Wealth Management
MAY 5, 2025
From the heads of mega-RIAs to solo practitioners, many wealth managers say outgoing Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has impacted their investing and management styles.
The Big Picture
MAY 5, 2025
First, lets go to the data (via Bloomberg ): 5,502,284% That is the per-share market value increase of Berkshire Hathaway stock from 1964 to 2024. Compare that with the SPX total returns of 39,054%; BRK annualized returns are ~20%, about double that of the S&P over the same period. Those mouthwatering returns have led to a cottage industry of imitators, analytical copycats, and flattering wannabes.
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Nerd's Eye View
MAY 9, 2025
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent survey found that long-feared fee compression in the financial advice industry has yet to come to pass, though some advisors continue to see potential for small reductions in asset-based fees in the future. These results largely match results from the recent Kitces Research Study on Advisor Productivity, which found that the typical fee schedule for firms charging
Calculated Risk
MAY 5, 2025
Early in February , I expressed my "increasing concern" about the negative economic impact of "executive / fiscal policy errors", however, I concluded that post by noting that I was not currently on recession watch. In early April, I went on recession watch , but I'm still not yet predicting a recession for several reasons: the U.S. economy is very resilient and was on solid footing at the beginning of the year, the administration might reverse many of the tariffs (we've seen that before), and C
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Wealth Management
MAY 9, 2025
1280 Financial Partners also comes with institutional consulting capabilities it will offer to other Sanctuary partner firms.
The Big Picture
MAY 3, 2025
Fun conversation in Barron’s about Steering Clients Away From Bad Investing Mistakes. Douglas Boneparth of Bone Fide Wealth, Jennifer Li of EP Wealth Advisors, and yours truly. We discuss anticipating and thwarting the bad behavior where investors hurts themselves: “Avoiding bad choices lies at the heart of How Not to Invest , a new book by Barry Ritholtz , the founder and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, a financial planning firm with $5.6 billion in assets un
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Calculated Risk
MAY 7, 2025
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications increased 11.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 2, 2025. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 11.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
Wealth Management
MAY 9, 2025
With summer beach reading season approaching, you cant beat these 10 novels centering on wealth managers.
A Wealth of Common Sense
MAY 9, 2025
A lot of advice out there sounds good on paper but fails to work in reality. Follow your passion! Sure, but does your love of fantasy football pay the bills? You can do anything you set your mind to! Tell that to my 5th-grade NBA dreams. The same is true of some financial advice. It sounds good as an inspirational quote but ends up being more or less impossible to pull off in real world for most people.
Nerd's Eye View
MAY 5, 2025
Welcome to the May 2025 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors! This month's edition kicks off with the news that Altruist has announced a $152 million fundraising round, the latest in a steadily increasing series of capital raises as it has built out new technology features to compete with the "Big Two" custodians
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.
Calculated Risk
MAY 8, 2025
What this means: On a weekly basis, Realtor.com reports the year-over-year change in active inventory and new listings. On a monthly basis, they report total inventory. For May, Realtor.com reported inventory was up 30.6% YoY, but still down 16.3% compared to the 2017 to 2019 same month levels. Now - on a weekly basis - inventory is up 31.1% YoY. Realtor.com has monthly and weekly data on the existing home market.
Wealth Management
MAY 8, 2025
Wirehouses and broker/dealers risk losing between $15 billion and $30 billion a year in fees that they currently collect from the mutual funds they offer to customers.
The Big Picture
MAY 7, 2025
ATM: How to Change Careers Dr. Bill Bernstein (May 7, 2025) How often have you thought about making major change in your career? Full transcript below. ~~~ About this weeks guest: Dr. William Bernstein is the author of numerous books, including mostr recently, “ The Delusions Of Crowds: Why People Go Mad in Groups. His firm, Efficient Frontier Advisors manages $400 million in client assets ($25m minimum).
Advisor Perspectives
MAY 5, 2025
Warren Buffett is stepping down as chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the company he built alongside his later partner Charlie Munger for the past six decades.
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Calculated Risk
MAY 7, 2025
From Dodge Data Analytics: Dodge Momentum Index Increases 1% in April The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, grew 0.9% in April to 205.1 (2000=100) from the downwardly revised March reading of 203.1. Over the month, commercial planning grew 3.3% while institutional planning fell 4.2%. Despite an uptick in April, the bulk of the DMIs growth was driven by a surge in data center planning, while momentum in other nonresidential sectors lagged behind , stated Sarah Mar
Wealth Management
MAY 8, 2025
Blackstone Inc., Vanguard Group and Wellington Management Co are launching a fund that will invest in public equities, bonds and private markets.
