Validea
JANUARY 15, 2025
High free cash flow yield stocks represent companies that generate substantial cash relative to their market value, creating several compelling advantages for investors. These companies typically demonstrate strong operational efficiency and have proven their ability to convert revenue into actual cash flow after accounting for capital expenditures and working capital needs.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 14, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-January 2025 A brief excerpt: This 2-part overview for mid-January provides a snapshot of the current housing market. I always focus first on inventory, since inventory usually tells the tale ! Im watching months-of-supply closely. New home inventory, as a percentage of total inventory, is still very high.
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Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 15, 2025
For most people, Social Security benefits are calculated using a single formula, which takes into account the individual's history of earning income on which they paid Social Security tax. But historically, a subset of workers that spent at least part of their careers in positions that did not pay Social Security tax – including many state and local government workers like teachers and police officers – have had their Social Security benefits reduced, sometimes down to $0.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 15, 2025
At the Money: Lessons in Allocating to Alternative Asset Classes. (January, 15, 2025) Hedge funds, venture capital, private equity, and private credit have never been more popular. Investors have lots of questions when allocating to these asset classes: How much capital do you need? What percentage of your portfolio should be allocated? Full transcript below. ~~~ About this week’s guest: Ted Seides is founder and CIO of Capital Allocators , and learned about alts working under the legendar
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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 15, 2025
Podcasts Khe Hy talks with Christine Benz author of "How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful and Wealthy Retirement." (youtube.com) Dan Haylett talks with Dr. Jordan Grumet author of "The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy." (humansvsretirement.com) Peter Lazaroff on what you need to know when choosing a financial advisor.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 15, 2025
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications increased 33.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 10, 2025. Last weeks results included an adjustment for the New Years holiday. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 33.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
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A Wealth of Common Sense
JANUARY 14, 2025
One of my favorite market datasets just got its annual update. Aswath Damodaran at NYU publishes a yearly update of returns for stocks (S&P 500), bonds (10 year Treasuries), cash (3-month T-bills), real estate, gold and inflation going back to 1928. Plus this year he added small caps to the mix.1 These are the long-term returns for each asset class from 1928-2024: Stocks +9.94% Small caps +11.74% Bonds +4.50% Cash +3.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 14, 2025
C-suite Narcissistic CEOs take unnecessary risks. (on.ft.com) Why some female CEOs get downgraded by investors. (klementoninvesting.substack.com) The bigger a firm gets, the more it spends on lobbying. (papers.ssrn.com) Research How much of the S&P 500's returns in 2024 came from idiosyncratic factors? (mailchi.mp) Don't forget that active ETFs can be sold short.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 14, 2025
There were four bank failures in 2024. The median number of failures since the FDIC was established in 1933 was 7 - so 2 failures in 2024 was below the median. There were five bank failures in 2023, however 3 of the failures were larger banks: First Republic Bank, San Francisco, CA, Signature Bank, New York, NY, Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, CA.
Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 14, 2025
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 420th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Michelle Underwood Gass. Michelle is the Founding Principal of Paradigm Advisors, an RIA based in Dallas, Texas, that oversees approximately $110 million in assets under management for 80 client households. What's unique about Michelle, though, is the way she created a structured meeting process to navigate around the places where new clients often get stuck, standardized thei
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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
A Wealth of Common Sense
JANUARY 17, 2025
Derek Thompson wrote the story of the year so far at The Atlantic about how anti-social we’ve become as a society: Some facts and figures from Derek’s excellent piece: 74% of all restaurant traffic is takeout or delivery (up from 61% pre-Covid) The share of people have dinner or drinks with friends on any given night has declined by more than 30% in the past 20 years.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 12, 2025
Also on the site When the world is in flux, experience could actually be a detriment. (abnormalreturns.com) You can now follow us on Bluesky. (bsky.app) Are you signed up for daily e-mail newsletter? Well, you should. (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week Why the CAPE ratio should be higher today than it was in the past. (theirrelevantinvestor.com) The equity risk premium is negative.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 17, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Housing Starts Increased to 1.499 million Annual Rate in December A brief excerpt: Total housing starts in December were above expectations and starts in October and November were revised up. The third graph shows the month-to-month comparison for total starts between 2023 (blue) and 2024 (red). Total starts were down 4.4% in December compared to December 2023.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 15, 2025
Helping clients address the roots of large societal problems is about more than writing checks.
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.
Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 13, 2025
With another strong year in the markets, most advisory firms are near or at record highs for their revenue, their numbers of clients, and the headcounts of their teams. Which is surprising to some, given that a decade ago, the emergence of so-called "robo-advisors" was supposed to displace human financial advisors and compress advisory fees. In reality, though, the robos struggled to gain traction, and the human financial advice business just continues to grow.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 13, 2025
Markets Luke Kawa, "The idea that the stock market is always and everywhere rooting for lower interest rates, even if it requires outright weakness in the US job market to get them, is not consistently borne out by the data, to say the least." (sherwood.news) Bond yields are rising around the globe, not just the U.S. (wsj.com) Fund management Don't confuse 'yield' for a return of capital.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 15, 2025
Fed's Beige Book Economic activity increased slightly to moderately across the twelve Federal Reserve Districts in late November and December. Consumer spending moved up moderately, with most Districts reporting strong holiday sales that exceeded expectations. Vehicle sales grew modestly. Construction activity decreased overall, with several Districts indicating that high costs for materials and financing were weighing on growth.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 13, 2025
AI plus remote work are boosting employee productivity, resulting in massive changes affecting benefits and 401(k) plans.
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.
A Wealth of Common Sense
JANUARY 12, 2025
Most investors would like the world of finance to exist in black or white. Just tell me when to buy or sell, get bullish or bearish, buy this stock or avoid that one, go all in or get out of the market. Markets are hard because most things exist in shades of gray. It’s difficult to be certain about anything because no one knows what the future holds and the past can be unreliable when used incorrectly.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 17, 2025
Listening How Google's Daily Listen turns your interests into a short podcast. (engadget.com) Do you really want to listen to AI podcast hosts? (forbes.com) Economy Danny Crichton talks with Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber authors of the new book "Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation." (podcasts.apple.com) Katie Gatti Tassin talks about the economics of weight loss drugs.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 15, 2025
The Cleveland Fed released the median CPI and the trimmed-mean CPI. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the median Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% in December. The 16% trimmed-mean Consumer Price Index increased 0.3%. "The median CPI and 16% trimmed-mean CPI are measures of core inflation calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland based on data released in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly CPI report".
Wealth Management
JANUARY 16, 2025
Despite efforts to develop next-gen talent, the total number of advisors in the wealth management industry has remained stagnant over the last decade.
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.
A Wealth of Common Sense
JANUARY 16, 2025
We also answered questions about 2025 retirement account limits, Coast FIRE strategies, when to take money off the table from the stock market, how to account for pension and Social Security income during retirement and how other economies impact the U.S. markets. Further Reading: Updating My Favorite Performance Chart For 2024 The post The 2024 Sector Quilt appeared first on A Wealth of Common Sense.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 13, 2025
Podcasts Christine Benz talks with Dr. Jordan Grumet author of "The Purpose Code: How to Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave a Lasting Legacy." (morningstar.com) Michael Kitces talks sustainability with Peter Krull, the Director of Sustainable Investing of Earth Equity Advisors. (kitces.com) Custodians Charles Schwab ($SCHW) has cut its cash sweep rate to 0.05%.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 11, 2025
The key reports this week are December CPI, retail sales, and housing starts. For manufacturing, the December Industrial Production report and the January New York and Philly Fed manufacturing surveys will be released. -- Monday, January 13th -- No major economic releases scheduled. -- Tuesday, January 14th -- 6:00 AM: NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for December. 8:30 AM ET: The Producer Price Index for December from the BLS.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 13, 2025
The regulator found firm employees were using unapproved texting apps for business and failing to archive the communications. It follows earlier settlements made with large firms like Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, LPL and Raymond James.
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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.
NAIFA Advisor Today
JANUARY 16, 2025
Advisor Today Guest Column January of 2025 is the 50th anniversary to one of the most important pieces of legislation in the retirement planning arena ever put into law by Congress. What Im referring to is the enactment of ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Without question, ERISA brought about significant changes during the second half of the twentieth century.
Abnormal Returns
JANUARY 16, 2025
Strategy Stock picking is hard. So is sector picking. (awealthofcommonsense.com) How to plan for future lower market returns. (theretirementmanifesto.com) Finance Hindenberg Research is calling it quits. (wsj.com) eToro has filed for an IPO. (coindesk.com) The stocks of single-family landlords are trading at a discount to their stated NAVs. (wsj.com) Food How GLP-1 users change their food purchase patterns.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 17, 2025
From housing economist Tom Lawler: Based on publicly-available local realtor/MLS reports released across the country through today, I project that existing home sales as estimated by the National Association of Realtors ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million in December , unchanged from Novembers preliminary pace and up 7.0% from last Decembers seasonally adjusted pace.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 13, 2025
Hack VC's Peter Hans prognosticates about the year to come in.
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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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