April, 2023

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Worry About the Right Things

The Irrelevant Investor

My colleague Nick in Louisiana wrote something excellent that I wanted to share with you. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. “Do you know the difference between me and you? Me: Happy, happy, happy, dead. You: Worry, worry, worry, dead.” – Catch-22. The last few years reminded us that it’s more important to know how it feels to lose money than to make it.

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What If You Owned No US Stocks?

Meb Faber Research

Stocks for the Long Run is one of my favorite books. If you were to ask me what the single most universally held belief in all of investing is, I’d say it is that “stocks are the best way to build wealth” I don’t disagree. After all the largest fund I manage is a long […] The post What If You Owned No US Stocks? appeared first on Meb Faber Research - Stock Market and Investing Blog.

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What Happens After a Bad Year in the Stock Market?

A Wealth of Common Sense

Last year the Nasdaq Composite was down more than 32%. This year the Nasdaq is up nearly 16%. Last year the S&P 500 was down 18%. This year the S&P 500 is up more than 8%. Last year the Nasdaq experienced 46 down days of 2% or worse, including 18 trading days of down 3% or worse. There were also 40 days with positive returns of 2% or better, including 16 daily gains of 3% or more.

Marketing 145
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CPI = 5.0% (Time to Stop Raising Rates)

The Big Picture

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent in March on a seasonally-adjusted basis, after increasing 0.4 percent in February. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 5.0 percent before seasonal adjustment. ( April 2023 ) As much as I want to jump up and down about 0.1% seasonally adjusted (after a 0.4% prior month), the big number is not so big: 5.0% A 5 handle is a huge development, even with the core remaining sligh

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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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It’s not a funnel, it’s a filter.

The Reformed Broker

I get a lot of emails and LinkedIn messages about our “funnel” these days. Hiring funnel, sales funnel, etc. Usually it’s coming from well-meaning companies who are focused on recruiting and headhunting or lead generation and prospecting. A typical firm in our industry is probably in need of what they’re offering. I have tried to build an atypical firm.

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Crafting An Annual Compliance Calendar For A (Solo) RIA: Staying On Top Of Compliance Tasks While Serving Clients

Nerd's Eye View

One of the most intimidating aspects of launching a solo advisory firm is the question of how to manage compliance. Advisors coming from a background of working as an employee at a larger firm may be familiar with some of the rules for complying with state or Federal securities regulations from the perspective of an individual advisor, but handling compliance for an entire firm – even when there is just 1 employee – entails a whole additional set of responsibilities to be aware of.

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Larry Summers – Get out of U.S. Equities

Advisor Perspectives

“Be careful in the equity markets,” warned Larry Summers. The bond market is predicting a recession but, he said, the equity market has not priced that in.

Marketing 145
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The Problem With Being House Rich

A Wealth of Common Sense

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of a house in the United States is worth $190,000 more than it was a decade ago. If you’ve owned a house for more than 3 years or so, you’re likely sitting on some nice gains. Those gains were not evenly distributed but across the various income levels, homeowners have made a good chunk of change: The pandemic-related housing gains are unlike.

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The 60/40 Portfolio is Back! *after not going away

The Big Picture

Check out these recent headlines about the classic 60/40 investment strategy 1 : The 60-40 Investment Strategy Is Back After Tanking Last Year BlackRock Ditches 60/40 Portfolio in New Regime of High Inflation Why a 60/40 Portfolio Is No Longer Good Enough The 60-40 portfolio is back Sorry, but all of these headlines utterly miss the point. No, the 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds is not dead; No, this is not the first time we had a regime of high inflation, transitory or otherwise.

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Avoiding Lease Accounting Pitfalls in 2025: Lessons Learned from Spreadsheet Errors

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.

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The ground is quaking

The Reformed Broker

The prompt: The output, copy-pasted into my blog’s CMS: This is a rainbow stripe! Obviously anyone who knows how to code could have knocked this out in a second without even having to think about it. But how many people don’t know how to code? Most? We’re heading into a future in which not knowing how to do a thing is going to matter much less than ever before.

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Monday links: riding out bear markets

Abnormal Returns

Markets There is now a one-day version of the VIX. (finance.yahoo.com) European stocks are trading at a discount to the U.S. (mailchi.mp) Some hard-core crypto types have turned to precious metals. (wsj.com) Why are investors so nervous? (allstarcharts.com) Strategy What happens after a big down year in the stock market? (awealthofcommonsense.com) Just knowing that stocks go through cycles matters.

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Compliance Calendar For A Solo RIA: Staying On Top Of Compliance Tasks While Serving Clients

Nerd's Eye View

One of the most intimidating aspects of launching a solo advisory firm is the question of how to manage compliance. Advisors coming from a background of working as an employee at a larger firm may be familiar with some of the rules for complying with state or Federal securities regulations from the perspective of an individual advisor, but handling compliance for an entire firm – even when there is just 1 employee – entails a whole additional set of responsibilities to be aware of.

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New Home Sales Increase to 683,000 Annual Rate in March

Calculated Risk

The Census Bureau reports New Home Sales in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 683 thousand. The previous three months were revised down slightly, combined. Sales of new single‐family houses in March 2023 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 683,000 , according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Back to Basics with Reconciliations

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.

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Are You Spending Too Much Money?

A Wealth of Common Sense

A reader asks: I just read Nick’s latest and I’m feeling a bit ashamed. Nick is awesome and Just Keep Buying is my investment motto. I’m 34, my wife is 28 and, not to brag, we make ~$590k a year with a net worth of ~$1.2 million. We max out our 401ks and take the employer match (~$55k / year) and we also save between $20k-$40k, if not more. Our savings rate in my monthly budget is about 24%.

