Nerd's Eye View

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that according to a recent study by DeVoe & Company, only 42% of RIAs surveyed have written succession plans and either have begun to implement them or have already done so. The report suggests this might be due in part to increased RIA valuations and the assumption of some firm founders that next-generation employees won't be financially able to buy out the firm from them,

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Financial Planner Insurance Coverage Insurance Valuation 234

Abnormal Returns

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Markets We should be grateful for 2024's returns, especially if you avoided the negativity. (allstarcharts.com) No one else is to blame for your investing failures. (microcapclub.com) Companies OpenAI is officially transitioning to a for-profit company. (techcrunch.com) How Reddit ($RDDT) became a huge winner in 2024. (slate.com) Video game companies are going broke building new games with life-like graphics.

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Media Economy Investing Investments 147

Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

OpenAI, founded a decade ago as a research organization, is considering a change to the AI company’s structure that would create a more conventional money-making corporation alongside a nonprofit arm.

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Nonprofit Planning 98

Abnormal Returns

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Spotify How Spotify ($SPOT) went to war against it own artists by uploading proprietary tracks. (honest-broker.com) Spotify ($SPOT) insiders are selling a lot of stock. (ft.com) Listening Does listening to an audiobook count as 'reading'? (wsj.com) The 20 best podcast series of 2024 including 'Road to Rickwood.' (theatlantic.com) Seven under-the-radar sports podcasts to check out.

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Nonprofit Media Management 147

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.

Accounting

Wealth Management

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Richard Hill, the head of Cohen & Steers real estate strategy, talks about how financial advisors should tackle commercial real estate investment next year.

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Financial Advisor Management Investing Investments 88

Wealth Management

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Artificial intelligence is no passing fad. It's only going to become part of an advisor's business more and more.

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Wealth Management Management 83

Validea

DECEMBER 27, 2024

In this episode of Excess Returns, hosts Jack Forehand and Justin Carbonneau sit down with Jacob Pozharny, partner at Bridgeway Capital Management, to explore the increasingly important role of intangible assets in modern investing. Jacob breaks down what intangible assets are – from intellectual property and proprietary algorithms to brand value and customer relationships – and explains how these harder-to-measure assets are changing traditional investment approaches.

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Investing Investments Valuation Assets 52

Wealth Management

DECEMBER 27, 2024

There's a lot that can be learned from the estate mishaps of the rich and famous. 2024 was no different.

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Estate Planning Planning 78

Alpha Architect

DECEMBER 27, 2024

A critical task in stock selection is identifying a firms true profitability. Given the potential of AI to deal with large data, an important question is: Can AI outsmart seasoned analysts? Forecasting Earnings, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Versus Equity Analysts was originally published at Alpha Architect. Please read the Alpha Architect disclosures at your convenience.

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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.

Accounting

Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

The yield on the 10-year note ended December 27, 2024 at 4.62%, the 2-year note ended at 4.31%, and the 30-year at 4.82%.

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Calculated Risk

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Earlier I posted some questions on my blog for next year: Ten Economic Questions for 2025. Some of these questions concern real estate (inventory, house prices, housing starts, new home sales), and I posted thoughts on those in the newsletter (others like GDP and employment will be on this blog). I'm adding some thoughts and predictions for each question.

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Economics Sales Retirement Investing 59

Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

The new year will start with plenty of intrigue, especially in manufacturing, aerospace and logistics, the area where I hunt for interesting storylines about how companies navigate opportunities and pitfalls.

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Manufacturing 59

Calculated Risk

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: FHFAs National Mortgage Database: Outstanding Mortgage Rates, LTV and Credit Scores A brief excerpt: Here are some graphs on outstanding mortgages by interest rate, the average mortgage interest rate, borrowers credit scores and current loan-to-value (LTV) from the FHFAs National Mortgage Database through Q3 2024 (just released).

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Distribution 59

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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.

Planning

Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

The S&P 500 Index posted its best month of the year in November, with a clear election result and a “no-surprise” Fed rate cut providing support.

