Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
From housing economist Tom Lawler: Treasury Secretary Wrongly Says Fed Has Been Big Seller of Treasuries In an interview last week, Treasury Secretary Bessent said that any plans by the Treasury to extend the maturity were a long ways off. One of the reasons cited by Secretary Bessent was the Federal Reserves current balance sheet runoff policy. Here is a quote from Bessent.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
The Utah-based broker petitioned the nations highest court to consider hearing its appeal questioning the self-regulatory organizations constitutionality. One securities attorney questions whether the Court will do soat least for now.
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The Big Picture
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
The transcript from this weeks, MiB: Charley Ellis on Rethinking Investing , 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.
Abnormal Returns
FEBRUARY 23, 2025
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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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?
Nerd's Eye View
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
Parents often want to ensure their children have the resources to pursue their potential and lead fulfilling lives. To achieve this, financial support may start at a very young age, allowing for a longer growth horizon and, in many cases, serving tax and estate planning purposes. However, once a child reaches the age of majority, they may not always be in a position to manage assets responsibly.
Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 23, 2025
This morning, Carl Quintanilla posted a graph on Bluesky from BESPOKE suggesting the US is heading towards a recession. Quintanilla quoted BESPOKE: On a 12-month average basis, Housing Starts have completely rolled over from their peak. . Recessions have always followed a rollover in Housing Starts, and the only question is timing. Housing is the basis of one of my favorite models for business cycle forecasting.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
The Big Picture
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
Chatting with Tom Keene and Paul Sweeney on Bloomberg Surveillance about investing strategies and mistakes… The post Talking Bad Trades & Regret Minimization appeared first on The Big Picture.
Abnormal Returns
FEBRUARY 22, 2025
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.
Nerd's Eye View
FEBRUARY 24, 2025
Early in a firm's life cycle, a founder might take on nearly any client (and their fees) just to generate enough revenue to 'keep the lights on'. However, as the firm grows, some of those early clients may no longer be profitable to serve – especially if they generate lower fees than newly onboarded clients. Which leaves the firm founder faced with a difficult decision: Should they continue serving these unprofitable (or less-profitable) clients or 'graduate' them to a different service mo
Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 27, 2025
From the NAR: Pending Home Sales Waned 4.6% in January Pending home sales pulled back 4.6% in January according to the National Association of REALTORS. The Midwest, South and West experienced month-over-month losses in transactions with the most significant drop in the South while the Northeast saw a modest gain. Year-over-year, contract signings lowered in all four U.S. regions, with the South seeing the greatest falloff.
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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.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 27, 2025
TritonPoint Partners will structure its acquisitions as a minority cash investment and equity swap, so that advisors can participate in its growth.
The Big Picture
FEBRUARY 22, 2025
The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of Colombia Tolima Los Brasiles Peaberry Organic coffee, grab a seat by the fire, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads: Trust in a Black Hat World : Investors and Advisors, on the state of markets, and the state of ETFs: You are on your own. There are few left to trust. ( Echo Beach ) Why Japan Succeeds Despite Stagnation : For more than three decades, Japan has endured near-complete economic stagnation.
Abnormal Returns
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
Podcasts Sam Dogen talks with Dr. Jordan Grumet author of "The Purpose Code." (sites.libsyn.com) Katie Gatti Tassin talks with Jeremy Porter about how home insurance and climate change are affecting the housing market. (podcast.moneywithkatie.com) Jim Dahle talks with Devon Gimbel and Lisha Taylor about maximizing travel rewards. (whitecoatinvestor.com) Carl Richards talks minimalism, wealth and happiness with Joshua Becker.
A Wealth of Common Sense
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
The top 10% owns 87% of the stocks in this country. They also own 84% of the private businesses, 44% of real estate and two-thirds of overall wealth. These numbers have all increased since 1989 as well — total wealth (60.8% to 67.3%), stocks (81.7% to 87.2%), private businesses (78.4% to 84.4%) and real estate (38.2% to 43.9%). According to The Wall Street Journal, the top 10% also accounts for 50% of all consumer.
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.
Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Case-Shiller: National House Price Index Up 3.9% year-over-year in December Excerpt: S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for December ("December" is a 3-month average of October, November and December closing prices). December closing prices include some contracts signed in August, so there is a significant lag to this data.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 24, 2025
Robinhood is the latest company to announce the SEC has retreated from a crypto enforcement action or lawsuit as the agency shifts to new leadership and takes a friendlier approach to the market.
Nerd's Eye View
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 426th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Jennifer des Groseilliers. Jennifer is the CEO of The Mather Group, an RIA based in Chicago, Illinois, that oversees $15 billion in combined assets under management and advisement for approximately 4,400 client households. What's unique about Jennifer, though, is how her firm has rolled out an equity compensation plan, built around providing grants based on performance and mee
Abnormal Returns
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
ETFs Private shares in a public ETF. The case of the ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF ($XOVR) (morningstar.com) Leveraged ETFs are not for holding. (theblock.co) Big Tech Apple ($AAPL) is finally replacing Qualcomm ($QCOM) modems. (macworld.com) Microsoft ($MSFT) is letting Softbank take the lead with OpenAI. (spyglass.org) Amazon ($AMZN) Alexa+, powered by AI, is coming.
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
A Wealth of Common Sense
FEBRUARY 27, 2025
We also answered questions about the impact of index funds market bubbles, what you need to know about being on a non-profit investment committee, selling stocks for a house down payment and spending money on restoring a classic car. Further Reading: How Often Are We In a Recession or Bear Market? The post Market Timing a Recession appeared first on A Wealth of Common Sense.
Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: New Home Sales Decrease to 657,000 Annual Rate in January Brief excerpt: The Census Bureau reported New Home Sales in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 657 thousand. The previous three months were revised up. The next graph shows new home sales for 2024 and 2025 by month (Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate).
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
The lifecycle investor has taken a minority stake in Venning Advisors, a full-service tax and accounting services firm.
Advisor Perspectives
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
Don’t choose technology for the firm that you were, or even the firm you are now. Choose technology for the firm you want to become in five years.
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.
Abnormal Returns
FEBRUARY 25, 2025
Endowment model On the unraveling of the endowment model. (papers.ssrn.com) How to do endowment investing better. (cambriainvestments.com) Alternatives Private equity and venture capital are not immune from systemic shocks. (klementoninvesting.substack.com) Dividend recaps seem to be bad for everyone except the PE fund managers. (papers.ssrn.com) Venture capitalists overindex on teams when making investment decisions.
A Wealth of Common Sense
FEBRUARY 23, 2025
The hottest chart in the markets right now is not Nvidia, Fartcoin or one of the quantum computing stocks…it’s the price of eggs: It looks like a chart of Bitcoin, Gamestop or the hottest AI stock on the street. Since 1947, the price of eggs has grown at an annual rate of 2.4%, more than one percent lower than the overall annual inflation rate of 3.5%.
Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in January were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 657 thousand. The previous three months were revised up. Sales of new single-family houses in January 2025 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000 , according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 24, 2025
Triton Wealth, co-founded by Michael J. Ryan and Wesley T. Hoppe, represents Elevation Points third strategic investment since its inception in June.
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.
Advisor Perspectives
FEBRUARY 24, 2025
Despite what many of my critics think, I am agnostic about cryptocurrency. However, I am willing to shed light on details that most crypto supporters refuse to discuss or even acknowledge.
Abnormal Returns
FEBRUARY 24, 2025
Podcasts Christine Benz and Amy Arnott talk with Preston Cherry, author of a new book "Wealth in the Key of Life: Finding Your Financial Harmony." (morningstar.com) Carl Richards and Michael Kitces on whether a client should take time before coming on as a client. (kitces.com) Morningstar Why Morningstar ($MORN) is getting out of the RIA software business.
oXYGen Financial
FEBRUARY 23, 2025
Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 24, 2025
Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 0.3% week-over-week. Inventory always declines seasonally in the Winter and usually bottoms in January or February. Inventory is now up 2.5% from the bottom six weeks ago in January. The first graph shows the seasonal pattern for active single-family inventory since 2015. Click on graph for larger image.
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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.
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