Financial Symmetry
MARCH 31, 2025
On August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law as part of his commitment to protect Americans from the the hazards and vicissitudes (misfortunes) of life. Today, about 69 million Americans per month will receive a Social Security benefit, and about half of recipients age 65 and older depend on Social Security for half of their income.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 4, 2025
From Fed Chair Jerome Powell: Economic Outlook. Excerpt: Turning to monetary policy, we face a highly uncertain outlook with elevated risks of both higher unemployment and higher inflation. The new Administration is in the process of implementing substantial policy changes in four distinct areas: trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation. Our monetary policy stance is well positioned to deal with the risks and uncertainties we face as we gain a better understanding of the policy changes
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The Big Picture
MARCH 31, 2025
A quick note on tariffs : Over the past few weeks, I’ve been putting together my quarterly call for clients. The challenge is how to frame the current economic scenario in a way that is useful and informative and not the usual run-of-the-mill noise. Its easy to get distracted by the chaos of random policies that have been coming rapid-fire at Americans.
Nerd's Eye View
APRIL 2, 2025
For many financial advisors, a core part of the retirement planning process involves simulating whether the client's assets will last through retirement. Traditionally, these simulations take the form of either Monte Carlo analyses – showing the percentage of simulated outcomes in which the client finishes with assets remaining – or stress tests that assess plan durability under a handful of adverse scenarios.
Speaker: Claire Grosjean
Finance teams are drowning in data—but is it actually helping them spend smarter? Without the right approach, excess spending, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities continue to drain profitability. While analytics offers powerful insights, financial intelligence requires more than just numbers—it takes the right blend of automation, strategy, and human expertise.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 4, 2025
Markets Earnings estimates have plenty of room to come down. (theirrelevantinvestor.com) It looks like we will have two 5-sigma daily moves in a row. (priceactionlab.com) Investors are trying to hide out in consumer staples. (ft.com) Strategy Don't do anything you might regret during a period of market stress. (wsj.com) The chances of you making a good decision under stress are slim.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 4, 2025
From the BLS: Employment Situation Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 228,000 in March, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care, in social assistance, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment also increased in retail trade, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Wealth Management
APRIL 4, 2025
RIAs should address insufficient, misaligned, and overcomplicated technology before rushing into AI adoption.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 4, 2025
Money management Shane Parrish talks with Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt. (fs.blog) Barry Ritholtz talks with Lisa Shalett, Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Stanley. (bloomberg.com) Meb Faber talks with Mark Haefele, Chief Investment Officer of UBS Global Wealth Management. (podcasts.apple.com) David Senra looks for lessons in the rise of Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 2, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Moody's: Q1 2025 Apartment Vacancy Rate Highest Since 2010; Office Vacancy Rate at Record High A brief excerpt: From Moodys Analytics Economists: Q1 Moodys CRE Preliminary Trend Analysis The national multifamily market has been under supply-side pressure over the past two years. Steady demand finally paused the vacancy climb after a banner year with record-level inventory growth.
A Wealth of Common Sense
APRIL 1, 2025
Here’s a crazy stat from Bloomberg: Half of American households account for 97.5% of the wealth in this country. This is the breakdown from Federal Reserve data: On the one hand these numbers — 2.5% of wealth — seem almost impossible for the bottom 50%. On the other hand, this is an improvement from the last decade. It was much worse coming out of the Great Financial Crisis.
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.
Wealth Management
APRIL 3, 2025
Advisors can leverage industry consolidation to grow their business while maintaining independence and delivering objective advice to clients.
Abnormal Returns
MARCH 31, 2025
Podcasts Michael Kitces talks with AJ Ayers, co-founder of Brooklyn Fi, about building a remote firm focused on equity comp. (kitces.com) Brendan Frazier talks with Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, of KBK Wealth Connection and author of Breaking Money Silence. (podcasts.apple.com) Bogumil Baranowski talks family money dynamics with Emily Bouchrad, founder of Blended Families Flourishing and Bouchard Bespoke Consulting.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 1, 2025
From the BLS: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary The number of job openings was little changed at 7.6 million in February , the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires and total separations held at 5.4 million and 5.3 million, respectively. Within separations, quits (3.2 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little. emphasis added The following graph shows job openings (black line), hires (dark blue), Layoff, Discharges and other (red column
Discipline Funds
APRIL 4, 2025
Here are three things I think I am thinking about this weekend. 1) How Did We Get Here? I won’t bore you with more of the tariff debunking that I did last weekend. If you want to read that please go back and touch on each of the bullet points I covered. Tariffs are perhaps the most non-partisan issue in economics. It might be the only thing that Paul Krugman and Milton Friedman agreed on.
Speaker: Erroll Amacker
Automation is transforming finance but without strong financial oversight it can introduce more risk than reward. From missed discrepancies to strained vendor relationships, accounts payable automation needs a human touch to deliver lasting value. This session is your playbook to get automation right. We’ll explore how to balance speed with control, boost decision-making through human-machine collaboration, and unlock ROI with fewer errors, stronger fraud prevention, and smoother operations.
