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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Fed's Flow of Funds: Household Net Worth Increased $2.8 Trillion in Q2

Calculated Risk

The Federal Reserve released the Q2 2024 Flow of Funds report today: Financial Accounts of the United States. The net worth of households and nonprofits rose to $163.8 trillion during the second quarter of 2024. The value of directly and indirectly held corporate equities increased $0.7 trillion and the value of real estate increased $1.8 trillion. Household debt increased 3.2 percent at an annual rate in the second quarter of 2024.

Nonprofit 332
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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.

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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 306
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What Your Financial Statements Are Telling You—And How to Listen!

Speaker: David Worrell, CFO, Author & Speaker

Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.

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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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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 323

More Trending

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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 317
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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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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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Carson Group: We Still Think Stocks Are Going to Overperform Bonds This Year

Wealth Management

Barry Gilbert, portfolio manager with the Carson Group, talks about why the firm is risk-on right now, why it prefers ETFs over mutual funds and what’s different about this market cycle.

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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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Rate Cuts Will Provide a Tailwind to Private Equity Activity

Wealth Management

The changing rate environment should create a more attractive exit environment for existing private equity investments, as well as fuel new acquisitions.

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FOMC Preview: Fed to Cut Rates

Calculated Risk

Most analysts expect the FOMC will cut the federal funds rate at the meeting this week by 25bp lowering the target range to 5 to 5-1/4 percent. It is possible the FOMC will cut by 50bp. Currently market participants are split evenly between a 25bp and a 50bp cut this week. Market participants are also pricing in a total of 75bp in cuts by the November meeting, and between 100bp to 125bp in cuts by December.

Banking 312
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How to Engage the Next Generation of Donors

Wealth Management

A new study finds that the younger demographic needs education on charitable giving tools.

Education 312
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Housing Starts Increased to 1.356 million Annual Rate in August

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Housing Starts Increased to 1.356 million Annual Rate in August A brief excerpt: Total housing starts in August were above expectations and starts in June and July were revised slightly. A solid report. The third graph shows the month-to-month comparison for total starts between 2023 (blue) and 2024 (red).

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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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Schedule for Week of September 15, 2024

Calculated Risk

The key reports this week are August Retail Sales, Housing Starts and Existing Home sales. For manufacturing, August Industrial Production, and the September New York and Philly Fed surveys will be released this week. The FOMC meets this week and is expected to cut rates. -- Monday, September 16th -- 8:30 AM ET: The New York Fed Empire State manufacturing survey for September.

Retail 312
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Fee Compression Hasn’t Played Out, But Margin Compression Is Real

Wealth Management

Additional services can justify fees to clients, but RIA owners must also prove those services benefit their bottom lines.

Clients 311
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Advisors Focus on Equities, Longer-Term Bonds Amid Fed's Rate Cut

Wealth Management

Advisors have been instituting these strategies for months as the Fed's 50bps interest rate cut has been widely anticipated.

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WealthManagement.com Celebrates Top Companies, Executives at 2024 Industry Awards

Wealth Management

Judges recognized 84 companies for their outstanding support of financial advisor success from among 287 finalists.

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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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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 307
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Interest Rate Cuts Don't Spell Doom for Private Credit

Wealth Management

The impact lower rates are likely to have on private credit funds goes beyond an expected decline in yields.

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Good Estate Planning Never Goes Out of Style

Wealth Management

Don’t let the uncertainty about future tax policy interfere with taking action to meet your client’s goals.

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The WealthStack Podcast: Unpacking The State of CRM with Doug Fritz

Wealth Management

F2 Strategy's Doug Fritz discusses how the role of the CRM has evolved.

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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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The "Home ATM" Mostly Closed in Q2

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Real Estate Newsletter: The "Home ATM" Mostly Closed in Q2 Excerpt: During the housing bubble, many homeowners borrowed heavily against their perceived home equity - jokingly calling it the “Home ATM” - and this contributed to the subsequent housing bust, since so many homeowners had negative equity in their homes when house prices declined.

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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 303
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Catching Up: New Home Sales Increased to 739,000 Annual Rate in July

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Catching Up: New Home Sales Increased to 739,000 Annual Rate in July Brief excerpt: I'm back from Africa! I’ll be catching up on recent data over the next few days, and I’ll post some photos / videos from my trip. Last week the Census Bureau reported New Home Sales in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 739 thousand.

Sales 304
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How Attorneys and Wealth Managers Can Work Together to Protect Wealth in High-Net-Worth Divorces

Wealth Management

Working through a high-net-worth divorce is challenging for all parties involved, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

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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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Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-September 2024

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-September 2024 A brief excerpt: This 2-part overview for mid-September provides a snapshot of the current housing market. I always focus first on inventory, since inventory usually tells the tale ! Here is a graph of new listing from Realtor.com’s August 2024 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report showing new listings were down 0.9% year-over-year in August.

Marketing 303
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WealthStack Roundup: Orion Hires New CFO

Wealth Management

In other news, Betterment rebrands advisor unit, Janney builds a new portfolio construction tool and other announcements.

Portfolio 301
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Individual Investors Forced to Ride the Bench Amid NFL's Embrace of Private Equity

Wealth Management

While the NFL is welcoming some private equity players, its rules are more stringent than those adopted by other professional leagues, meaning funds allowing individual investor participation are not eligible.

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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 299
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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.