Sat.Aug 10, 2024 - Fri.Aug 16, 2024

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Catastrophizing Debt

The Big Picture

I’m deep in my book writing work discussing federal debt when I see a tweet that simply epitomizes the entire genre. Full disclosure: My priors on federal debt are that I don’t know where the line of too much should be drawn, but I do know that none of the terrible things we were warned about over the past 50 years due to excess debt have come to pass.

Economy 347
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Saturday links: moving more

Abnormal Returns

Autos Why Americans are snapping up small cars. (axios.com) The U.S. has higher alcohol limits for drivers than other countries. (nytimes.com) How to get drivers to put down their phones. (arstechnica.com) Lighter, stronger steel would make for more efficient cars. (knowablemagazine.org) The story of Porsche. (quartr.com) Transport Air cargo rates across the Pacific are on the rise.

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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (August 17-18)

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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that a total of 26 broker-dealers, investment advisers, and dually-registered firms agreed to pay combined civil penalties of almost $400 million for failing to maintain and preserve required records for "off-channel" communications, signaling the regulator's interest in cracking down on text messages and other communi

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Inflation Since 1872: A Long-Term Look at the CPI

Advisor Perspectives

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) released for July puts the year-over-year inflation rate at 2.89%. The latest reading keeps inflation below the 3.74% average since the end of the Second World War for the 14th straight month. However, inflation remains above the 10-year moving average which is now at 2.83%.

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4 Things Great Companies Do to Improve Cash Flow

Speaker: Indy Chakrabarti, Chief Marketing Officer at HighRadius

4 Case Studies to Optimize DSO 26 Days Sales Outstanding. Already better than most. But, should you improve on that? Why would 3 fewer days even matter? It matters because it fundamentally transforms business outcomes. Join this webinar to explore 4 things companies do to reclaim hard dollars - not just soft costs - and go from good to great! What You'll Learn 6 operational KPIs every AR manager should track: Define and track these metrics to enhance performance, drive efficiency, and make infor

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911 EV Is Complete!

The Big Picture

Our story so far : Stuck at home over the pandemic, it was a perfect time to revisit a pastime of my youth – buying cheap beater cars, and turning them into something fun and worthwhile. Only this time, I have a lifetime of experience with what does and doesn’t work well, along with a somewhat more generous budget. All of this got restarted about a decade ago; I was personalizing a 2013 flood salvage-title Rubicon ; it reminded me how much fun it was to do these little projects.

More Trending

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The 5 Dysfunctions Of Client/Advisor Relationships: How Advisors Can (Re-)Build Trust And Spur Clients Into Action

Nerd's Eye View

In the modern era of financial advice, the advicer/client relationship is tightly centered on trust. And because of that foundation of trust, in an ideal advisor/client relationship, mistakes, disagreements, and concerns are surfaced quickly; action items are agreed and acted upon by everyone involved; and everyone feels aligned and accountable to their overall objectives.

Clients 246
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Three Things – Weekend Reading

Discipline Funds

Here are three things I think I am thinking about this weekend: 1) Three Terrible Ideas That Won’t Die. The Great Financial Crisis was wonderful because it got people interested in economics. And it was terrible in that it convinced a lot of people that mainstream economics was wrong about almost everything. This led to a revival in some heterodox ideas that the mainstream had long thrown in the dustbin.

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10 Weekend Reads

The Big Picture

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads: • The End of Spam: Robocalls and texts… your days are numbered : The industry blasting your phone with spam calls and texts is about to implode. The feds could throw a wrench into the opaque, sometimes sketchy, and incredibly lucrative lead-generator industry. ( Sherwood ) • The Well-Off People Who Can’t Spend Money : Tightwads drag around a phantom limb of poverty, no

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Longform links: streaming service erasure

Abnormal Returns

Business Another example of advisors getting rich while their clients underperform to the tune of billions. (bloomberg.com) Pixar bounced back with 'Inside Out 2' but you shouldn't expect a return to the company's golden age. (readtrung.com) How the U.S. fell behind in the drone business. (noahpinion.blog) How the magazine business died. (honest-broker.com) Companies Nine takeaway from six months of the Apple ($AAPL) Vision Pro.