Wealth Management
APRIL 4, 2025
Zocks CEO Mark Gilbert details how AI enhances client intelligence, streamlines operations and empowers advisors to serve clients better.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 2, 2025
Podcasts Cameron Passmore and Benjamin Felix talk lifecycle investing with Professor Scott Cederburg. (rationalreminder.libsyn.com) Bogumil Baranowski talks with Alex Morris author of "Buffett and Munger Unscripted." (podcasts.apple.com) Dan Haylett talks purpose in retirement with David Marlow, author of "The Ikagi Way" (humansvsretirement.com) Housing What is the best case for housing affordability?
Calculated Risk
APRIL 4, 2025
The headline jobs number in the March employment report was above expectations, however, January and February payrolls were revised down by 48,000 combined. The participation rate increased, the employment population ratio was unchanged, and the unemployment rate increased to 4.2%. Earlier: March Employment Report: 228 thousand Jobs, 4.2% Unemployment Rate Prime (25 to 54 Years Old) Participation Since the overall participation rate is impacted by both cyclical (recession) and demographic (aging
The Big Picture
APRIL 3, 2025
Take a break from the sell-off and plan a fun night for this Monday. Join me on April 7th, 2025 at 7:30 pm for a special evening featuring New York Times bestselling author Michael Lewis, at Landmark Theater in Port Washington. We will be discussing his latest book, plus all of his prior best sellers and films. A Q&A will follow.Everybody who comes gets a signed copy of the new book.
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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.
Wealth Management
APRIL 4, 2025
The CEO of GeoWealth and Goldman Sachs Asset Management executives are championing their approach to get alternative investments and more personalization down market via RIAs.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 1, 2025
Rates Why the Treasury bond market matters. (econofact.org) How increased bond indexing has changed how bonds trade. (papers.ssrn.com) Why term premia models disagree. (ft.com) Research Don't pay alpha fees for beta exposure. (aqr.com) Where stock market returns have come from. (marginalrevolution.com) Why is the real price of gold rising? (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com) Checking in on spot Bitcoin ETFs one year in.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 1, 2025
From the Census Bureau reported that overall construction spending decreased: Construction spending during February 2025 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,195.8 billion, 0.7 percent above the revised January estimate of $2,179.9 billion. The February figure is 2.9 percent above the February 2024 estimate of $2,133.8 billion. emphasis added Both private and public spending increased: Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,686.4 billi
NAIFA Advisor Today
APRIL 4, 2025
Lisa Skinner , president of Brokerage Services Inc. in Herman, NE, has had a lifelong connection to the financial services industry. Her journey began early, influenced by her father, who was a General Agent for over 50 years. Lisa started working during school breaks, taking on tasks such as filing, computer work, and scanning files to digital formats.
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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?
Wealth Management
APRIL 3, 2025
Monitoring changes in U.S.-listed dividend-focused ETFs is important since this category had $504 billion in assets.
Fortune Financial
APRIL 1, 2025
A recurrent theme here has been the opportunity provided by a large installed base, but that is aged and entering the prime years for repair if not replacement. For example, in 2023, we discussed how an older car fleet would provide a long tailwind for auto parts retailers. More recently, we discussed the opportunity present in our nation’s old housing stock.
Calculated Risk
MARCH 31, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: FHFAs National Mortgage Database: Outstanding Mortgage Rates, LTV and Credit Scores A brief excerpt: Here are some graphs on outstanding mortgages by interest rate, the average mortgage interest rate, borrowers credit scores and current loan-to-value (LTV) from the FHFAs National Mortgage Database through Q4 2024 (just released).
Alpha Architect
APRIL 4, 2025
For equity investors there have been two major narratives over the last 17 calendar year period 2008-2024. The first is that US stocks have far outperformed international stocks. The other narrative has been the outperformance of growth stocks relative to value stocks. US Value Stocks Trading at Historically High Discounts was originally published at Alpha Architect.
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
Wealth Management
APRIL 1, 2025
AI will not replace advisors, but it may drive out those who dont leverage it, according to fintech executives at RIA Edge in Nashville.
XY Planning Network
MARCH 31, 2025
Search is indeed evolving. More and more potential RIA clients are turning to ChatGPT for quick, consolidated answersand I dont blame them. Why sift through keyword-stuffed blogs when you can get a direct answer curated from across the web? AI is improving the end-user experience, and we, as an industry, need to adapt. The key? Deliver more value.
Calculated Risk
MARCH 31, 2025
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Freddie Mac House Price Index Increased in February; Up 3.4% Year-over-year A brief excerpt: Freddie Mac reported that its National Home Price Index (FMHPI) increased 0.18% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis in February. On a year-over-year basis, the National FMHPI was up 3.4% in February, down from up 3.6% YoY in January.
Dear Mr. Market
APRIL 2, 2025
Dear Mr. Market: This is perhaps one of our favorite articles and times of the year; not necessarily because of basketball but rather it allows us the opprtunity to articulate our main investment themes we see playing out for the remainder of the year. My Portfolio Guide, LLC was the first investment firm to publish a March Madness investing bracket where we share our picks and match them up against each other.
Speaker: Sierre Lindgren
Fraud is a battle that every organization must face – it’s no longer a question of “if” but “when.” Every organization is a potential target for fraud, and the finance department is often the bullseye. From cleverly disguised emails to fraudulent payment requests, the tactics of cybercriminals are advancing rapidly. Drawing insights from real-world cases and industry expertise, we’ll explore the vulnerabilities in your processes and how to fortify them effectively.
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