The Big Picture
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
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.
Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: The "Neutral" Rate and Implications for 30-year Mortgage Rates A brief excerpt: Housing economist Tom Lawler has written extensively on the neutral rate. He has argued that the neutral rate has increased back to pre-financial crisis levels and that it seems like that the current stance of monetary policy is not meaningfully restrictive .
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Nerd's Eye View
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
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
Calculated Risk
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. Wednesday: At 7:00 AM ET, The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the mortgage purchase applications index. At 8:30 AM, Housing Starts for January. The consensus is for 1.394 million SAAR, down from 1.499 million SAAR. During the day, The AIA's Architecture Billings Index for January (a leading indicator for commercial real estate).
Speaker: Erroll Amacker
As businesses increasingly adopt automation, finance leaders must navigate the delicate balance between technology and human expertise. This webinar explores the critical role of human oversight in accounts payable (AP) automation and how a people-centric approach can drive better financial performance. Join us for an insightful discussion on how integrating human expertise into automated workflows enhances decision-making, reduces fraud risks, strengthens vendor relationships, and accelerates R
Abnormal Returns
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Quant stuff Some financial-focused AI tools worth checking out. (herbgreenberg.com) A round-up of recent research papers on asset allocation including 'Asset Allocation Mandates and Price Reactions to New Information.' (capitalspectator.com) Some recent academic papers including 'The Cross-Section of Corporate Bond Returns.' (alphainacademia.substack.com) Behavior Gender differences in corrupt behavior.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
How to handle the emergence of unexpected relatives.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Ameriprise sued the IBD and several former employees last week, claiming the reps who left solicited clients and took confidential information, violating the Protocol for Broker Recruiting.
Steve Sanduski
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Guests: Tom Ruggie, ChFC, CFP , the founder and CEO of Destiny Family Office , which is a billion-dollar-plus AUM firm that specializes in helping high-net-worth clients manage every aspect of their financial lives In a nutshell: Sports memorabilia, art, jewelry, vehicles, cryptocurrency — these may not be “traditional” asset classes at your firm.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
New York-based advisor Francis Smith wants a temporary restraining order to stop FINRA from alleging requiring on-the-record testimony without the protection of the Fifth Amendment.
Validea
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
In this episode of Excess Returns, Matt and Jack explore key lessons from one of our most popular guests, Cem Karsan. Through selected clips from multiple interviews, they unpack Karsan’s unique insights on markets, investing, and risk management. The discussion covers critical concepts including: The fundamental importance of supply, demand, and liquidity in markets Why thinking probabilistically is essential for both investing and life How different time frames affect investment decision
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Based off SkyStem's popular e-Book, the book of secrets to the month-end close will be revealed in this one-hour webinar. Learn leading practices when it comes to building a strong and sustainable month-end close that has room to grow and evolve. Learn about the power of precise estimates, why reconciliations are critical to closing the books, how and when to automate, and how the chart of accounts play into your close process.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
The deal with Pleasanton, Calif.-based Maxwell Wealth Strategies represents Creative Planning's first deal of 2025 and 12th in the last two years.
Meb Faber Research
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
On the podcast with Research Affiliates’ Jim Masturzo, I said that the biggest head scratcher across the investing landscape for me is the fixed income space (the segment starts here). I really don’t get why people are investing in risky and volatile fixed income markets like corporate bonds and junk when they don’t provide much, […] The post No Juice appeared first on Meb Faber Research - Stock Market and Investing Blog.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
The most pressing tax law developments of the past month.
Advisor Perspectives
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
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.
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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?
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Craig R. Hersch explores the risks artificial intelligence poses to confidentiality and outlines the ethical obligations attorneys must uphold.
Advisor Perspectives
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
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.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Al W. King III explains why families are turning to modern trust states that provide privacy, asset protection and assurances that family wishes are honored.
Advisor Perspectives
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
While it seems unlikely that digital solutions or the internet will ever fully supplement human advisors, the ecosystem of financial advice and information is likely to continue to evolve and increasingly be online in the future.
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Is your finance team bogged down by endless data requests and disorganized spreadsheets during the month-end close? It’s time to consider a better option – automate with ART! SkyStem’s solution works alongside your ERP to transform the close and account reconciliation process and speed up month-end work. Explore SkyStem’s ART - the award-winning account reconciliation automation platform - and receive a $100 Amazon gift card as a thank you for your time.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
The fund is built off the newly created Morningstar PitchBook Buyout Replication Index.
Advisor Perspectives
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Dying broke is a goal for those retirees who embrace the idea of spending their hard-earned wealth during their lifetimes.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Legal Editor Anna Sulkin Stern discusses this month's cover art.
Darrow Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Don’t stress out about every headline, stress test your retirement plan instead.Markets move every day and the news cycle is 24-7. Unfortunately, headlines often leave investors wondering what the news means for their portfolio and financial outlook. We can’t predict the future, but we can control how we prepare a range of possible outcomes.
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.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Despite its reputation for low fees, Vanguard is still the leader in fee revenue because of its massive book of business, according to a Morningstar analysis. After 19 consecutive weeks of positive inflows, Bitcoin investment products saw net outflows last week. These are among the investment must reads we found this week for wealth advisors.
Advisor Perspectives
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
I have – painfully – learned one thing, in particular. Even if you can see what’s happening and could find the words to share your insights, if you have a leader that only wants to listen to an echo chamber, you aren’t going to get heard, no matter what you do.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Editor in Chief Susan R. Lipp weighs in on the contents of this month's issue.
Advisor Perspectives
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Seven of the nine indexes on our world watch list have posted gains through February 18, 2025. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is in the top spot with a year to date gain of 17.09%. Germany's DAXK is in second with a year to date gain of 13.80% while France's CAC 40 is in third with a year to date gain of 10.99%.
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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 18, 2025
Common mistakes and important elections.
Covisum
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of financial regulation, staying informed is crucial for financial advisors looking to provide the best guidance to their clients. Last month, I had the privilege of being interviewed on Impact Partnership's podcast, " Impactful Conversations ," where we dove deep into a topic that is set to reshape the retirement landscape for many: the Social Security Fairness Act.
Wealth Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Create new opportunities with a charitable limited liability company.
Investment Writing
FEBRUARY 18, 2025
Hyphen, shmyphen, who cares whether you use hyphens? A Facebook ad drove home the lesson that hyphens’ role as connectors is important. “Imagine life pain free,” said the ad. This hyphenless sentence could be interpreted as “Imagine getting ‘life pain’ at no cost.” No, thanks, I’ll pass on that offer. The advertiser should have written, “Imagine life pain-free.” This makes it clear that “pain” relates to “free,”
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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