A Wealth of Common Sense

JUNE 15, 2023

A reader asks: My wife and I are 42 with a 13-year-old son. We moved to Phoenix, AZ as immigrants 7 years ago with just a couple thousand dollars to our name. Since then have slowly progressed in our careers. At this point, here’s what we have accomplished financially: Annual combined income: $350k Cash in checking accounts: $230k Mortgage: $530k (28 years left) Investments through 401k, 529 plans: $100k Stock Ma.

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The Big Picture

JUNE 30, 2023

A quick note as the first half of 2023 draws to a close, shocking the locals with its intensity. Why? Because almost nobody saw this rally coming. 1 As of this moment, the indices stand appreciably higher than where they were on January 1, 2023: The NASDAQ 100 is up >38%, the S&P 500 is up ~15.5%, and the Russell 2000 small cap index is up almost 7%.

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Wealth Management

JUNE 27, 2023

Wealth.com's Ester is a proprietary model that can read and restate documents and hold both short and long-term memories of previous client actions.

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The Reformed Broker

JUNE 17, 2023

Please read this from Michael Santoli: Just as the depth of despond evident in investor-sentiment gauges around Labor Day was out of proportion to what the market and economy had been doing, the volume of cheer engendered by this four-week, 9% rally looks to be running at least a bit ahead of what has, after all, been a marginal upside exit from a long, grinding trading range.

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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

Abnormal Returns

JUNE 25, 2023

Also on the site Why we all need regular doses of Vitamin O, i.e. optimism. (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week Warren Buffett's advice on active vs. passive investing is clear. (monevator.com) Joshua Brown, "The thing that everyone’s talking about is not always the thing that ends up mattering." (thereformedbroker.com) What the CIA can teach investors.

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A Wealth of Common Sense

JUNE 30, 2023

Here’s a headline from a Bloomberg story about the economy: And the lede: The recession calls are getting louder on Wall Street, but for many of the households and businesses who make up the world economy the downturn is already here. This story probably could have been written yesterday but it was actually published a year ago, in July 2022. If it seems like we’ve been reading about a looming recession for m.

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The Big Picture

JUNE 16, 2023

@TBPInvictus here: Contrary to 40+ years and counting of “trickle down” narrative, the reality is that the gap between the 1% and everyone else (let’s say the bottom 90%) has never been wider. It’s become a chasm, and the charts below tell the story. Here is the wealth share of the bottom 90% and the Top 1%, equalized in 1989: Here is both the share (scale at Left ) and level (scale at right) of total net worth held by the Top 1%.

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Calculated Risk

JUNE 23, 2023

From Black Knight: Black Knight: Past-Due Mortgages Approach Recent Record Lows as Serious Delinquencies Continue Improvement; Prepayments See Seasonal Rise • Reversing much of April’s calendar-driven spike, the national delinquency rate fell 11 basis points (bps) in May to hit 3.10% – the lowest it’s been other than March 2023’s record of 2.92% • The number of borrowers a single payment past due improved by 94K (-9.5%), erasing nearly half of the prior month’s increase • Serious delinquencies (

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The Reformed Broker

JUNE 11, 2023

The parabolic spike in 2-year Treasury bond rates this winter ended with a crescendo on Thursday, March 9th and Friday March 10th. That week, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank had thoroughly spooked the markets and convinced traders that the Federal Reserve would be forced to start downshifting its hiking cycle and the accompanying hawkish rhetoric.

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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

Abnormal Returns

JUNE 2, 2023

The biz Consolidation is here, again, as independent podcast companies sell out. (bloomberg.com) Ad buyers love podcasts, especially business-focused ones. (insideradio.com) The number of songs uploaded to streaming services just keep increasing. (om.co) Finance David Rubenstein talks with Cliff Asness about the return of value. (bloomberg.com) Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak talk with Joel Tillinghast about his biggest investing mistake, the implications of AI for portfolio management, and how pri

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Nerd's Eye View

JUNE 28, 2023

One of the key steps in the financial planning process is presenting the plan to the client, which has traditionally been done as part of a single 'plan presentation' meeting that takes place once the advisor has gathered and analyzed all of the client's data. While this approach may have made sense in a time when the 'plan' itself was mostly limited to investment recommendations (which the advisor would be able to go on and implement themselves since they were managing the client's assets), fin

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A Wealth of Common Sense

JUNE 20, 2023

To be a successful investor you need to possess a number of different traits. You need to understand how math, statistics and probabilities work. You need to understand corporations and the global economy generally function over the long haul. You need an understanding of how the different asset classes behave from a risk and reward perspective. You also need a deep understanding of financial market history from booms to.

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The Big Picture

JUNE 3, 2023

 This week, we speak with entrepreneur Ramit Sethi, who is the founder and chief executive officer of the online education platform I Will Teach You to Be Rich (IWT ), which attracts more than 1 million readers a month. Sethi is also the host of the Netflix series “ How To Get Rich ,” which is based on his New York Times bestselling book “ I Will Teach You to Be Rich “; he also hosts a podcast of the same name.

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Join us in this webinar, where we share best practices on how to think about the reconciliation work each month, when best to do reconciliations, how they should be prepared, and some common pitfalls to avoid. Learning Objectives: This course objective is to understand how to properly prepare and review balance sheet reconciliations and its impact on the financial statements.

Accounting

Calculated Risk

JUNE 22, 2023

The DOL reported : In the week ending June 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 264,000 , unchanged from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 262,000 to 264,000. The 4-week moving average was 255,750, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the highest level for this average since November 13, 2021 when it was 260,000.

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The Reformed Broker

JUNE 5, 2023

On this special episode of Live from The Compound, Scott Patterson, Financial Journalist and Wall Street Journal Reporter, joins Michael Batnick and Josh Brown to discuss Scott’s new book, Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis. Follow Scott on: Twitter Book. The post Black Swans, Stock Market Crashes and the Chaos Kings appeared first on The Reformed Broker.

