Trending Articles

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Beliefs, Misconceptions & Behaviors

The Big Picture

We are four weeks out from the publication of “ How Not To Invest: The ideas, numbers, and behaviors that destroy wealth – and how to avoid them.” Audio, ebook, and hard copies are all scheduled to drop on the same day, March 18, 2025. I am very excited about this,my first book in 15 years. I stopped writing my column and blog posts (mostly) to focus on this from December 2023 right up until January 2025.

Investing 189
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Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Top clicks this week Successful investing is about avoiding unforced errors. (ritholtz.com) Josh Brown, "Every entrepreneur I talk to in the wealth business is scrambling to add services, not cut fees." (downtownjoshbrown.com) On the looming adviser shortage, per McKinsey. (mckinsey.com) This company has thoroughly scrubbed any mention of diversity, inclusion or DEI from its SEC filings.

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Thursday links: taking a breather

Abnormal Returns

Companies It feels like Apple ($AAPL) is 'stuck in a rut.' (spyglass.org) This company has thoroughly scrubbed any mention of diversity, inclusion or DEI from its SEC filings. (linkedin.com) Fund management If anybody is going to bridge the private-public markets gap it will be Blackrock ($BLK). (bloomberg.com) Even when used as prescribed, leveraged ETFs are imperfect instruments.

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Kitces & Carl Ep 158: Should Prospects Be Allowed To Move Forward If They Don’t Want To Think It Over First?

Nerd's Eye View

Many financial advisors approach prospect meetings with a mindset of giving potential clients ample space to consider the relationship before making any commitments. Asking them to "think it over" after an initial meeting is a common strategy designed to help clients feel comfortable and avoid the perception of being pressured into engaging in the relationship right away.

Clients 130
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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?

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There Goes My Hero

A Wealth of Common Sense

My family took its first and only Disney trip in the summer of 1990. We rode some rollercoasters. Went to one of the waterparks. Decently fun trip from what I can remember as a 4th grader. The strange part was that my older brother Jon was lethargic the whole trip. I still remember a picture of him taking a nap on a bench in the middle of the day. Something was off.

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Realtor.com Reports Active Inventory Up 27.5% YoY

Calculated Risk

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 January, Realtor.com reported inventory was up 24.6% YoY, but still down 24.8% compared to the 2017 to 2019 same month levels. Now - on a weekly basis - inventory is up 27.5% YoY.

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Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Top clicks this week The big multi-decade trends driving the U.S. stock market. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Want to hedge inflation? Buy stocks. (axios.com) The Tesla ($TSLA) backlash is real. (wired.com) Too many people confuse speculation for investing. (ritholtz.com) Why investors need to consult primary sources. (newsletter.rationalwalk.com) Ben Carlson, "The pandemic turned us all into a bunch of degenerate gamblers.

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Fix, Fine, Flourish: A Framework To Take Clients From (Just) “Fine” Staganancy To Being Engaged Again

Nerd's Eye View

When a client first begins working with an advisor, the relationship is often marked with a flurry of onboarding tasks, immediate issues to resolve, and long-term planning goals to establish. However, this heightened activity often settles into a familiar routine over time. And as clients come into monitoring meetings, they may increasingly describe their situation as "fine", with no pressing issues to address.

Clients 130
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Your Millennial Clients Could See Opportunities as Your Boomer Clients Sell Businesses

Advisor Perspectives

Many boomers are business owners who are selling their businesses. This article provides guidance for these retiring business owners, their heirs and their advisors. This article also discusses opportunities for investors to capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime mass exodus of baby boomer business owners.

Clients 106
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Coinbase Says SEC Is Close to Dismissing Enforcement Case

Wealth Management

The decision is the latest retreat from the policies of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who officials in the crypto industry complained had sought to regulate the industry through enforcement actions.

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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.

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Some Things I’m Thinking About

A Wealth of Common Sense

Some random thoughts on navigating a challenging period in life: Simple matters more when things get hard. Simple beats complex for a variety of reasons. It also makes life easier when life gets harder. You don’t want your financial life to be complicated when life gets messy. Simplifying your investment process, the number of accounts you have, your holdings, your personal finances, you bill payments, etc. makes it.

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#FASuccess Ep 425: Implementing A Financial Planning Quality Control System To Improve Both Client Outcomes And Referrals, With Sebastian Guerra

Nerd's Eye View

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 425th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Sebastian Guerra. Sebastian is the President of Guerra Wealth Advisors, a hybrid advisory firm based in Miami, Florida, with nearly $15M of revenue and almost 60 team members, supporting over 1,700 client households. What's unique about Sebastian, though, is how his firm has implemented a financial planning quality control system, where a dedicated team member touches base wit

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Nvidia Revival Aided by Musk Marks End of Great DeepSeek Panic

Advisor Perspectives

The Great DeepSeek Panic of January 2025 is officially over.

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The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors: College Roommates Leave Their Series 7s Behind for Independence

Wealth Management

Chris Griffith and Henry Wheelwright, rising stars in the wirehouse world, share their growth story and motivations to leave Morgan Stanley and launch their own independent firm on the Goldman Sachs custody platform.

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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.

