February, 2019

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Killer Vees

The Irrelevant Investor

The S&P 500 just rocketed 18% higher in only 44 days. A bounce of this magnitude makes a mockery of risk management. This is the ninth time stocks have experienced a killer vee bottom since 1970. I refer to them as killer vees because they suck for everyone. It makes buy and hold investors sweat and it makes mincemeat of most tactical investors.

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Pop Quiz: What is the Best Way to Save for College?

Brown Advisory

Pop Quiz: What is the Best Way to Save for College? ajackson Thu, 02/14/2019 - 15:03 Every year, college gets more expensive. Picking the right savings strategy can be the key to accomplishing your family’s personal goals. For many parents, paying for college is the largest expense/investment they will ever face within a concentrated period of time.

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Does it Ever Make Sense to Take a Personal Loan?

Wealth Pilgrim

If you are in tight financial spot – you’re probably looking at any and all sources of fast cash. Among those options are personal loans. But what is a personal loan? Where can you get such loans? And are they a good idea or a treacherous financial trap? Below, I’m going to answer these questions […]. The post Does it Ever Make Sense to Take a Personal Loan?

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Animal Spirits: The Rich Man’s Disease

The Irrelevant Investor

On today's Animal Spirits, we discuss: Desks were not meant to be our altars Wealthy and miserable Berkshire letter This guy actually put $10,000 into Microsoft at its IPO More credit card debt than emergency savings A survey I don't trust A different look at sequence of returns Inheritances Cell phone addictions Listen here Charts mentioned Tweets mentioned [link] The post Animal Spirits: The Rich Man’s Disease appeared first on The Irrelevant Investor.

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Are Robots Replacing You? Keeping Humans in the Loop in Automated Environments

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

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Numbers Are Not Reality

The Irrelevant Investor

One of the more unsettling realities of investing is that we cannot rely on data from the past to guide us in the future. It's important that investors learn about market history and have a basic understanding of math, but beyond that, less might actually be more. In Enough , Jack Bogle wrote: Numbers are not reality. At best, they are a pale reflection of reality.

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Regret-Adjusted Returns

The Irrelevant Investor

According to a recent Morningstar report, "shareholders of major U.S. stock market index funds have about 40% foreign exposure, as measured by corporate revenues." Does this mean that U.S. investors already have plenty of overseas exposure, eliminating the need to diversify into international stocks? Let's go to the scorecard. The S&P 500 destroyed international stocks since 1970, with $1 growing to $127 in the U.S. and just $56 overseas.

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The Future of Real Estate

The Irrelevant Investor

When I bought my apartment in 2015 I hired a broker. When I went to sell, however, I did it on my own. Sort of. I've never sold a piece of real estate before so why did I think I could pull this off? Let me tell you about my experience on the buy side: I found this apartment on Street Easy. I had my broker reach out to the seller's broker to schedule an appointment.

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Animal Spirits: Denominator Blindess

The Irrelevant Investor

Today’s Animal Spirits is presented by YCharts Mention Animal Spirits to receive 20% off (*New YCharts users only) Stories discussed: Zillow wants to flip your house Are auto loans the next subprime? Student loans for people over 600 How big should your next egg be? New Mauboussin Charlie Munger has no filter Wealthfront cash account Tax returns are down Listen here Recommendations An Economist Walks Into a Brothel To Sell is Human Charts mentioned Tweets mentioned [link] [link] The post Anima

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Un-Complicating Investing

The Irrelevant Investor

I spend the majority of this space writing about the challenges associated with investing. I even wrote a whole book on it. Why am I such a Debbie Downer when it comes to this stuff? Well, maybe it's sour grapes. Look, I tried for years to beat the market, couldn't do it. Then over time I came around to the idea that trying to beat the market, in the words of Charlie Ellis, is a loser's game.

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The Purge

The Irrelevant Investor

Do investors really need to hear from management every 90 days? The 13-week cycle of reporting earnings and issuing guidance breeds short-term thinking and invites the wrong kinds of questions. Going from quarterly reporting to a biannual system could allow for a sharper focus on running the business rather than wasting time on the business of managing earnings and investor's expectations.

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Book of Secrets on the Month-End Close

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.

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These Are the Goods

The Irrelevant Investor

Articles Crowded trades work until they don’t By Michael Mauboussin Every recession begins with a softening of the data, but so too does every weak patch in the economy. By Tim Duy Investors are typically led to develop their factor return expectations with little more than an extrapolation of the factor’s past paper-portfolio returns. By Rob Arnott, Vitali Kalesnik, Campbell Harvey, and Juhani Linnainmaa The gatekeepers at the big wirehouses, brokers, and home offices decide which ETFs see the

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The Elimination of Risk

The Irrelevant Investor

Earlier this week I moderated a session at Inside ETFs called "How to capture outperformance and manage risk." Before tackling the challenges of outperformance, I wanted to ask everybody how they think about the amorphous concept of risk. The responses ran the gamut from "the chance of permanent loss of capital" to "the chance of running out of money" and everything in between.

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Pop Quiz: What is the Best Way to Save for College?

Brown Advisory

Pop Quiz: What is the Best Way to Save for College? ajackson. Thu, 02/14/2019 - 15:03. Every year, college gets more expensive. Picking the right savings strategy can be the key to accomplishing your family’s personal goals. For many parents, paying for college is the largest expense/investment they will ever face within a concentrated period of time.