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Abnormal Returns

JUNE 18, 2023

Top clicks this week Two reasons why the stock market has surged this year. (thereformedbroker.com) Five common portfolio mistakes including 'portfolio sprawl.' (morningstar.com) The spread between the 10-year Treasury and the dividend yield on the S&P 500 is at its highest level since 2007. (capitalspectator.com) Fund fees really do matter. (humbledollar.com) A round-up of recent charts including a surge in investor sentiment.

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Nerd's Eye View

JUNE 26, 2023

One of the biggest challenges for small, independent RIA firms is that they are self-reliant with respect to designing, choosing, and implementing the systems, technology, and processes that they use. Some firm owners relish the responsibilities of building and maintaining a firm from the ground up, but others – who may be happier with simply advising and building relationships with clients – might find it more appealing to merge with or sell to a larger firm that has the resources t

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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

JUNE 18, 2023

Wealth is a relative feeling. Some people compare their level of wealth to other people. Some people compare their level of wealth to their previous levels of wealth. Some people think of wealth in terms of the material possessions they own. Some people think of wealth in terms of how much money they make. Some people think of wealth in terms of what they get trade it for.

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The Big Picture

JUNE 17, 2023

This week, we speak with Gretchen Morgenson, senior financial reporter for the NBC News investigative unit. A former stockbroker and alumna of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, she won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her “trenchant and incisive” reporting on finance. She (and coauthor Joshua Rosner) recently published “ These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs―and Wrecks―America.

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Calculated Risk

JUNE 27, 2023

The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 763 thousand. The previous three months were revised down slightly, combined. Sales of new single‐family houses in May 2023 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 , according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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The Reformed Broker

JUNE 1, 2023

RWM is coming to Austin, TX June 12th-14th @Downtown with more detailsEmail us at info@ritholtzwealth.com subject line “Austin” to reserve a meeting slot! pic.twitter.com/9iSdG4HFf3 — Ritholtz Wealth (@RitholtzWealth) May 19, 2023 I’m headed out to Austin, Texas this June and bringing a whole bunch of my Ritholtz Wealth Management colleagues with me, including our financial planner in the area.

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Speaker: Joe Buhrmann, MBA, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® Senior Financial Planning Practice Management Consultant eMoney Advisor

During an era of evolving consumer preferences, the banking sector is undergoing a profound shift. As customers continue to broaden their perspectives, banking professionals must support their customers' financial wellness by providing holistic financial advice that aligns with individual goals and circumstances. Without adapting, financial institutions will find that loyalty may crumble amid uncertainty.

Financial Advice

Abnormal Returns

JUNE 30, 2023

Audio YouTube will soon allow automatic dubbing. (engadget.com) How many streams it takes an artist to earn $1,000 on different platforms. (genuineimpact.substack.com) Companies Matt Reustle talks with Tom Walsh, a portfolio manager at Baillie Gifford, about ASML Holdings ($ASML). (joincolossus.com) Benjamin Gilbert and David Rosenthal talk about the history of Porsche AG with Doug DeMuro.

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Nerd's Eye View

JUNE 23, 2023

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week’s edition kicks off with the news that amid a flurry of SEC-proposed rules for investment advisers, the Investment Adviser Association this week called on the regulator to assess whether the compliance burden these regulations would put on advisers outweighs the potential benefits and, if adopted, to consider rolling them out on a staggered basis to give advisers sufficient time to implement them.

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A Wealth of Common Sense

JUNE 16, 2023

I’ve never been a big fan of financial jargon because most of the time it’s used to impress people rather than help them understand what you’re talking about. Here’s a piece of jargon that never made much sense to me — fair value. Our fair value of the S&P 500 is 4,357 based on blah, blah, blah. Fair relative to what?

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The Big Picture

JUNE 29, 2023

One of the most important aspects of becoming a good investor is creating a model of the world around you. To do this, you must have good decision-making skills, and the ability to make sense of incomplete and sometimes contradictory information. This is not easy. Indeed, it is often counterintuitive. What seems like an obvious market-moving data point or piece of news is very often already in the price.

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Speaker: Carolina Aponte - Owner and CEO, Caja Holdings LLC

In today's rapidly changing business environment, building a resilient balance sheet is crucial to the survival of any business. A resilient balance sheet allows a company to withstand financial shocks and adapt to changing market conditions. To achieve this, companies need to focus on key strategies such as maintaining adequate liquidity, managing debt levels, diversifying revenue streams, and prioritizing profitability over growth.

Financial Planning

Calculated Risk

JUNE 12, 2023

Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 1.5% week-over-week. Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of June 9th, inventory was at 443 thousand (7-day average), compared to 436 thousand the prior week. Year-to-date, inventory is down 9.7%. And inventory is up 9.3% from the seasonal bottom eight weeks ago.

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The Reformed Broker

JUNE 2, 2023

Welcome to the latest episode of The Compound & Friends. This week, Michael Batnick, Cathie Wood, and Downtown Josh Brown discuss investing in innovation, AI fact vs fiction, how big Tesla can get, why Ark bought Nvidia in 2014, Zoom vs Google Meet vs Microsoft Teams, and much more! You can listen to the whole thing below, or find it wherever you like to listen to your favorite pods!

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Abnormal Returns

JUNE 29, 2023

Technology AI is making for a spate of new junk websites powered by programmatic ads. (technologyreview.com) The FTC thinks Amazon ($AMZN) customers are stupid. (stratechery.com) The many ways in which data brokers label you. (themarkup.org) The Internet is a beast that needs to be fed with content. (om.co) Water Can Utah's Great Salt Lake be saved?

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