September, 2024

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Nobody Knows Anything, The Beatles edition

The Big Picture

In celebration of Abbey Road being released 55 years ago today (September 26, 1969), here is a short, Beatles-related excerpt from my upcoming book: “ How Not To Invest: The ideas, numbers, and behaviors that destroy wealth – and how to avoid them.” The book is being published ~March 18, 2025, and is available for pre-ording today.

Numbers 334
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Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns Ted Lamade, "Is increased complexity the path to better performance, or would investors be better off if they simply removed a few things?" (collabfund.com) No matter how you spin the numbers, day trading is a losing proposition. (morningstar.com) Paying for stuff is getting complicated. (sherwood.news) Buying the dip isn't easy, or particularly profitable.

Retail 304
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Why Pre-Tax Retirement Contributions Are Better Than Roth In Peak Earning Years (Even If Tax Rates Increase)

Nerd's Eye View

Over the last 60 years, the top Federal marginal tax bracket has steadily decreased from over 90% in the 1950s and 60s to 'just' 37% today. However, with the national debt expanding rapidly, observers of U.S. tax policy are predicting that Congress will inevitably be forced to again increase tax rates in order to raise revenue and balance the national budget – and that the current regime of relatively low tax rates will prove to be a temporary phenomenon.

Taxes 246
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The Middle Class: Feelings vs. Finances

A Wealth of Common Sense

Gallup has a poll that asks Americans what income strata they belong in. The results are relatively stable over the past 20+ years: Most people say middle class while very few people think they are upper class. The Pew Research Center has a new tool that allows you to enter your income and see where it is you fit both nationally and locally. Their numbers show the Gallup poll is right on the money as far as middle-class.

Numbers 145
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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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5 Tips for Getting the Right Medicare Coverage This Open Enrollment Season

Carson Wealth

Navigating Medicare can be a daunting task, especially with the numerous plans and options available. However, choosing the right Medicare plan is crucial to ensure that you have the coverage you need as you move into retirement. Whether you’re enrolling for the first time or considering a change, these tips will help you choose a plan that fits your healthcare needs and budget. 1: Know the Rules for Medicare Open Enrollment The first step in selecting the right Medicare plan is understand

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Marty Zweig Trading Rules

The Big Picture

Marty’s Zweig’s Trading rules 1) The trend is your friend; don’t fight the tape hard return; 2) Let profits run take losses quickly; 3) If you buy for a reason and that reason if discounted or is no longer valid then sell 4) if the values don’t make sense then don’t participate (2 + 2 = 4) 5) The cheap get cheaper the deer get deer; 6) Don’t fight the Fed (less valid than #1); 7) Every indicator eventually bites the dust; 8) Adapt to change; 9) Don’t let your

Marketing 306
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Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Also on the site How much would you pay for a house you couldn't insure? (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week Another star manager, another disaster for investors. (awealthofcommonsense.com) You're not a billionaire. Stop trying to invest like one. (axios.com) The big index fund managers have a problem on their hands. (humbledollar.com) Why you likely don't need to focus on dividend paying stocks.

Insurance 307
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7 New Lessons Learned Building A Fee-Only RIA From Scratch: Years 3–5

Nerd's Eye View

Starting a new firm can be a nerve-wracking time for an entrepreneurially minded financial advisor, as making the jump involves a significant amount of professional and financial risk. Nonetheless, after a year or 2 in business, some firm owners will find that their plate is becoming full and their available time is shrinking as they balance servicing current clients with marketing for new ones and also possibly managing staff.

Fee Only 246
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An Epic Bull Market

A Wealth of Common Sense

The bull market of the 1980s and 1990s is the stuff dreams are made of.1 The S&P 500 was up nearly 18% per year over the course of those two decades.2 It’s one of the great bull markets in history. But if we want to get picky, the bull market didn’t truly start until 1982. There were back-to-back recessions in 1980 and 1981-82. You had a 17% correction in 1980 along with a near-30% bear market that bottome.

Marketing 145
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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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Commercial Real Estate is Poised to Benefit from Rate Cuts

Wealth Management

The full extent of the benefits to real estate investment of lower rates will also depend on whether the Fed sticks a soft landing.

Investing 131
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AIA: Architecture Billings Declined in August; Multi-family Billings Declined for 25th Consecutive Month

Calculated Risk

Note: This index is a leading indicator primarily for new Commercial Real Estate (CRE) investment. From the AIA: Architecture firm billings remained sluggish in August, as the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score declined to 45.7 It has now been nearly two years since firms saw sustained growth. However, clients are still expressing interest in new projects, as inquiries into work have continued to increase during that period.

Clients 129
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MiB: Kyla Scanlon on Vibecessions & Gen Z

The Big Picture

This week, we speak with Kyla Scanlon , creator, host of YouTube’s,“Let’s Appreciate” podcast , writer of daily short-form videos about economy + markets. She has been published at Bloomberg, New York Magazine, FT, and the NYT. Her new book “ In This Economy?: How Money & Markets Really Work ” just came out this Summer. We discuss how she came up with the idea of a “ Vibecession ” and how it became a popular New York Times guest essay.

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Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Also on the site The investment world was a different place when Josh Brown started writing. In "You Weren't Supposed to See That" he takes a look back. (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week On the strange math of stock returns. (fortunesandfrictions.com) Investors have won the war on fees. Then there's risk. (wealthmanagement.com) Supplementing with magnesium?