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The Tide of Price over Volume

The Big Picture

My fishing pal Sam Rines has spent much of this year pushing a thesis of “ Price over Volume” ; I found it a compelling narrative, one that fits in nicely with an apsect of inflation that I had originally underestimated: “Greedflation.” The Price over Volume thesis is both compelling and underappreciated. I hope you find his take thought provoking… -Barry Price over Volume remains a key theme this earnings season with PG’s earnings report the tip of the iceberg.

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This Week on TRB

The Reformed Broker

I spent the week in Paris with the family and it was really an amazing trip. As you guys know I’m big on history and art and food and stuff so I had been looking forward to it for a long time. And the city did not disappoint. Other than the lack of ice cubes Some shots: The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, which played host to some amazing moments in the history of the world.

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Sunday links: hours wasted

Abnormal Returns

Markets How today's market leaders differ from past generations. (tker.co) Updated performance figures for S&P Dow Jones Indices for April 2023. (on.spdji.com) Strategy Why copying great investors, like Buffett and Munger, usually doesn't work. (whatsimportant.substack.com) Some all-time great quotes from the Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.A) annual meeting.

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2024 Lending Outlook: Innovations and Evolutions in the Financial Sector

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.

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#FA Success Ep 330: Raising And Lowering Fee Minimums To Manage Growth Pace And Advisor Capacity, With Ari Weisbard

Nerd's Eye View

Welcome back to the 330th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Ari Weisbard. Ari is Managing Partner of Values Added Financial, an independent RIA based in Washington, D.C., that oversees $143 million in assets under management (AUM) for nearly 75 client households. What's unique about Ari, though, is how he and his partner, Zach, not only initiated fee minimums to ensure that they could profitably serve their clients, but subsequently have intentiona

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U.S. Demographics: Largest 5-year cohorts, and Ten most Common Ages in 2022

Calculated Risk

Nine years ago, I wrote: Census Bureau: Largest 5-year Population Cohort is now the "20 to 24" Age Group. Earliler the Census Bureau released the population estimates for July 2022 by age, and I've updated the table from the previous post. The table below shows the top 10 cohorts by size for 2010, 2022 (released recently), and the most recent Census Bureau projections for 2030.

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Will We Ever See Affordable Housing Prices Again?

A Wealth of Common Sense

Whenever there is an extreme move in the economy or markets most people want a simple explanation. We want a single variable to explain what just happened. Interest rates rose because of X. We went into a recession because of Y. Stocks crashed because of Z. But when it comes to something as complicated as the economy or markets, it’s never just one variable.

Economy 145
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Is 50% the New (Metro) RTO?

The Big Picture

I mentioned a few weeks ago how much better Europe ‘s return to office rate was doing versus ours : 90+% RTO, while the USA is ~60%. I cannot speak to Europe, but that U.S. number is an average across all regions, industries, age groups, etc. In some parts of the country, it is appreciably higher or lower; as you might imagine, it varies greatly.

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Banking on Loyalty: Holistic Financial Advice for Unparalleled Business Growth

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.

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Revolutionizing Advice – April 19th!

The Reformed Broker

A must-attend event for every RIA owner and practitioner, featuring Michael Kitces, Josh Brown, and Penny Phillips. Register here to secure your spot Michael Kitces is known as every financial advisor’s favorite financial advisor, with Kitces.com serving nearly 3,000 members and his Nerd’s Eye View blog reaching more than 200,000 unique visitors monthly.

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Tuesday links: positive habit patterns

Abnormal Returns

Markets Apple ($AAPL) and Microsoft ($MSFT) now make up some 13.4% of the S&P 500. (ft.com) Financial influencers are not the problem. You are. (safalniveshak.com) Crypto Just how real is the Bitcoin rally? (institutionalinvestor.com) Coinbase ($COIN) has sued the SEC seeking regulatory clarity. (blockworks.co) John Oliver looks at the demise of Terra/Luna, Celsius and FTX.

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Advice Engagement Strategies: 4 Core Areas To Motivate Clients To Be More Active In The Financial Planning Process

Nerd's Eye View

Financial advisors will sometimes talk about ‘bad’ clients who don’t act on the advice being provided. But the reality is that they may not necessarily be ‘bad’ clients; rather, their behaviors are a sign that they are not fully engaged in the planning process because other aspects of their life take precedence over managing the tasks needed to accomplish their financial planning goals, they lack the knowledge to make an informed decision, or they are procrastinatin

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Less Cars, More Money: My Visit to the City of the Future

Mr. Money Mustache

In my role as Mr. Money Mustache, I do my best to be your one-stop-shop for Lifestyle Guru ideas. So over the years we’ve covered not just the Money side of life, but also the even more important stuff like health and fitness and the psychology of better, happier living. But there’s one single area of life where all of these factors come together with an almost Nuclear Fusion level of synergy and effectiveness.

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Navigating Financial Storms: Strategies for Building Resilient Balance Sheets

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.

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The Biggest No-Brainer Investment Right Now?

A Wealth of Common Sense

A reader asks: I manage my investment portfolio, largely with a very boring mix of three funds: U.S. index fund, international index fund and a total bond fund. Looking at the yield on my bond index fund, it looks like I may be able to get I better yield in a money market fund. Is there any reason to keep my bond allocation where it is rather than moving it into a money market fund?

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Help Wanted!

The Big Picture

Nonfarm payrolls came out Friday, and once again they impressed with their underlying strength: 236,000 new workers were added in March, with February NFP revised upward to 326,000, as the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%. But there remains nearly two job opening for each unemployed worker, and despite rising wages, lots of decent positions remain unfilled.

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This Week on TRB

The Reformed Broker

And if you haven’t subscribed yet, don’t wait. Check it out below or wherever fine podcasts are played. . The post This Week on TRB appeared first on The Reformed Broker.

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