Abnormal Returns
APRIL 14, 2024
Also on the site Some interesting developments in the financial media space. (abnormalreturns.com) Top clicks this week These 15 stocks destroyed the most value in the past decade. (morningstar.com) It's way too easy to mislead someone with charts. (awealthofcommonsense.com) Two things you probably don't need to worry about, including index concentration.
Nerd's Eye View
APRIL 19, 2024
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that CFP Board announced that it has crossed the milestone of 100,000 CFP professionals in the United States, and despite having just celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, just set a record high in the number of advisors sitting for the CFP exam this March, reflecting the value many financial advisors and consumers place on the brand, including the requirements to obtain i
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The Big Picture
APRIL 13, 2024
The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads: • This is the most consequential technology in America: (Spoiler alert: It’s YouTube.) It’s the most popular social app and music service, the healthiest economy on the internet and AI training fuel. ( Washington Post ) • What I Learned from Daniel Kahneman.
Carson Wealth
APRIL 19, 2024
Congratulations, recent college graduate! You’ve worked hard to earn your degree, and now you’re ready to embark on the next chapter of your life. This is an exciting time – one filled with lots of changes, like starting a new career and learning how to manage living on your own. As you transition into the “real” world, one of the most crucial skills you can develop is managing your finances effectively.
Speaker: Amanda Adams, Fractional CFO, CPA
Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Amanda Adams, 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.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 18, 2024
Strategy Passive investors don't change relative prices. (bloomberg.com) A good outcome doesn't necessarily mean it was a good decision. (novelinvestor.com) Don't change your asset allocation in response to a market pullback. (rogersplanning.blogspot.com) Crypto The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ($GBTC) continues to leak assets. (wsj.com) Bitcoin is whatever you want it to be.
Financial Advisor Source brings together the best content for financial advisor professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
The Big Picture
APRIL 13, 2024
I wanted to share a few thoughts about the new podcast we formally launched in December of last year, At the Money. The idea behind the show: Short, focused conversations with experts about any and all issues that affect you and your money, from spending it to investing it. Think of it as a guided tour of key ideas, sherpaed with the experts who I believe add enormous value to our understanding of how humans do behave — and should behave — around money.
Alpha Architect
APRIL 15, 2024
The justification for neutralizing sectors in factor strategies is a work in progress. To date, academic researchers haven't had an empirical model to mimic the impact of removing sector "effects" on the measurement and performance of factor strategies. The authors develop and test a two-component model to address the question of, "Is Sector Neutrality in Factor Investing a Mistake?
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 16, 2024
Strategy Joe Wiggins, "It is important to remember that behavioural finance would be redundant if it were easy; if it wasn’t hard it wouldn’t be useful." (behaviouralinvestment.com) Investing requires a measure of optimism in the future. (ofdollarsanddata.com) Fund management 15 more ideas from Seth Klarman's "Margin of Safety" including 'Investment must be thought of as more than stock selection or making a series of solid individual investment decisions.
Nerd's Eye View
APRIL 15, 2024
Growing an advisory firm is no easy task – and advisors who start firms often have few resources to spare (beyond their own knowledge and time), face huge to-do lists, and are required to wear a number of hats. Foremost among their responsibilities is business development, which compels them to seek out prospects who will eventually become clients (so that they can grow their firms, allocate resources accordingly, and do even more financial planning!).
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.
A Wealth of Common Sense
APRIL 16, 2024
I was perusing the BLS data following the inflation release last week and one number sticks out like Victor Wembanyana standing next to a group of kindergartners. Auto insurance was up 22% over the previous 12 months versus an overall inflation rate of 3.5%. Look at the change in auto insurance rates these past few years: It’s like a meme stock.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 15, 2024
Altos reports that active single-family inventory was up 2.6% week-over-week. Inventory bottomed in mid-February this year, as opposed to mid-April in 2023, and inventory is now up 5.6% from the February bottom. Click on graph for larger image. This inventory graph is courtesy of Altos Research. As of April 12th, inventory was at 526 thousand (7-day average), compared to 513 thousand the prior week.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 19, 2024
Markets TIPS are on sale. Time to buy. (morningstar.com) Two reasons why yields are higher this year. (carsongroup.com) The stock-bond correlation has flipped positive. (mrzepczynski.blogspot.com) Books Why you should read Rob Copeland's "The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend." (advisorperspectives.com) A review of "Enrich Your Future: The Keys to Successful Investing" by Larry Swedroe.
Nerd's Eye View
APRIL 18, 2024
For over a decade, the financial advice industry has been bracing for an "any-minute-now" tsunami of advisor retirements and concomitant sales of financial planning practices. Although that wave has yet to materialize (as many advisors may find that they'd prefer to stay engaged and earn well past the 'traditional' retirement age), the fact remains that, at some point, many aging advisors will have the opportunity to capture the enterprise value that they've spent their careers building.
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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.
