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Client communication is easily one of the most crucial elements of a successful business. Being able to efficiently and effectively communicate with clients can be the difference between satisfied customers and scathing reviews. Customers want to understand what’s going on, and if a financial advisor can’t provide them with that information on a consistent basis, they’ll be losing them as a client.
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.
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
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.
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.
From the Fed: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization Industrial production rose 0.4 percent in March and was little changed in the first quarter, increasing at an annual rate of 0.2 percent. In March, manufacturing and mining output each fell 0.5 percent. The index for utilities jumped 8.4 percent, as the return to more seasonal weather after a mild February boosted the demand for heating.
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.
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.
When planning for retirement, it’s effectively impossible to precisely forecast the performance and timing of future investment returns, which in turn makes it challenging to accurately predict a plan’s success or failure. And while Monte Carlo simulations have made it possible for advisors to create retirement projections that seem to have a reasonable basis in math and data, there has been limited research as to whether Monte Carlo models really perform as advertised – in oth
Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 0.2% week-over-week. Maybe inventory has finally bottomed seasonally. Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of April 7th, inventory was at 411 thousand (7-day average), compared to 410 thousand the prior week. Year-to-date, inventory is down 16.3%.
This week, we speak with Aswath Damodaran, who holds the Kerschner Family Chair in Finance Education at New York University’s Stern School of Business. A nine-time “Professor of the Year” winner at NYU, Damodaran teaches classes in corporate finance and valuation to MBA students. He has also written several books on corporate finance and equity valuation and has published widely in journals.
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.
Podcasts Morgan Housel talks about the importance of 'playing your own game.' (open.spotify.com) Christine Benz and Jeff Ptak talk with James Choi about personal financial advice and the importance of defaults. (morningstar.com) Wealth Baby Boomers control a majority of American wealthy, but it's concentrated in a minority. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Being wealthy is about not worrying about money.
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Remote Work and Household Formation A brief excerpt: Back in September 2021, I wrote Household Formation Drives Housing Demand So what is driving demand for both homeownership and rentals? Household formation! Over time, housing economist Tom Lawler and I unraveled the household formation mystery.
Some encouraging news about people saving for retirement: A study by Vanguard Group found that “Automatic enrollment and the rise of target-date funds” are having a substantial and positive impact on retirement savers, in particular, on Millennials and Generation Z investors. They have seen a significant uptick in overall participation rate, which has increased from 62% in 2006 to 82% in 2021.
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
Fund management Don't look to the UK for successful active managers. (ft.com) A Texas-focused ETF is coming down the pike. (finance.yahoo.com) ETNs are not the same as ETFs. (barrons.com) AI Why AI hasn't taken over Wall Street, yet. (wsj.com) How Qraft Technologies plans to limit access to its AI tools. (institutionalinvestor.com) Companies Meta ($META) has a morale problem.
Despite common perception that active beats passive during times of volatility, only 25% of large value, blend and growth mutual funds outperformed their category index during the first quarter of 2023.
From the BLS : 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, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 5.0 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for shelter was by far the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase.
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that on the heels of introducing its own self-clearing platform and acquiring fellow RIA custodian Shareholder Services Group, Altruist announced that it raised $112 million in a series D funding round, bringing its total funding to more than $290 million.
Based off SkyStem's popular e-Book, the book of secrets to the month-end close will be revealed in this one-hour webinar. Learn leading practices when it comes to building a strong and sustainable month-end close that has room to grow and evolve. Learn about the power of precise estimates, why reconciliations are critical to closing the books, how and when to automate, and how the chart of accounts play into your close process.
Podcasts Justin L. Mack talks with Zach Conway, who is CEO of Seeds Investor. (financial-planning.com) Frazer Rice talks family offices with Edward Marshall, Head of the Global Family Office at Dentons, the international law firm. (podcasts.apple.com) Direct indexing Savvy Wealth has launched a direct indexing tool. (wealthmanagement.com) Charles Schwab ($SCHW) has a lower minimum for its DIY direct indexing tool.
Diversified Healthcare Trust struck a merger agreement with Office Properties Income Trust, reports McKnights Senior Living. Commercial Observer looks at the conflicting pictures of what's going on in the multifamily sector. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.
Note: Mortgage rates are from MortgageNewsDaily.com and are for top tier scenarios. On COVID (focus on hospitalizations and deaths). Data is now weekly. After the first few weeks, the pandemic low for weekly deaths had been the week of July 7, 2021, at 1,690 deaths. Weekly deaths decreased this week and set a new pandemic low of 1,327 deaths in the most recent week (see graph below).
The 2023 Technology Tools for Today (T3) Advisor Conference, held last month in Tampa, Florida, featured a large gathering of financial advisors and representatives across the fintech industry attending the 2½-day conference. Hosted by Joel Bruckenstein and his team from T3 Consulting, the conference covered everything from how technology providers are continuing to expand their features and integration capabilities to how advisors can manage their own expanding tech stacks to the ever-pres
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?
Markets Q1 S&P 500 earnings are expected to decline for the second quarter in a row. (axios.com) Gold is back at all-time highs. (allstarcharts.com) Bonds Individual investors are getting a crash course in bond buying. (wsj.com) Treasury bonds are no longer a crazy proposition. (morningstar.com) Technology Why Intel's ($INTC) turnaround is a long shot.
Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-April A brief excerpt: The following graph from MortgageNewsDaily.com shows mortgage rates since January 1, 2020. 30-year mortgage rates were at 6.42% on April 12th, up from 6.0% in early February, and down from the recent high of over 7% in early March - and still up sharply year-over-year.
Welcome to the latest episode of The Compound & Friends. This week, Michael Batnick, Liz Young, and Downtown Josh Brown discuss building a career in finance, cooling inflation, the stages of a recession, whether the VIX still matters, commercial real estate, the credit crunch, and much more! You can listen to the whole thing below, or find it wherever you like to listen to your favorite pods!
Managing spend is more than a cost cutting exercise – it's a pathway to smarter decisions that unlock efficiency and drive growth. By understanding and refining the spending process, financial leaders can empower their organizations to achieve more with less. Explore the art of balancing financial control with operational growth. From uncovering hidden inefficiencies to designing workflows that scale your business, we’ll share strategies to align your organization’s spending with its strategic g
Strategy The stock market is converting bears into bulls. (allstarcharts.com) Broad diversification is back! (morningstar.com) Companies Tupperware ($TUP) is at-risk of going bankrupt. (axios.com) Boeing ($BA) jumped ahead of Airbus in deliveries for the first time since Q2 2018. (finance.yahoo.com) Chipotle Mexican Grill ($CMG) is rolling out a new all-electric restaurant concept.
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From Dodge Data Analytics: Dodge Momentum Index Drops in March The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI), issued by Dodge Construction Network, slipped 8.6% in March to 183.7 (2000=100) from the revised February reading of 201.0. In March, the commercial component of the DMI fell 6.6%, and the institutional component decreased 12.9%. “We are predicting the Dodge Momentum Index to work its way back to historical norms throughout 2023, concurrent with weaker economic conditions,” stated Sarah Martin, associa
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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