomena: the small-cap and value premiums. Their findings challenge conventional wisdom and offer crucial insights for investors seeking to capture these return premiums.

Engineering 52

Engineering Portfolio Investments Investing 52

Calculated Risk

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

From ICE: ICE First Look at Mortgage Performance: Serious delinquencies hit 17-month high while foreclosure activity remains historically muted • At 3.45% in October, the national delinquency rate was up 6% from the same time last year , marking five consecutive months of year-over-year increases • While 30- & 60-day delinquencies decreased from September , seriously past due loans (90+ days) continued their slow rise, now up 7.3% from last year and at the highest level since May 2023 • Thou

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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?

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