Economy 241
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Pricing for Profit: How to Set, Negotiate, and Succeed

Speaker: Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader

In today’s competitive market, pricing is more than just a number — it’s the cornerstone of profitability. The right pricing strategy ensures that you capture the true value of your offering, paving the way for sustainable growth and long-term success. Join Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader, in this exclusive session where he will explore how a well-crafted pricing approach balances customer perception with business objectives, creating a powerful tool for securing both competitive advantage a

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#FASuccess Ep 398: Building A $2.5B AUM Advisory Enterprise Under The Umbrella Of A National CPA Firm, With Eric Wulff

Nerd's Eye View

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 398th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Eric Wulff. Eric is the CEO of Marcum Wealth, an RIA based in Cleveland, Ohio, that oversees $2.5 billion in assets under management for approximately 2,700 client households. What's unique about Eric, though, is how he has built Marcum Wealth into a multi-billion-dollar firm under the umbrella of a national accounting firm, in large part by cultivating mutually beneficial rel

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Flash Crashes Are Getting Faster

A Wealth of Common Sense

I’m a neat freak, so occasionally, I clean out my office and re-organize. While doing so earlier this week I came across an old Life magazine a reader sent me a number of years ago. It’s from June 1962 and the stock market was the cover story: The pictures are fantastic. So was the lede of the story: The signs, like rumblings of an Alpine ice pack at the time of thaw, had been heard.

Numbers 118
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The Effect of ESG Strategies on Global Equity Returns

Alpha Architect

To determine the impact of sustainable investment strategies on equity returns, Romulo Alves, Philipp Krueger, and Mathijs van Dijk analyzed the relationship between ESG ratings and global stock returns. They found very little evidence that ESG ratings were related to global stock returns over the two-decade period. The Effect of ESG Strategies on Global Equity Returns was originally published at Alpha Architect.

Investing 113
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Podcast links: changing our minds

Abnormal Returns

The biz Spotify ($SPOT) is filling up with AI-generated music. (fastcompany.com) Spotify ($SPOT) built up the market for podcasts in Latin America, but then pulled back. (restofworld.org) A list of the most powerful people in podcasting. (hollywoodreporter.com) Nate Silver Brett McKay talks with Nate Silver about his new book "On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything.

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Auditpalooza: Rocking the Month-End Close Audit

Speaker: Nancy Wu, Head of Sales and Customer Success at SkyStem

A good, fast, clean audit leads to a happy work life. Join us in this one-hour webinar, where we share the best ways to prepare and conduct your audit process to maximize audit satisfaction and minimize administrative time in month-end close and financial reporting. Learning objectives: This course objective is to review leading practices to maximize audit success.

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YoY Measures of Inflation: Services, Goods and Shelter

Calculated Risk

Here are a few measures of inflation: The first graph is the one Fed Chair Powell had mentioned when services less rent of shelter was up around 8% year-over-year. This declined and is now up 4.6% YoY. Click on graph for larger image. This graph shows the YoY price change for Services and Services less rent of shelter through July 2024. Services were up 4.9% YoY as of July 2024, down from 5.0% YoY in June.

Food 109
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How to Predict a Recession

A Wealth of Common Sense

Do you know how long we’ve been in a recession for since the end of the Great Financial Crisis? Two months. In 15 years, the U.S. economy has been in a recession for just two months! That’s roughly 1% of the time, meaning that since July 2009, the United States has avoided a recession 99% of the time.

Economy 113
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Edelman Financial Engines: 'Magic' Assets Don’t Exist

Wealth Management

Neil Gilfedder, the firm’s CIO, talks about how the RIA has incorporated its co-founder’s risk-adjusted investment analysis and how it stays transparent with clients.

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Thursday links: big secular forces

Abnormal Returns

Companies Brian Niccol has his hands full with turning around Starbucks ($SBUX). (barrons.com) Apple ($AAPL) stock was a much bigger bargain when Buffett first purchased shares. (bloomberg.com) Why Airbus has been unable to take full advantage of Boeing's ($BA) woes. (nytimes.com) Finance It seems the SEC will approve just about any ETF these days. (ft.com) What VC returns look like in the real world.