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The Case for Permanent Life Insurance

The Irrelevant Investor

I never aspired to be an insurance salesman. I ended up in that role because the barriers to entry are non-existent, and more importantly, because I didn't have other options. Like a lot of young people who enter that world, I was chewed up and spit out in a short period of time. In any industry where the seller's livelihood depends upon commissions, they are incentivized to sell the more expensive product, in this case, permanent life insurance.

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Stop Falling Short When It Matters Most—The Elite Advisor’s Playbook to Success

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?

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Animal Spirits: The Rich Man’s IRA

The Irrelevant Investor

Today’s Animal Spirits is presented by YCharts Mention Animal Spirits to receive 20% off (*New YCharts users only) Stories discussed: Record flows out of stock funds The ETF business is not easy A new way to think about stocks in retirement Mind-boggling mistakes Expected returns for private equity The Jim Simons IRA One of the best stock pickers ever hangs up his cleats Listen here Recommendations: The War of Art Grant Charts mentioned: Tweets mentioned: [link] The post Animal Spirits: The R

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These Are the Goods

The Irrelevant Investor

Articles Even if you are somewhat decent at calling bottoms, you would still lose in the long run By Nick Maggiulli We may now understand the magic, but only the magician could have created the trick. By John Rekenthaler The law most likely to govern here is the Law of Unintended Consequences By Jason Zweig The illiquidity premium was assumed to be a foregone conclusion by any institutional investors.

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Miss the Worst Days, Miss the Best Days

The Irrelevant Investor

If you missed just the 25 strongest days in the stock market since 1990, you might as well have been in five year treasury notes. This remarkable data point is almost always followed by "time in the market beats timing the market." I'm generally on board with this line of thinking, however, I don't necessarily agree that this chart is the best way to prove this point.

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Muni Bonds: Winners in 2018 and Bright Skies Ahead for 2019

Brown Advisory

Muni Bonds: Winners in 2018 and Bright Skies Ahead for 2019 ajackson Thu, 02/07/2019 - 08:44 Municipal bonds held their ground in 2018, and truly shined when equity markets were punished during the fourth quarter. For the year, munis outperformed not only equities, but other major fixed income sectors as well. We are optimistic about opportunities in the muni market in 2019.

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The Future Of Finance: How To Manage Spend The Right Way

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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Muni Bonds: Winners in 2018 and Bright Skies Ahead for 2019

Brown Advisory

Muni Bonds: Winners in 2018 and Bright Skies Ahead for 2019. ajackson. Thu, 02/07/2019 - 08:44. Municipal bonds held their ground in 2018, and truly shined when equity markets were punished during the fourth quarter. For the year, munis outperformed not only equities, but other major fixed income sectors as well. We are optimistic about opportunities in the muni market in 2019.

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Video Killed the Radio Star

The Irrelevant Investor

Not sure the title of this post makes any sense but I couldn't think of something better. I did a hit yesterday with Michael Santoli at CNBC talking about the latest rally and if it might soon fizzle out (spoiler, I don't know). Why aren't I smiling you might be wondering? Why aren't I looking into the camera? I can't see Michael talking, I'm staring into a black screen.

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Was This a Dead Cat Bounce?

The Irrelevant Investor

What a comeback. The move over the past few weeks has the bulls saying "We're still here" (I'm sorry) The fourth quarter decline was so steep, however, that despite the bounce, the S&P 500 is still below its 200-day moving average. What just happened is a fairly rare occurrence, so I put on my data mining hat to see if history could give us a clue as to what might happen next.

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Animal Spirits: Banning Buybacks

The Irrelevant Investor

Today's Animal Spirits is presented by YCharts Mention Animal Spirits to receive 20% off (*New YCharts users only) Stories discussed Facebook employees make a lot of money Are we sure buybacks aren't evil? Google is spending money on.R&D and capex Ben on institutional investors Dalio dumped Fyre festival pitch deck Raise your own interest rate Acorns partners with CNBC Listen here Recommendations Amusing Ourselves to Death Charts mentioned Tweets mentioned [link] The post Animal Spirits: B

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Less Stress, More Success: Accounting Best Practices & Processes for 2025

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.

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The Economics of Owning a Home

The Irrelevant Investor

Should you rent or should you buy? Whether the item is a car or a home, this is a big question that does not fall neatly into the "yes" or "no" pile. There are hard and soft factors to consider, and like everything else in life, tradeoffs abound. Consider the case of a home. Owning provides you with an asset over the long term, but it's also a massive liability in the here and now.

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These Are the Goods

The Irrelevant Investor

Articles The difference between the perfect idiot and the man with perfect foresight By Drew Dickson Greed is expecting back more than you deserve given what you put in By Morgan Housel There is almost always another side By Jack Forehand Their performance was not related to their underlying holdings By John Rekenthaler For that alone, the bet was worth the price of admission.

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Outlook for 2019 | The Measure of All Things

Brown Advisory

Outlook for 2019 | The Measure of All Things. ajackson. Fri, 02/15/2019 - 09:12. Last year, our annual outlook publication, Confronting the Unknown , focused on risk: how we define it, how we measure it, and what we saw as the major risks facing investors in 2018. The discussion, unfortunately, was timely given the market volatility we experienced last year.