Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 29, 2024

For financial advisors, the promise of technology has always been to help advisors better leverage their time to grow their business. One possible way to do this is to use the time savings of technology to serve a higher number of clients. However, another approach advisors can take is to use their technology to do more – and better – work for the same number of clients while earning higher fees for the higher-value services they provide.

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Clients Planning Numbers Financial Advisor 246

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 29, 2024

Altos reports that active single-family inventory was down 0.6% week-over-week. Inventory will likely decrease a little seasonally until the Spring (it could remain mostly flat for a few months like in 2019). Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of January 26th, inventory was at 503 thousand (7-day average), compared to 506 thousand the prior week.

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Wealth Management

JANUARY 31, 2024

F2 Strategy co-founder and CEO Doug Fritz provides his take on the most important wealth management technology news of the last month.

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Wealth Management Management 320

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 29, 2024

Private equity Dividend recaps are back on the table for private equity. (axios.com) When a company raises debt, and interest rates rise, trouble ensues. (adweek.com) The legal case for opening up private equity to the masses. (papers.ssrn.com) The private equity industry doesn't love academic research about its performance. (institutionalinvestor.com) Gambling Americans are going to the casino.

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Financial Advising Media 290

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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

The Big Picture

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

A quick follow-up to last month’s note on slipping coincident indicators: December was relatively stable compared to the slide in November. Over the three prior months, “the indexes increased in 25 states, decreased in 22 states, and remained stable in three, for a three-month diffusion index of 6.” That is only one state worse on the decrease, and drop on the index from 8 to 6.

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Banking 287

Calculated Risk

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

From the BLS : Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 353,000 in January, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent , the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, retail trade, and social assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction industry.

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Retail 322

Abnormal Returns

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

January 2024 How major asset classes performed in January 2024. (capitalspectator.com) The S&P 500 was in positive territory for the month, in contrast with small and mid caps. (on.spdji.com) Strategy Overconfidence is a killer for investors. (collabfund.com) Four steps to build a no-fuss portfolio including eliminating redundant accounts. (morningstar.com) Bitcoin Will spot Bitcoin ETFs follow the path of gold ETFs?

Financial Advising 289

Financial Advising Taxes Manufacturing Media 289

The Big Picture

JANUARY 29, 2024

Exciting news! In a few weeks, we are heading down to Naples, Florida, where we just launched a new office! Everybody knows what a fun city Miami is, but I am a big fan of the underappreciated gem that is the Gulf Coast of Florida. When the opportunity to partner with Adam Day, CFP in Naples came along, we jumped on it. Michael Batnick and are coming down with some of our colleagues on March 4th-6th.

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CFP Financial Planning Clients Economy 52

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 31, 2024

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications decreased 7.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 26, 2024. Last week’s results included an adjustment to account for the MLK holiday.

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Accounting Marketing Marketing 316

Wealth Management

JANUARY 30, 2024

It's focusing on recruiting those with specialized tax expertise.

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Recruitment Taxes 312

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

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 28, 2024

Also on the site An example where investing out of spite doesn't work out. (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week Putting the past bear market into historical perspective. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Wealthy Americans are increasingly leaving their windows uncovered. (msn.com) What you need to know about all-time highs. (carsongroup.com) Lessons learned from the two-year bear market.

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Portfolio Investing Investments Marketing 288

The Chicago Financial Planner

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

With the start of a new year, many people resolve to get their finances in order. A part of this process might include hiring a financial advisor or hiring a new financial advisor if you have decided to move on from your current advisor. Hiring the right advisor for your needs is critical. Here are six questions to ask when choosing a financial advisor: How do you get paid?

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Financial Advisor Financial Planner Fee Only Clients 249

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 30, 2024

From the BLS: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary The number of job openings changed little at 9.0 million on the last business day of December , the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, the number of hires and total separations were little changed at 5.6 million and 5.4 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.4 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.6 million) changed little. emphasis added The following graph shows job openings (black line), hires (da

Numbers 311

Numbers Economy Marketing Marketing 311

Wealth Management

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Private equity firm Charlesbank, which also owns a stake in Lido Advisors, will be a majority owner of the firm; the capital will be used to invest in Rise Growth's targeted RIAs.

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Investing Investments 310

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

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 28, 2024

Strategy Stop obsessing about the Fed's next move. (tker.co) Why the vast majority of investors should avoid alternatives. (humbledollar.com) What happens when you stop focusing on the stock market. (wsj.com) Bitcoin Will Charles Schwab ($SCHW) eventually launch its own spot Bitcoin ETF? (riabiz.com) The ETF industry keeps pushing the boundaries, now Bitcoin.

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Marketing Marketing Financial Advising Economy 277

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that a Morningstar survey has found that financial advisory clients are more likely to stick with their advisor for emotional reasons rather than investment returns alone. Which suggests that building trusting relationships with their clients and giving them added confidence in their financial decision-making (rather than focusing on ways to juice investment returns) could be t

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Financial Planner Compliance CFP Clients 246

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 30, 2024

S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for November ("November" is a 3-month average of September, October and November 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 Upward Trend Decelerates in November The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S.