Math 300
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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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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (September 28–September 29)

Nerd's Eye View

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent study by Cerulli has shown a sharp increase in the number of affluent investors willing to pay for advice, which on the one hand reflects the increasing financial complexity in peoples' lives (while they've also gotten busier than ever at work and at home) to the extent that they're more willing to work with someone to navigate those financial challenges; while al

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Why Housing is Everyone’s Favorite Investment

A Wealth of Common Sense

Each year since 2011, Gallup has asked people what they think is the best long-term investment: After a brief love affair with gold, real estate has been in the top spot every year since 2013. Stocks are a distant second. So why do we Americans love the housing market so much from an investment perspective? There is something about the American Dream of homeownership combined with the size of the price tag involved for s.

Investing 145
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Trend-Following Filters – Part 8

Alpha Architect

The filters analyzed in this article are related to Savitzky-Golay filters [6]. Savitzky-Golay filters were originally developed to smooth noisy data obtained from chemical spectrum analyzers. There are two types: smoothers and differentiators. As with the filters discussed in this article, the design of Savitzky-Golay filters is also based on a least squares fit of the observations to a polynomial function, where the degree of the polynomial is selected based on the structure of the observation

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MBA: Mortgage Applications Increased in Weekly Survey

Calculated Risk

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications increased 14.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending September 13, 2024. Last week’s results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 14.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

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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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At the Money: Can You Have Too Much Money?

The Big Picture

At the Money: Can You Have Too Much Money? Brian Portnoy, Shaping Wealth (September 18, 2024) Can money buy you happiness? How much money is too much? Does wealth offer diminishing returns? In this edition of At the Money, I sit down with Brian Portnoy to explore these questions. Full transcript below. ~~~ About this week’s guest: Brian Portnoy is founder and CEO of Shaping Wealth , which helps advisors and their clients to achieve “funded contentment,” and operates as an outsourced Chief Beha

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Sunday links: your unique personality

Abnormal Returns

Markets The U.S. is in the midst of an 'epic bull market.' (awealthofcommonsense.com) Earnings are the most important driver of stock prices. (tker.co) Consumers American consumers have access to a lot of dry powder., i.e. home equity. (carsongroup.com) There is little sign that American consumers are pulling bak. (sherwood.news) Apple Apple ($AAPL) isn't going to invest in OpenAI.

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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (September 21–September 22)

Nerd's Eye View

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released the latest edition its annual survey outlining the state of state-registered RIAs, showing that the number of state-registered firms and their assets declined slightly in 2023 (perhaps due to many firms seeing their AUM hit the $100 million mark amidst strong market performance and organic grow

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My Career Path

A Wealth of Common Sense

“What do you want to do?” “I want to work in a cool job with cool people.” “OK…doing what exactly?” “um…well…I mean…” This was a conversation that occurred in my senior year of college with the guidance counselor. I knew I wanted to work in finance in some capacity because I liked numbers, but beyond that, I had no plan.

Numbers 143
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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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Retail Investors Won on Fees But Are Losing on Risk

Wealth Management

Gamified trading apps and niche ETFs have a cost that’s harder to spot but is little different from the damage inflicted on portfolios by high fees.

Retail 126
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Housing Sept 30th Weekly Update: Inventory up 0.8% Week-over-week, Up 36.7% Year-over-year

Calculated Risk

Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 0.8% week-over-week. Inventory is now up 48.0% from the February seasonal bottom. Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of September 27th, inventory was at 731 thousand (7-day average), compared to 725 thousand the prior week. This is the highest level of inventory since May 2020.

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3 Things You Don’t Know About Josh

The Big Picture

I have known Josh for nearly 15 years. Despite his writing in public that entire time, hosting two weekly shows on our YouTube channel , and showing up on CNBC three times a week, you don’t know him. Public persona aside, he is surprisingly private. I know him as well as anyone besides Sprinkles and maybe Batnick. I am going to share three things about Josh that you don’t know.

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Top clicks this week on Abnormal Returns

Abnormal Returns

Also on the site Elder financial fraud is only going up. Maybe AI can help. (abnormalreturns.com) Noted personal finance writer Jonathan Clements is dying. He still has plenty left to teach us. (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week How the new AirPod Pros 2 could upend the hearing aid industry. (cnbc.com) Sometimes things really are different this time.

Portfolio 299
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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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AI May Transform Your Advisor Practice In 10 Years, But It Still Won’t Do Much In 2 Years

Nerd's Eye View

In the nearly 2 years since the launch of ChatGPT, there has been an explosion of new technology solutions incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI). Today, AI is now almost ubiquitous across many of the tools that we use, from smartphone cameras to search engines to office productivity software. For financial advisors, too, a ballooning number of new advisor-focused AI tools has appeared over the last 24 months, purporting to save advisors' time and staffing needs by automatically performing p

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31 Years of Stock Market Returns

A Wealth of Common Sense

I enjoy slicing and dicing historical stock market returns. I’m not naive enough to assume this helps predict the future. However, studying the past can provide a baseline to help set expectations when it comes to risk and a potential range of outcomes. Here’s a different way to look at returns over various time horizons for the S&P 500 going back to 1993: This is how to read this chart: Pick a starting.

Marketing 145
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Wealth.com Scores $30M in Series A Funding

Wealth Management

GV (formerly Google Ventures) led the funding round alongside Citi Ventures, Outpost Ventures, 53 Stations and Firebolt Ventures.

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