Sat.May 11, 2024 - Fri.May 17, 2024

article thumbnail

What Stagflation?

The Big Picture

The Misery Index — the combination of Inflation and unemployment — failed as a bearish criticism of the economy. Unemployment remains at 60-year lows, and Inflation has plummeted from 9% down to the 3s. If you have a bearish mindset , and seek confirmation of that perspective, then the next economic critique after the Misery Index you try on for size is “Stagflation.” We have heard the S-word from Jamie Dimon , Stanley Druckenmiller , Bank of America , Barclays , Fox , Ma

article thumbnail

Monday links: destinations unknown

Abnormal Returns

Netflix Don't be surprised if Netflix ($NFLX) starts airing NFL games. (spyglass.org) How Netflix ($NFLX) became the future of television. (theirrelevantinvestor.com) BREIT How has BREIT shrugged off the downturn in commercial real estate? (insights.finominal.com) Why private real estate may not belong in a structure like BREIT. (citywire.com) Fund management Why closed-end funds can trade above NAV for extended periods of time.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

DoL’s Retirement Security Rule & PTE 2020-02 Amendment: What Advisers Need to Know Now About Giving Rollover Advice After Sept 23, 2024

Nerd's Eye View

On April 25, 2024, the Department of Labor (DoL) issued the final version of its Retirement Security Rule (the "Final Rule"), which imposes an ERISA fiduciary standard "that applies uniformly to all investments that retirement investors may make with respect to their retirement accounts ". The new rule represents the latest attempt by regulators to define the types of individuals and advice that are subject to a fiduciary obligation, following on the heels of the SEC's Regulation Best Interest (

article thumbnail

Diversification is About Decades

A Wealth of Common Sense

A lot of investors have abandoned international diversification (or at least strongly considered it) in recent years. I understand why this is happening. The U.S. stock market has destroyed all comers ever since the Great Financial Crisis ended. Since 2009, a total U.S. stock market index fund is up more than 660% while a total international index fund is up more like 180%.

Marketing 143
article thumbnail

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?

article thumbnail

MiB: Savita Subramanian, US Equity & Quantitative Strategy, Bank of America

The Big Picture

This week, we speak with Savita Subramanian , head of US Equity and Quantitative strategy at Bank of America. She also leads the firm’s environmental, social and governance research. She has been a ranked analyst in the Institutional Investor survey for the last eleven years. Prior to joining the firm in 2001, Subramanian was an analyst at Scudder Kemper Investments in New York and San Francisco.

Banking 173
article thumbnail

Adviser links: objectives and aspirations

Abnormal Returns

Podcasts Daniel Crosby talks with Naomi Win about why we hate uncertainty so much. (standarddeviationspod.com) Brendan Frazier talks with Emily Koochel about combining technology and financial psychology. (podcasts.apple.com) The biz What Goldman Sachs ($GS) hopes to achieve in the RIA custody business. (barrons.com) Why Focus decided to merge Buckingham Strategic Wealth and The Colony Group.

Math 287

More Trending

article thumbnail

Gambler’s Fallacy in the Stock Market

A Wealth of Common Sense

These are the trailing total returns for the U.S. stock market1 over various time frames: Year to date: +11% One year: +30% Five years: +94% Ten years: +223% Fifteen years: +679% Not bad considering we’ve had two bear markets in the past four years. If you put $10,000 into the U.S. stock market five years ago, your money has essentially doubled: Now look at the returns by year: 2019: +31% 2020: +21% 2021: +26% 2022.

Marketing 142
article thumbnail

Housing May 13th Weekly Update: Inventory up 1.6% Week-over-week, Up 35.0% Year-over-year

Calculated Risk

Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 1.6% week-over-week. Inventory is now up 15.2% from the February bottom, and almost above the maximum for inventory last year! Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of May 10th, inventory was at 568 thousand (7-day average), compared to 560 thousand the prior week.

135
135
article thumbnail

Wednesday links: obscure interests

Abnormal Returns

Markets You don't need ZIRP for crazy stuff to happen in the stock market. (sherwood.news) Timing the meme stock mania is tough. (etf.com) Google AI-powered search disconnects us from the web. (platformer.news) How can Google assure us that AI-powered search isn't hallucinating? (theatlantic.com) How will AI search affect Google's advertising business?

article thumbnail

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (May 18-19)

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 recent study indicates that while overall social media engagement for financial services companies was down in 2023 compared to the previous year, firms boosted their engagement through posts that were entirely original content (rather than sharing third-party content), spoke to the firm's or advisor's principles (with posts responding to current news topics lagging), an

article thumbnail

Fall In Love With the Month-End Close

It's the time of year to give our close process some TLC. Join us in this one hour webinar where we discuss how to adopt leading practices and infuse technology into the month-end close process to improve our experience and increase our productivity during month-end and quarter-end close. Learning Objectives: This course's objective is to understand how the month-end close can be improved with automation and adoption of leading practices.