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Marketing Marketing 59

Calculated Risk

DECEMBER 27, 2024

From Goldman: We lowered our Q4 GDP tracking estimate by 0.1pp to +2.3% (quarter-over-quarter annualized). Our Q4 domestic final sales forecast stands at +2.3% (quarter-over-quarter annualized). [Dec 27th estimate] emphasis added And from the Atlanta Fed: GDPNow The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the fourth quarter of 2024 is 3.1 percent on December 24, unchanged from December 20 after rounding.

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Manufacturing Sales Investments Investing 59

Random Roger's Retirement Planning

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Barron's has a couple of different articles about trouble ahead in the bond market (longer duration) and what to do about it. This is right in the strike zone of what we talk about all the time here. At the start of the year, there were a lot of calls to buy further out the curve because with all of these Fed cuts coming, rates were going down they said.

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Portfolio Retail Clients Taxes 52

Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Recommend reading that provides a bed of knowledge for the key themes we think will define 2025. Ours differs from other lists you might see elsewhere at this time of year in that we focus on relevance rather than recency, though there are new books here, too.

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Speaker: Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader

In today’s competitive market, pricing is more than just a number — it’s the cornerstone of profitability. The right pricing strategy ensures that you capture the true value of your offering, paving the way for sustainable growth and long-term success. Join Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader, in this exclusive session where he will explore how a well-crafted pricing approach balances customer perception with business objectives, creating a powerful tool for securing both competitive advantage a

Numbers

Carson Wealth

DECEMBER 27, 2024

In the final episode of Take 5 of 2024, Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist at Carson Group, discusses three main worries for the upcoming year, 2025. They highlight that while stocks have seen significant gains recently, the next year may not replicate this trend. Additionally, a strong dollar poses risks, particularly with tariffs affecting US manufacturers and exporters.

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Manufacturing Economy Marketing Marketing 52

Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Tokenization, or the process of creating digital representations of real-world assets on a blockchain, has become one of this year’s buzzwords in both conventional and crypto finance circles.

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Assets 52

Calculated Risk

DECEMBER 27, 2024

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.

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Numbers 90

Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Annuities can provide a guaranteed lifetime income stream in retirement, no matter how long you live. They thrive under high interest rate environments and are currently offering the highest payouts seen in years.

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Retirement 52

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As we step into 2024, the lending landscape evolves rapidly with technology, regulations, and market dynamics driving change. For banks and financial institutions to stay competitive and meet the evolving needs of their customers, these drivers must be understood and engaged with. Lenders can anticipate significant transformation fueled by technological advancements, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer behaviors.

Banking

A Wealth of Common Sense

DECEMBER 27, 2024

An Animal Spirits listener emailed in to ask: Great question. Michael and I both responded on the podcast in the same way — you do NOT buy a 16-year-old the new vehicle! When your kid turns 16 they get the hand-me-down and you drive the new one. That’s how it’s always been and how it always should be. When I was in high school we maybe had one or two (rich) friends get a new car but everyone else drove.

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Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

We look back on six themes that defined another eventful year.

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Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

The eclipse of the dollar, and with it the ability of the US to borrow on a scale that would cripple any other country, has been long predicted. For at least half a century, skeptics have counted on something — or someone — coming along to knock American assets from their perch. Don't plan for a requiem just yet.

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Assets Planning 52

Advisor Perspectives

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Last week’s market volatility was not surprising for readers of these commentaries, as I anticipated a jarring adjustment to readouts from the Fed Dot Plot that suggested less rate cuts in 2025.

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Marketing Marketing 52

Speaker: Hilary Akhaabi, PhD - Founder, Chief Financial & Operations Officer at Go Africa Global

In the fast-paced world of corporate finance, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for sustainable growth and profitability. This exclusive webinar with leading expert Hilary Akhaabi, PhD, will teach you practical ways to navigate complex financial landscapes and enhance your company's revenue management capabilities. Whether you're aiming to refine your financial strategies or seeking innovative solutions to drive performance, this new session is for you!

Management