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Newsletter: Housing Starts Decreased to 1.366 million Annual Rate in January

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Housing Starts Decreased to 1.366 million Annual Rate in January A brief excerpt: Total housing starts in January were below expectations; however, starts in November and December were revised up. The third graph shows the month-to-month comparison for total starts between 2024 (blue) and 2025 (red).

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Saturday links: an unstable world

Abnormal Returns

Autos Ferrari ($RACE) is Europe's most valuable automaker. (wsj.com) 2025 should see autonomous vehicle operations scale widely. (platformaeronaut.com) Rising prices might push buyers from trucks to cars. (axios.com) Congestion pricing The global experience with congestion pricing is generally positive. (econofact.org) Congestion pricing in New York City is working.

Medicine 159
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Staying calm under pressure: Mindfulness for tough talks

Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT)

By Cynthia Kane As a financial advisor, youre constantly communicating with your clients. And while many conversations may be easy, there are plenty of difficult, yet necessary, discussions with clients about death, divorce, job loss, medical needs and the list of stressful topics goes on. For clients to feel confident in your guidance and plans, you must calmly navigate these challenging conversations.

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Treasury Yields Snapshot: February 21, 2025

Advisor Perspectives

The yield on the 10-year note ended February 21, 2025 at 4.42%, its lowest level since mid-December. Meanwhile, the 2-year note ended at 4.19% and the 30-year note ended at 4.67%.

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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

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Fidelity Adds ETF Model Portfolios Aimed at Wealth Segment

Wealth Management

The target allocation and target risk portfolios include a mix of active and passive proprietary and third-party ETFs.

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Friday: Existing Home Sales

Calculated Risk

Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. Friday: At 10:00 AM ET, Existing Home Sales for January from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The consensus is for 4.17 million SAAR, down from 4.24 million. Also at 10:00 AM, University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (Final for February).

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Longform links: an uncertain future

Abnormal Returns

Books An excerpt from Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity by Yoni Appelbaum. (wsj.com) A Q&A with Jessica A. Brockmole, author of "Pink Cars and Pocketbooks: How American Women Bought Their Way into the Drivers Seat." (annehelen.substack.com) A Q&A with Dr. Adam Ratner, author of "Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children's Health.

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We have a risk crisis! Drop everything and see how we can help!

Norman Marks

This is not a political post. What I am about to say has nothing to do with politics. But what the politicians are doing or say they are going to do is creating potentially dramatic and fast-acting risks (and opportunities) for the rest of us.

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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.

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Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Activity Edged Higher in February

Advisor Perspectives

Manufacturing activity edged higher in New York State, according to the Empire State Manufacturing February survey. The diffusion index for General Business Conditions climbed 18.3 points to 5.7. The latest reading was better than the forecast of -1.9.

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Adjusted for Risk: The Business Case for Pro Bono Financial Planning

Wealth Management

How advisors and clients alike can benefit from pro bono planning.

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LA Ports: Record Inbound Traffic for January

Calculated Risk

This was a new record for imports in January, eclipsing the previous recent (Jan 2022) by 17%! Container traffic gives us an idea about the volume of goods being exported and imported - and usually some hints about the trade report since LA area ports handle about 40% of the nation's container port traffic. The following graphs are for inbound and outbound traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in TEUs (TEUs: 20-foot equivalent units or 20-foot-long cargo container).

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Personal finance links: nothing left to achieve

Abnormal Returns

Podcasts Peter Lazaroff talks with Charley Ellis why most investors fail. (peterlazaroff.com) Dan Haylett talks with Leisa Peterson about re-writing our financial narratives. (humansvsretirement.com) Brendan Frazier talks with Tom Pendergast about searching for meaning in retirement. (podcasts.apple.com) Benjamin Brandt talks with Daniel Crosby about the five pillars of a fulfilling retirement.

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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.

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New Fund Fact Finding

Random Roger's Retirement Planning

The guys at RCM Alternatives had a blog post that was right out of our playbook here in terms of looking at alternative strategy funds as substitutes for plainer vanilla stock and bond exposures. They listed out quite a few funds that I've never heard of so looking at them was fun. Today we'll dig in and see if any of the funds should go on our radar.

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Consumer Sentiment Plummets to 15-Month Low Amid Tariff, Inflation Worries

Advisor Perspectives

Consumer sentiment plummeted to its lowest level since November 2023 this month, according to the final report for the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. The index dropped 6.4 points (-9.0%) to 64.7, marking the largest monthly decline since May and falling short of the 67.3 forecast. Sentiment is now down 15.9% from a year ago, the steepest annual decline since late 2022.

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From Black Boxes to Best Practices: AI Ethics For Estate-Planning Attorneys

Wealth Management

Craig R. Hersch explores the risks artificial intelligence poses to confidentiality and outlines the ethical obligations attorneys must uphold.

Ethics 89
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FOMC Minutes: Concern about tariffs, "take time" on any additional Rate Cuts

Calculated Risk

From the Fed: Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, January 2829, 2025. Excerpt: With regard to the outlook for inflation, participants expected that, under appropriate monetary policy, inflation would continue to move toward 2 percent, although progress could remain uneven. Participants cited various factors as likely to put continuing downward pressure on inflation, including an easing in nominal wage growth, well-anchored longer-term inflation expectations, waning business pricing pow

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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.