article thumbnail

The Destiny of Demographics

A Wealth of Common Sense

Demographics are destiny but the reactions to that destiny aren’t set in stone. Take a look at how things have changed from 2010 to today along with where we’re going in the future: The largest age brackets today are in the 30-34 and 35-39 range. Hello millennials. By the 2030s and 2040s the largest cohorts will be in their 30s to 50s. But look at how the older buckets will slowly fill up over time.

131
131
article thumbnail

HBL Power Systems: Pioneering the Future of Defence and EV Innovation

Trade Brains

In today’s world, we’re constantly surrounded by a symphony of technology. From the quiet hum of our laptops to the dazzling display of our smartphones, these marvels rely on a hidden partnership between batteries and electronic solutions. Batteries and electronics are the unsung heroes of our modern world. Their seamless partnership is so deeply embedded in our daily lives that we often take them for granted.

article thumbnail

Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Top clicks this week We are in the midst of a historic bond bear market. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Why TIPS are more attractive than nominal bonds at this point. (morningstar.com) Charlie Munger was constantly learning and "unlearning." (davisfunds.com) Stocks have stopped going up. (sherwood.news) Don't take your investing advice from TikTok. (ritholtz.com) The number of single-stock ETFs is growing.

Numbers 279
article thumbnail

Kitces & Carl Ep 138: Crafting Your Own Stop-Doing List To Create Capacity For What Really Matters

Nerd's Eye View

In the initial stages of their careers, many financial advicers find that, with little revenue coming in and less than a full load of client-facing work to do, they spend the majority of their time on operations and marketing as they try to establish their practice. As a result, an advicer often has the capacity to say "yes" to any opportunity that comes along as they try to keep busy and (hopefully) improve their cash flow.

article thumbnail

Next-Level Fraud Prevention: Strategies for Today’s Threat Landscape

Speaker: Sierre Lindgren

Fraud is a battle that every organization must face – it’s no longer a question of “if” but “when.” Every organization is a potential target for fraud, and the finance department is often the bullseye. From cleverly disguised emails to fraudulent payment requests, the tactics of cybercriminals are advancing rapidly. Drawing insights from real-world cases and industry expertise, we’ll explore the vulnerabilities in your processes and how to fortify them effectively.

article thumbnail

The Implications of a Higher Risk-Free Rate on the Equity Risk Premium

Wealth Management

Does a higher cash rate tide lift, hurt or have no significant impact on all asset returns?

Assets 130
article thumbnail

Social Media: The Value of Seeking Alpha’s Recommendations

Alpha Architect

The finding that the recommendations from SA articles resulted in statistically significant risk-adjusted alphas (returns unexplained by conventional academic models using factors such as the market, size, value, momentum, profitability, and quality for equity portfolios) is surprising given that the empirical evidence shows how difficult it is for institutional investors such as mutual funds to show outperformance beyond the randomly expected (as can be seen in the annual SPIVA Scorecards) beca

Media 128
article thumbnail

Sunday links: selling a product

Abnormal Returns

Markets No news is good news for the stock market. (tker.co) The stock market has gone nowhere the past 10 weeks. (allstarcharts.com) What Wall Street jargon really means. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Companies Apple ($AAPL) is now taking AI seriously. (nytimes.com) Adobe ($ADBE) is walking a fine line when it comes to AI. (theatlantic.com) Funds Mutual funds just keep closing.

article thumbnail

CB Leading Economic Index: Softer Economic Conditions Ahead

Advisor Perspectives

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) decreased in April to its lowest level since April 2020. The index fell 0.6% from last month to 101.8. Overall, the LEI continues to signal softer economic conditions lay ahead for the U.S. economy.

Economics 127
article thumbnail

The Future Of Finance: How To Manage Spend The Right Way

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

article thumbnail

Anthony Stich Joins MarketCounsel

Wealth Management

Stich, who left digital custodian Entrustody in January, joins MarketCounsel this week as executive managing director and will take over a lot of the operational responsibilities from President and CEO Brian Hamburger.

article thumbnail

Heavy Truck Sales Increased in April

Calculated Risk

This graph shows heavy truck sales since 1967 using data from the BEA. The dashed line is the April 2024 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR). Heavy truck sales really collapsed during the great recession, falling to a low of 180 thousand SAAR in May 2009. Then heavy truck sales increased to a new record high of 570 thousand SAAR in April 2019.