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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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MBA: Mortgage Applications Increased in Weekly Survey

Calculated Risk

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications increased 16.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending August 9, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 16.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

Marketing 108
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How Focused Marketing and Top-Tier Advice Doubled Erin Scannell’s AUM to $4B in Just 4 Years

Steve Sanduski

Guest: Erin Scannell , Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Wealth Advisors. In a Nutshell: When I talked to Erin Scannell in 2020, he was directing 50 team members, 18 advisors, and about $2 billion in AUM. Four years later, Heritage has doubled to $4 billion in AUM, and Erin is in charge of over 80 team members, including 20 advisors and a robust support team.

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SEC Accuses Atlanta-Based CEO of $300M Ponzi Scheme

Wealth Management

According to the commission, Russell Todd Burkhalter, the CEO of Drive Planning, allegedly used new funds to pay existing investors’ returns and personal expenses, including yacht and private jet payments.

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Wednesday links: ebbing inflation

Abnormal Returns

Companies Mars Inc. is buying Cheez-It maker Kellanova ($K). (wsj.com) Tilray Brands ($TLRY) has acquired four craft breweries from Molson Coors ($TAP). (finance.yahoo.com) Finance How much of the work of a junior analyst can be done by AI? (ft.com) Reverse stock splits are usually a last ditch effort. (sherwood.news) Fund management Ten questions for Vanguard's new CEO Salim Ramji.

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Benchmarking ROI with Forrester: Measuring the Success of Finance Transformation

Finance Transformation Myths Busted Over 75% of organizations struggle to define the right success metrics to benchmark the impact of their finance transformation investment. Whether you are just initiating your digital transformation journey or planning to pitch your next AI project to leadership, without the right metrics and a rigorous tracking process - all your efforts might go to waste!

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Ask Wealthfront: Should I Invest My Down Payment?

Wealthfront

Welcome to our Ask Wealthfront series, where we tackle your questions about personal finance and investing. Want to see your question answered here? Reach out to us on social media and we’ll try to address it in a future column. I’m saving for a house. Should I invest my down payment or keep it in […] The post Ask Wealthfront: Should I Invest My Down Payment?

Investing 105
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Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-August 2024

Calculated Risk

Today, in the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter: Part 1: Current State of the Housing Market; Overview for mid-August 2024 A brief excerpt: This 2-part overview for mid-August 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 J uly 2024 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report showing new listings were up 3.6% year-over-year in June.

Marketing 106
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SEC Charges 26 Firms for Off-Channel Communications Violations

Wealth Management

More than two dozen broker/dealers and RIAs agreed to pay a combined $392.75 million in penalties, including Raymond James, LPL, Edward Jones and Osaic, among others.

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Research links: real world finance

Abnormal Returns

Venture capital There is nothing normal about the distribution of angel investment returns. (blogs.cfainstitute.org) How VCs drive media coverage of their portfolio companies. (papers.ssrn.com) Research How long can stocks underperform inflation? (ofdollarsanddata.com) Retail trading frenzies can have real world impacts. (papers.ssrn.com) How much protection do individual investors need?

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How to Navigate Revenue and Expense Management: Competitive Insights for Financial Success

Speaker: Hilary Akhaabi, PhD - Founder, Chief Financial & Operations Officer at Go Africa Global

In the fast-paced world of corporate finance, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for sustainable growth and profitability. This exclusive webinar with leading expert Hilary Akhaabi, PhD, will teach you practical ways to navigate complex financial landscapes and enhance your company's revenue management capabilities. Whether you're aiming to refine your financial strategies or seeking innovative solutions to drive performance, this new session is for you!

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Baby Boomer Greater Fools Risk Hard Crash

Advisor Perspectives

Baby Boomers likely won’t have time to recover from the next crash. Their loss is also their heirs’ loss. There’s $70 trillion in play. Baby boomers shouldn’t be greater fools.

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What Happens to Bonds When Stocks Go Up?

A Wealth of Common Sense

My colleague Alex Palumbo joined us on the show this week to discuss questions about how to deploy a big chunk of cash savings, how to diversify out of company stock, benchmarking financial performance and how to think about alpha when it comes to choosing a financial advisor. Further Reading: The Holy Grail of Portfolio Management 1The S&P 500 was up 9.8% per year while the 10 year Treasury gained 4.6% annually from.

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Early Look at 2025 Cost-Of-Living Adjustments and Maximum Contribution Base

Calculated Risk

The BLS reported this morning: The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 2.9 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 308.501 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.1 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. CPI-W is the index that is used to calculate the Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA).

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