Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 9, 2023

While it may be easy to assume that having more money would make a person happier by opening consumption opportunities unavailable to those with less income, experienced advisors can likely identify many examples of high-income individuals who are unhappy with their lives. To provide a more holistic view, researchers have sought to assess whether increased income leads to greater happiness on two dimensions: emotional wellbeing (how an individual feels today) and evaluative wellbeing (how an ind

Financial Advisor

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 12, 2023

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 0.4% in December. The 16% trimmed-mean Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% in December. "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".

Food

The Big Picture

JANUARY 13, 2023

It may surprise you to learn that during this cycle of falling inflation, there seems to be little correlation with rising Fed Rates. This is very counter-intuitive but it makes sense when you consider what an aberrational and unusual cycle this has been. Despite zero rates for a decade plus inflation was quite benign. it was only the combination of the global pandemic and lockdown, a massive fiscal stimulus, and a surge in demand for goods that have driven the 2020 to 2022 inflation.

Economy

Wealth Management

JANUARY 9, 2023

After hitting double-digits in the first part of 2022, the pace of annual rent growth slowed to 6 percent in December.

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Accounting

The Reformed Broker

JANUARY 7, 2023

Happy New Year everyone! Great to be back in the saddle this week, working with our new president as we prepare for 2023 and beyond. We’ve got lots of projects and initiatives underway at Ritholtz Wealth, some of which you’ll be hearing about from me very soon. This week we went back to our regularly scheduled programming, with fresh episodes of all your favorite shows – What Are Your Thoughts, Animal Sp.

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 9, 2023

Altos reports inventory is down 4.0% week-over-week. Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of January 6th, inventory was at 471 thousand (7-day average), compared to 491 thousand the prior week. Inventory has declined sharply seasonally in the winter. The second graph shows the seasonal pattern for active single-family inventory since 2015.

Wealth Management

JANUARY 12, 2023

Exclusive WMRE research details how sentiment on office real estate has shifted as a result of uncertainty on the long-term outlooks for the sector.

The Reformed Broker

JANUARY 13, 2023

Welcome to the latest episode of The Compound & Friends. This week, Michael Batnick, Callie Cox, and Downtown Josh Brown discuss discuss the latest CPI data, why Michael’s feeling a little bullish, calling the Fed’s bluff, chances of a soft landing, retail investor sentiment, and much more! You can listen to the whole thing below, or find it wherever you like to listen to your favorite pods!

Retail

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 10, 2023

With the pandemic, there was a surge in 2nd home buying. I'm looking at data for some second home markets - and I'm tracking those markets to see if there is an impact from lending changes, rising mortgage rates or the easing of the pandemic. This graph is for South Lake Tahoe since 2004 through December 2022, and shows inventory (blue), and the year-over-year (YoY) change in the median price (12-month average).

Marketing

The Big Picture

JANUARY 13, 2023

My Friday the 13th, end-of-week morning train WFH reads: • F@*$#*! 2022 was a record year for earnings call swearing : The “polycrisis” of runaway inflation, pandemics, interest rate increases, supply chain snafus and wars helped lift swearing on earnings calls and investor days to a new record high in 2022. Good job everyone. ( Financial Times Alphaville ). • Elon Musk Might Never Be the World’s Richest Person Again : It’s not just that he became the first person in history to have $200 billion

Media

Speaker: Dylan Secrest, Founder of Alamo Innovation and Construction Digital Transformation Consultant

Construction payment workflows are notoriously complex when you consider juggling multiple stakeholders, compliance requirements, and evolving project scopes. Delays in approvals or misaligned data between budgets, lien waivers, and pay applications can grind progress to a halt. The good news? It doesn't have to be this way! Join expert Dylan Secrest to discover how leading contractors are turning payment chaos into clarity using digital workflows, integrated systems, and automation strategies.

Budgeting

Wealth Management

JANUARY 9, 2023

Laying the foundation for an organization that will support the family and its legacy requires commitment to a process and regularly revisiting fundamental decisions.

The Reformed Broker

JANUARY 11, 2023

After December’s trash fire, markets are optimistic, says Ritholtz’s Josh Brown from CNBC. The post Clips From Today’s Closing Bell appeared first on The Reformed Broker.

Marketing

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 12, 2023

The DOL reported : In the week ending January 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 205,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 204,000 to 206,000. The 4-week moving average was 212,500, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average.

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 11, 2023

Podcasts Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak talk with Mark Miller, author of "Retirement Reboot: Commonsense Financial Strategies for Getting Back on Track." (the-long-view.simplecast.com) A discussion about when it is time to adjust your retirement plans. (mullooly.net) Banking High yield bank savings accounts are now actually high yield. (awealthofcommonsense.com) The BNPL bubble is set to burst.

Planning

Speaker: Victor C. Barnes, CPA, MBA

In the climb from contributor to leader, the rules quietly change. If you’re aiming for the summit, the air gets thinner—and what got you here won’t be enough to get you to the top (a concept first popularized by Marshall Goldsmith in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There ). What made you successful early in your finance career—technical accuracy, sharp analysis, flawless execution—won’t be what carries you to the next level.

Accounting

Wealth Management

JANUARY 10, 2023

Low-income taxpayers are far more likely to be targeted.

Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 12, 2023

As comprehensive financial planning has become more widely adopted, many financial advisors have felt pressure to find new ways to differentiate themselves by demonstrating their unique value to clients. And while providing fee-only advice or highlighting service as a fiduciary may have once been a fair differentiator, these services are now often considered table stakes, necessitating financial advisors to find more creative solutions that show current and prospective clients that they provide

Clients

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 12, 2023

From the BLS : The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) declined 0.1 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.1 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 6.5 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for gasoline was by far the largest contributor to the monthly all items decrease, more than offsetting increases in shelter indexes.

Food

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 11, 2023

Markets How does the 60/40 portfolio perform after big down years? (awealthofcommonsense.com) GMO loves deep value stocks. (ft.com) FTX Bankruptcy courts were not built to unwind crypto messes like FTX. (economist.com) Alameda Research made a big investment in miner Genesis Digital Assets soon before the FTX unwind. (wsj.com) BITO Bitcoin tanked in 2022 but Bitcoin futures ETPs held in there.

Financial Advising

Speaker: Kim Beynon, CPA, CGMA, PMP

The most overlooked, yet most critical, element of transformation is preparing people for change. Automation and AI aren't just technical upgrades, they’re cultural shifts which can challenge identities. That’s why change management isn’t a side project—it’s the foundation. In finance, where precision and process rule, navigating change can feel especially disruptive.

Management

Wealth Management

JANUARY 10, 2023

It is much less disruptive to take the time and train everyone on existing software tools than it is to convert to an entirely new system that requires you to transfer data along the way.

Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 13, 2023

Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” - this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the Federal Trade Commission has proposed a nationwide ban on noncompete clauses in employee contracts, aiming to give employees more freedom to change jobs within the same industry. In the advisor world, where noncompete agreements are fairly common, a ban on the practice could incentivize firms to reassess their employee value proposition and to conside

Financial Planner

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 13, 2023

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 3.96 million in December , down 3.2% from November’s preliminary pace and down 35.0%% from last December’s seasonally adjusted pace.

Sales

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 9, 2023

Markets There's no sign that options trading is slowing down. (wsj.com) The 10-year Treasury rates peaked back in the Fall. (axios.com) Finance Private equity managers are abusing their discretion when it comes to valuations. (institutionalinvestor.com) Goldman Sachs ($GS) is laying off thousands of workers this week. (thinkadvisor.com) Black founders in the U.S. raised about 1% of 2022 venture capital funding.

Financial Advising

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Wealth Management

JANUARY 13, 2023

The company run by Barry Silbert is dealing with changes and challenges within some of its biggest subsidiaries following the sudden collapse of FTX.

Pragmatic Capitalism

JANUARY 13, 2023

We are going to do a new 3 Minute Macro “Ask Me Anything” edition. It should be out next week or so.

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 13, 2023

Earlier I posted some questions on my blog for next year: Ten Economic Questions for 2023. Some of these questions concern real estate (inventory, house prices, housing starts, new home sales), and I’ll post thoughts on those in the newsletter (others like GDP and employment will be on this blog). I'm adding some thoughts, and maybe some predictions for each question. 1) Economic growth: Economic growth was probably close to 1% in 2022 as the economy slowed following the economic rebound in 2021

Economy

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 10, 2023

Markets What role do interest rates have in stock prices? (ofdollarsanddata.com) Why the golden age of biotech stocks may be over. (statnews.com) Crypto Coinbase ($COIN) is laying off 20% of its workforce. (cnbc.com) Why so many are focused on the big discount on the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ($GBTC). (blockworks.co) Could another firm actually take over management of GBTC?

Recruitment

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Clients

Wealth Management

JANUARY 11, 2023

Industry experts expect a difficult economic environment to keep CMBS issuance volume down while existing loans may see higher delinquency rates.

Economics

The Big Picture

JANUARY 9, 2023

My back-to-work morning train WFH reads: • Economist Says His Indicator That Predicted Eight US Recessions Is Wrong This Year : Cambell Harvey’s work showed link between curve inversion and growth Strong labor demand, risk avoidance support US economy now. ( Bloomberg ). • Wall Street’s sleuth of bears is growing : Stocks kicked off the new year on a positive note, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.4% last week.

Economy

Calculated Risk

JANUARY 9, 2023

From Dodge Data Analytics: Dodge Momentum Index Wraps up 2022 with December Growth The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, improved 6.6% (2000=100) in December to 222.2 from the revised November reading of 208.3. In December, the commercial component of the DMI rose 8.4%, and the institutional component ticked up 2.7%. “One of the key construction storylines for 2022 was the return of enthusiasm and optimism in prospects for nonresidential growth,” stated Richard Br

Healthcare

Abnormal Returns

JANUARY 8, 2023

Also on the site Dropping habits that don't serve you is just as important as adopting new habits. (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week 15 charts that explain 2022 returns. (morningstar.com) Average annual stock market returns are not-so average. (awealthofcommonsense.com) How to talk to adult children about inheritances. (kindnessfp.com) Five ETF predictions for 2023 including an end to $SPY's reign.

Startup

Speaker: Cheryl J. Muldrew-McMurtry

Remote finance teams are rewriting how the back-office runs—and attackers are taking notes. Disconnected workflows, process blind spots, and rising cyber threats have become more than just “growing pains”. They’re now liabilities. The challenge isn’t just team distribution, but building resilient systems that protect accuracy, control, and speed across every transaction and touchpoint.

Distribution