A Wealth of Common Sense
APRIL 19, 2024
How much money do you have to make to feel rich? It’s a subjective question. A lot depends on your lifestyle, where you live, how much you spend and save, your peer group, and your vulnerability to comparison. The comparison piece matters more than most are willing to admit. Wealth is relative. JP Morgan once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” It’s easy to say when you’re one of the weal.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 17, 2024
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey Mortgage applications increased 3.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 12, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 17, 2024
Podcasts Roger Whitney talks retirement challenges with Christine Benz. (youtube.com) Sam Parr talks with 'Ryan' and 'Jeff' about the reality of retiring early. (podcasts.apple.com) Peter Lazaroff talks with Taylor Schulte and Benjamin Brandt about the new Retirement Podcast Network. (peterlazaroff.com) Justin Castelli talks curiosity and more with Tom Morgan.
Wealth Management
APRIL 16, 2024
KKR logged $3 billion in sales in products aimed for the private wealth channel—up from $400 million in sales per quarter in 2022. Morningstar published an explainer on the growing world of interval funds. These are among the investment must reads we found this week for wealth advisors.
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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.
A Wealth of Common Sense
APRIL 18, 2024
A reader asks: I get all the stuff Ben has been saying about inflation — wages have kept pace, economic growth has been higher than the 2010s, wages have risen the most for lower income people, etc. I get all that. My husband and I own a house and own stocks so we’ve benefitted in recent years. Having said all of that, I STILL CAN’T GET OVER HOW HIGH PRICES ARE!!!
Calculated Risk
APRIL 15, 2024
On a monthly basis, retail sales were up 0.7% from February to March (seasonally adjusted), and sales were up 4.0 percent from March 2023. From the Census Bureau report : Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March 2024, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $709.6 billion, up 0.7 percent from the previous month , and up 4.0 percent above March 2023.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 16, 2024
Asset allocaiton Is regret a better measure to target for portfolio allocations? (blogs.cfainstitute.org) Why asset allocation is sensitive to goals and assumptions. (priceactionlab.com) The case against a cryptocurrency allocation. (insights.finominal.com) Global macro hedge funds are mid. (klementoninvesting.substack.com) Corporate finance Are family-controlled firms more at-risk of price crashes?
The Irrelevant Investor
APRIL 16, 2024
There was a further escalation in Israel over the weekend. It always feels a bit crass to talk about investing when lives are being lost, but part of what I do is help investors contextualize awful world events. Intuitively, you might think that geopolitical events would impact the market. It’s true that in general, investors tend to sell risk assets first and ask questions later.
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
A Wealth of Common Sense
APRIL 14, 2024
I first heard the term ‘bagger’ in One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch. He writes about Microsoft being a 100-bagger (the book came out in 1989). He mentions Dell as an 889-bagger. Subaru was a 156-bagger. There were a lot of other baggers as well. Lynch is credited with the term ten-bagger for a stock that’s up 10x. There are some well-known ten-baggers during the current bull run.
Alpha Architect
APRIL 17, 2024
The CFA designation has for long been recognized as the gold standard for investment analysts. But like anything that is worth pursuing, obtaining the charter is no easy task. How to Crush the CFA Exams On Your First Attempt: Part I was originally published at Alpha Architect. Please read the Alpha Architect disclosures at your convenience.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 15, 2024
Podcasts Daniel Crosby talks about the unique needs of women and money with Lindsey Lewis. (standarddeviationspod.com) Christine Benz and Amy Arnott talk asset allocation and more with Matt Krantz. He is the personal finance and management editor at Investor’s Business Daily. (morningstar.com) The biz Why Dynasty Financial stands since putting plans for an IPO on ice.
Calculated Risk
APRIL 19, 2024
Today, in the CalculatedRisk Real Estate Newsletter: NMHC: "Apartment Market Continues to Loosen" Excerpt: From the NMHC: Apartment Market Continues to Loosen Amidst Worsening Financing Conditions Apartment market conditions continued to weaken in the National Multifamily Housing Council’s (NMHC’s) Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions for April 2024.
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.
Advisor Perspectives
APRIL 19, 2024
In March, nominal home values increased for an 12th straight months while "real" home values were unchanged. Last month's ZHVI came in at $354,179, up 0.44% from the previous month and up 4.09% from one year ago. However, after adjusting for inflation, the real figures are 0.00% month-over-month and -1.71% year-over-year.
Wealth Management
APRIL 17, 2024
Astraea Wealth has launched on the Equita platform, focusing on women, LGBTQ clients and “anxious savers,” while Apella Wealth tops $4 billion in AUM with ClearLogic Financial deal.
Abnormal Returns
APRIL 13, 2024
Hybrids Another sign that hybrid vehicles are a hot commodity. (heatmap.news) Things a potential hybrid buyer should keep in mind. (wsj.com) Plug-in hybrids help the environment if you actually plug them in. (advisorperspectives.com) Autos Tesla's ($TSLA) path to EV dominance has hit a speed bump. (wsj.com) Electric car companies are just car companies.
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