The Big Picture
JANUARY 17, 2025
This week, we speak with Jonathan Clements. He has been a personal finance reporter at the Wall Street Journal for over twenty years and has written more than 1,000 columns. He discusses how he became a financial journalist, and eventually Director of Financial Education for Citi Personal Wealth Management. Last summer, Jonathan received a terminal diagnosis and announced it at his site and on social meda.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 17, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Housing Starts Increased to 1.499 million Annual Rate in December A brief excerpt: Total housing starts in December were above expectations and starts in October and November were revised up. The third graph shows the month-to-month comparison for total starts between 2023 (blue) and 2024 (red). Total starts were down 4.4% in December compared to December 2023.
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Nerd's Eye View
JANUARY 17, 2025
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that at a time when brokerage firms' cash sweep programs come under increased scrutiny (and as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates), Charles Schwab (the largest RIA custodian) continues to slash sweep rates for client cash (down to 0.05%), well below the rates available on other cash-like products, leaving advisors on the platform with the task of determining wheth
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 17, 2025
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 4.15 million in December , unchanged from Novembers preliminary pace and up 7.0% from last Decembers seasonally adjusted pace.
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
JANUARY 17, 2025
Listening How Google's Daily Listen turns your interests into a short podcast. (engadget.com) Do you really want to listen to AI podcast hosts? (forbes.com) Economy Danny Crichton talks with Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber authors of the new book "Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation." (podcasts.apple.com) Katie Gatti Tassin talks about the economics of weight loss drugs.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 17, 2025
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions Housing Starts: Privately-owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,499,000. This is 15.8 percent above the revised November estimate of 1,294,000, but is 4.4 percent below the December 2023 rate of 1,568,000. Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 1,050,000; this is 3.3 percent above the revised November figure of 1,016,000.
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Calculated Risk
JANUARY 17, 2025
Earlier from the Fed: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization Industrial Production (IP) increased 0.9 percent in December after moving up 0.2 percent in November. In December, gains in the output of aircraft and parts contributed 0.2 percentage point to total IP growth following the resolution of a work stoppage at a major aircraft manufacturer.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
The yield differential between the firms' bank deposit sweep programs and other alternatives was nearly 4% higher, according to SEC claims.
The Big Picture
JANUARY 17, 2025
My end-of-week morning train reads: The Plethora of Unknowns Means Questions for Bond Investors in 2025 : Private and global credit offerings could provide diversification as debt markets deal with political and policy uncertainty. ( Chief Investment Officer ) After a Great Run for Stocks, Be Ready for Something Different : Sizzling returns may well continue, but our columnist suggests that it would be wise to prepare for the next storm. ( New York Times ) Mega Cap World Domination :Markets a
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
Also, Advisor360 acquires Parrot AI, Wealthtender introduces a testimonial marketing tool and Bloomberg rolls out AI-produced news summaries.
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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.
Alpha Architect
JANUARY 17, 2025
Because AI systems can produce hundreds of seemingly coherent theoretical explanations for mined empirical results, investors need to establish high hurdles before allocating to anomaly-based strategies. Artificial Intelligence and the Risks of Harking (Hypothesizing After-the-Fact) was originally published at Alpha Architect. Please read the Alpha Architect disclosures at your convenience.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
Matthew Eickman, chief legal officer at the Fiduciary Law Center, answers three probing questions about ERISA lawsuits, providing an open, honest and candid dialogue.
Discipline Funds
JANUARY 17, 2025
Here are some things I think I am thinking about this weekend. 1) Buy Versus Rent. I enjoyed this conversation between Ben Carlson and Duncan Hill about buying versus renting. I’m increasingly convinced that almost every asset purchase we ever make is just a temporal decision. How do your assets relate to your liabilities and expenses across time.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
Scott J. Mason of Rubicon Wealth Management defrauded at least 13 advisory clients out of more than $20 million, spending it on country club dues and a miniature golf course in New Jersey, the regulator claims.
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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?
MainStreet Financial Planning
JANUARY 17, 2025
If you have been impacted by the California wildfires or if you are in a surrounding area here are some actions you may want to take. We have also gathered some resources that may provide information and guidance to help you or your family during this time of crisis. Financial help Financial help for individuals is available through FEMA. There are three ways to apply: Online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
The independent broker/dealer has agreed to pay a $18 million penalty and improve its procedures.
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
The yield on the 10-year note ended January 17, 2025 at 4.61%. Meanwhile, the 2-year note ended at 4.27% and the 30-year note ended at 4.84%.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
Matthew Eickman, chief legal officer at the Fiduciary Law Center, answers three probing questions about ERISA lawsuits, providing an open, honest and candid dialogue.
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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.
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
Despite challenges, the U.S. market saw strong returns in 2024 with a "soft landing" for the economy, leading to key questions and emerging themes for investors in 2025.
Wealth Management
JANUARY 17, 2025
The SEC claims Vanguard made misleading statements about capital gains distributions and tax consequences to retail investors who held target date funds in retirement accounts.
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
Industrial production jumped 0.9% in December to its highest level in six months, increasing much more than the expected 0.3% growth. Compared to one year ago, industrial production is up 0.6%.
Carson Wealth
JANUARY 17, 2025
Gain key insights on the markets for the upcoming year with Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist, and Sonu Varghese, VP, Global Macro Strategist. Download Guide The post Market Outlook 2025: Animal Spirits appeared first on Carson Wealth.
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.
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
Official recession calls are the responsibility of the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is understandably vague about the specific indicators on which they base their decisions. There is, however, a general belief that there are four big indicators that the committee weighs heavily in their cycle identification process.
Random Roger's Retirement Planning
JANUARY 17, 2025
I stumbled into a recently listed fund in Canada whose name checks a lot of boxes for what we like to explore here, WaveFront All-Weather Alternative Fund (WAAV.TO). I don't think it could be bought through a US brokerage firm but there could be something to learn from the allocation. Or not, that's the reason to dig in a little. The asset mix is comprised of equities, REITs, gold, bonds and "diversified futures" which I take to mean managed futures.
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
BlackRock Inc. is tapping into a fast-growing corner of the options-powered ETF world with an offering aimed at Wall Street investors bracing for the S&P 500 to tread water.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 17, 2025
From BofA: Since our last weekly publication, our 4Q GDP tracking estimate has moved up three-tenths to 2.1% q/q saar. [Jan 17th estimate] emphasis added From Goldman: Following this mornings data, we boosted our Q4 GDP tracking estimate by 0.1pp to +2.6% (quarter-over-quarter annualized) and our Q4 domestic final sales forecast by the same amount to +2.6%.
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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.
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
There will be more humanoid robots than people by 2040, Elon Musk recently bragged.
Calculated Risk
JANUARY 17, 2025
Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. For deaths, I'm currently using 4 weeks ago for "now", since the most recent three weeks will be revised significantly. Note: " Effective May 1, 2024, hospitals are no longer required to report COVID-19 hospital admissions, hospital capacity, or hospital occupancy data. " So I'm no longer tracking hospitalizations.
Advisor Perspectives
JANUARY 17, 2025
In the latest report by the Census Bureau, building permits ticked down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.483 million in December. This marks a 0.7% decrease from November and a 3.1% decline compared to one year ago.
Harness Wealth
JANUARY 17, 2025
Tax season brings challenges for many, especially those with complex financial situations like equity compensation, multiple income streams, or significant investments. From identifying deductions to ensuring compliance, navigating tax complexities can quickly become overwhelming. At some point, it makes sense to work with a tax advisorsomeone who can provide personalized guidance, streamline the process, and help you make smarter financial decisions.
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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