Nerd's Eye View
MAY 6, 2025
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 436th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Nicole Gopoian Wirick. Nicole is the president of Prosperity Wealth Strategies, an RIA based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, that oversees $70 million in assets under management for 40 client households. What's unique about Nicole, though, is how she hired a branding consultant soon after going out on her own as an independent advisory firm to help her create a unique brand ide
Advisor Perspectives
MAY 7, 2025
Trend-following strategies can offer attractive, positively skewed returns, with large positive outperformance often coinciding with large equity selloffs, thereby offering tail protection.
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.
Calculated Risk
MAY 7, 2025
Fed Chair Powell press conference video here or on YouTube here , starting at 2:30 PM ET. FOMC Statement: Although swings in net exports have affected the data, recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. The unemployment rate has stabilized at a low level in recent months, and labor market conditions remain solid.
Wealth Management
MAY 5, 2025
Seth Merrill joins from Ensign Peak Advisors, the investment firm for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and replaces Dustin Thackeray, whos been appointed head of portfolio management.
Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT)
MAY 6, 2025
By Augustine Seah, BSc I wanted to grow my business by 30% by working smarter but not necessarily harder. To accomplish this, I focused on: Detaching my business decisions from my emotions Assessing my business in each area, so I could focus on what will exponentially grow the rest of my resources, including looking at what could be outsourced Improving marketing and awareness, so everyone around me knows what I do and that Im excellent at it By doing this, I wanted to create a flow of inquiries
Advisor Perspectives
MAY 7, 2025
Warren Buffett, the greatest investor of all time, will step down as chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. at the end of the year. The six-decade track record he leaves behind is so astonishing that mere numbers on a page don’t do it justice.
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.
Calculated Risk
MAY 9, 2025
Plenty of data next week! Note that the Blue Chip consensus is wide - and currently around 1%. From the Atlanta Fed: The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2025 is 2.3 percent on May 8, up from 2.2 percent on May 6. After this mornings wholesale trade report from the US Census Bureau, the nowcast of the contribution of inventory investment to annualized second-quarter real GDP growth increased from -0.46 percentage points to -0.43
Wealth Management
MAY 9, 2025
Several wealth managers announced hires for key positions, including Cetera Investors, Citi Wealth and multi-family offices Parcion and Nordwand.
Random Roger's Retirement Planning
MAY 4, 2025
By now you've heard that Warren Buffett plans to step down at the end of the year. We talk frequently about the stock market's ergodicity, the natural inertia to go from the lower left to the upper right despite some bumps along the way. The more someone trades, the more they are fighting that natural inertia other than proper asset allocation targets and mitigating sequence of return risk when relevant.
Advisor Perspectives
MAY 5, 2025
Citigroup Inc. is ramping up lending to private equity and private credit groups, working to catch up with peers like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. after the bank spent years on the sidelines.
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.
Calculated Risk
MAY 5, 2025
From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Mortgage Rates Roughly Unchanged to Start New Week Mortgage rates faced a slight headwind on Monday as economic data caused weakness in the bond market. This would typically result in higher mortgage rates, but in today's case, the damage was minimal. One thing to keep in mind is that mortgage rates don't change in real time with the market.
Discipline Funds
MAY 5, 2025
Here are some things I think I am thinking about this weekend: 1) Updating the Roche Recession Rule. I’ve updated the very, very famous Roche Recession Rule, which was very famously named by me and for me. I highly recommend creating your own recession rule. Unfortunately, it won’t have the same ring to it unless your name starts with an R.
Random Roger's Retirement Planning
MAY 5, 2025
The following from the CEO of Bitwise with a slight modification from me. Trying to improve on 60/40 is literally my hobby but the data from Charlie is not a clarion call to add more Bitcoin and crypto. Own a little, sure, why not but the solution to unreliable volatility now embedded in bonds with duration is not an asset class with even more volatility that is even less reliable.
Advisor Perspectives
MAY 5, 2025
Seven of the nine indexes on our world watch list have posted gains through May 5, 2025. Germany's DAXK is in the top spot with a year to date gain of 15.29%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is in second with a year to date gain of 14.68% while France's CAC 40 is in third with a year to date gain of 4.52%.
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