Sales 126
article thumbnail

Friday links: a wide range of outcomes

Abnormal Returns

Markets Utility stocks are having a moment. (barrons.com) Bonds seem to have bottomed. (allstarcharts.com) Strategy Big round numbers don't matter unless you hold on. (theirrelevantinvestor.com) There are two approaches to investing. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com) It's easy to forget the pain of volatility. (wggtb.substack.com) Venture capital Figma shareholders are getting an opportunity to sell stock, post-Adobe deal.

article thumbnail

Hedging Against World War III

A Wealth of Common Sense

A reader asks: I ran across this blog post by Econ blogger Noah Smith, “Americans are still not worried enough about the risk of world war.” He makes the case that we could well be in what he calls “the foothills” of another conflict on the scale of World War II, arguing that right now feels a lot like the mid-late 1930s must have felt as conflicts broke out across the world and gradually merged in.

122
122
article thumbnail

Less Stress, More Success: Accounting Best Practices & Processes for 2025

Speaker: Duke Heninger, Partner and Fractional CFO at Ampleo & Creator of CFO System

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Duke Heninger, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

article thumbnail

Live From Wealth Management EDGE: SMAs, Inflation and the Fed

Wealth Management

Speakers at Wealth Management EDGE at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood Beach, Fla., discuss how investing strategies, including SMAs and how inflation and the Fed are impacting investing.

article thumbnail

YoY Measures of Inflation: Services, Goods and Shelter

Calculated Risk

Here are a few measures of inflation: The first graph is the one Fed Chair Powell had mentioned when services less rent of shelter was up around 8% year-over-year. This declined, but has turned up recently, and is now up 4.9% YoY. Click on graph for larger image. This graph shows the YoY price change for Services and Services less rent of shelter through April2024.

Food 124
article thumbnail

Podcast links: reviewing products

Abnormal Returns

Business Logan Bartlett talks with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. (podcasts.apple.com) Sam Dogen talks with Emily Luk, Co-Founder and CEO of Plenty. (sites.libsyn.com) Private credit Matt Reustle talks the evolution of private credit with Armen Panossian is the co-CEO of Oaktree. (joincolossus.com) Cameron Passmore and Benjamin Felix talk about whether private credit is all that special.

Banking 263
article thumbnail

How Volatility and Turnover Affect Return Reversals

Alpha Architect

Higher volatility is associated with faster, initially stronger reversals, while lower turnover is associated with more persistent, ultimately stronger reversals How Volatility and Turnover Affect Return Reversals was originally published at Alpha Architect. Please read the Alpha Architect disclosures at your convenience.

Investing 113
article thumbnail

Avoiding Lease Accounting Pitfalls in 2025: Lessons Learned from Spreadsheet Errors

Speaker: Abdi Ali, Sr. Lease Accounting Consultant

Join this insightful webinar with industry expert Abdi Ali, who will discuss the challenges that can arise from managing lease accounting with spreadsheets! He will share real-world examples of errors, compliance issues, and risks that may be present within your spreadsheets. Learn how these tools, while useful, can sometimes lead to inefficiencies that affect your time, resources, and peace of mind.

article thumbnail

Report: Half of Advisors to Recommend Crypto in the Next 12 Months

Wealth Management

The introduction of bitcoin ETFs is fueling increased advisor engagement with digital assets, according to a Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals survey.

Assets 128
article thumbnail

NY Fed Q1 Report: Household Debt and Delinquency Rates Increased

Calculated Risk

From the NY Fed: Household Debt Rose by $184 Billion in Q1 2024; Delinquency Transition Rates Increased Across All Debt Types The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The report shows total household debt increased by $184 billion (1.1%) in the first quarter of 2024, to $17.69 trillion.

Economics 122
article thumbnail

Longform links: inherent instability

Abnormal Returns

Books A Q&A with Michael Muthukrishna author of "A Theory of Everyone: The New Science of Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going." (behavioralscientist.org) An excerpt from "Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs" by Johann Hari. (tim.blog) A Q&A with Zoë Schlanger author of "The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth.

263
263
article thumbnail

Treasury Yields Snapshot: May 17, 2024

Advisor Perspectives

The yield on the 10-year note ended May 17, 2024 at 4.42%, the 2-year note ended at 4.83%, and the 30-year at 4.56%.

111
111
article thumbnail

Confronting the Change Challenge

Change is difficult, whether in our private or work life. However, without change, growth and learning are difficult not to mention keeping up with the market and staying competitive. We have all worked for or ourselves are the bosses that prefer to keep the status quo. We will discuss how to address the "change challenge" to enable you to be a changemaker and a graceful recipient of change.