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Assets Marketing Marketing 305

Wealth Management

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

What can a securities attorney's inbox tell us about the year ahead?

Marketing 310

Marketing Marketing 310

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

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 31, 2024

Inflation Why investors are pulling money from TIPS ETFs. (ft.com) Is there an ideal level of inflation? (klementoninvesting.substack.com) Crypto Bankrupt FTX says it will pay out customers in whole. (coindesk.com) Are spot Bitcoin ETFs going to start showing up in 401(k) plans? (investmentnews.com) Companies Boeing's ($BA) decline has been decades in the making.

Financial Advising 262

Financial Advising Media Accounting Economy 262

Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 30, 2024

Welcome back to the 370th episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Tim Goodwin. Tim is the founder of Goodwin Investment Advisory, an RIA based in Woodstock, Georgia, that oversees $275M in assets under management for 370 client households. What's unique about Tim, though, is how he leaned into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Google Reviews in particular – coupled with paid search ads to capture consumers actually searching for "financial a

Financial Advisor 246

Financial Advisor Clients Compliance Engineering 246

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 30, 2024

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 5.1% year-over-year in November Excerpt: S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for November ("November" is a 3-month average of September, October and November closing prices). November closing prices include some contracts signed in July, so there is a significant lag to this data.

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Wealth Management

JANUARY 30, 2024

Savvy Wealth Investment Management is the latest update to the RIA’s responsive, tech-driven platform.

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Management Investing Investments 306

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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

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 29, 2024

Podcasts Brendan Frazier talks with Herman Brodie, co-author of "The Trust Mandate: The behavioral science behind how asset managers REALLY win and keep clients." (wiredplanning.com) Michael Kitces talks with Michelle Ogden, who is the founder of Ogden Wealth, about managing growth. (kitces.com) Daniel Crosby talks with Jon Dauphiné of the Foundation for Financial Planning about the value of pro bono planning.

Financial Advising 263

Financial Advising Financial Planning Risk Management Clients 263

The Big Picture

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

This week, we speak with Tom Hancock, a partner at GMO LLC, where he is also head of the Focused Equity team. He manages the focused quality fund and its new Quality ETF, and is the portfolio manager for quality strategies. He previously served as co-head of the firm’s global equity team. Before joining GMO, he was a research scientist at Siemens and a software engineer at IBM.

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Portfolio Management Engineering Distribution Retail 163

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 29, 2024

The BEA released the underlying details for the Q4 advance GDP report on Friday. The BEA reported that investment in non-residential structures increased at a 3.2% annual pace in Q4. Investment in petroleum and natural gas structures increased in Q4 compared to Q3 and was up 5% year-over-year. Click on graph for larger image. The first graph shows investment in offices, malls and lodging as a percent of GDP.

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Commission Manufacturing Investing Investments 289

Wealth Management

JANUARY 29, 2024

Historically, infrastructure had been prized for its “safety and stability.” Some asset managers claim now might be a good moment to get more exciting returns.

Assets 303

Assets Management 303

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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?

Sales

Abnormal Returns

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Markets Josh Brown, "Just please, no matter what you do, don’t say the G word. Never say it." (downtownjoshbrown.com) Just a reminder, markets are hard. (ft.com) Finance The job market is hot for private credit professionals. (institutionalinvestor.com) Expect more office building loan writedowns. (finance.yahoo.com) Ukraine Supporting Ukraine is a no-brainer.

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Financial Advising Economy Media Accounting 259

The Big Picture

JANUARY 30, 2024

 The transcript from this week’s, MiB: Sarah Kirshbaum Levy, CEO Betterment , is below. You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here. ~~~ This is Masters in business with Barry Ritholtz on Bloomberg Radio. 00:00:07 [BARRY RITHOLTZ] This week on the podcast, I have an extra special guest, Sarah Kirschbaum Levy, CEO of Betterment has a

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Media Wealth Management Investments Investing 148

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 29, 2024

From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Nice Calm Day For Rates, But Volatility Potential Increases From Here From here, the next thing that makes great sense is for rates to follow the guidance of the incoming economic data first and foremost. Comments from the Federal Reserve will be a supporting actor until the March Fed meeting. In other words, we have a Fed meeting coming up in 2 days and we DON'T expect there to be any major fireworks.

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Economics Sales 286

Wealth Management

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

We spoke to advisors at multiple RIA firms to find which alternative investment sectors they are gravitating toward

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Investing Investments 298

Speaker: Aaron Berson

Managing spend is more than a cost cutting exercise – it's a pathway to smarter decisions that unlock efficiency and drive growth. By understanding and refining the spending process, financial leaders can empower their organizations to achieve more with less. Explore the art of balancing financial control with operational growth. From uncovering hidden inefficiencies to designing workflows that scale your business, we’ll share strategies to align your organization’s spending with its strategic g

Management