Are you already signed up for our daily e-mail newsletter? Great, but did you know that we just launched an adviser-focused e-mail on Fridays? Now you do. Sign up here! Quote of the Day “There is never a point where a company can indefinitely coast along, cashing the chips of past success. Everyone has to […]

Thursdays are now all about longform links on Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s linkfest including a look at the invention of money. Quote of the Day “Critically, the more we rely on other people to understand the world, the more susceptible we are to being shaped by their agendas—an emergent outcome which […]

Executive Summary No matter the industry or field, virtually all business owners have experienced the stress of just trying to stay afloat for the first (sometimes several) years of their existence. Those fortunate enough to get through those early ‘lean’ years, building a sustainable and growing business along the way, eventually feel a certain sense […]

MarketsA review of January 2020 major asset class performance. (capitalspectator.com)2020 has already one of the worst (and best) quarters for the S&P 500 in history. (awealthofcommonsense.com)136 of the S&P 500 stocks are positive year-to-date, not including dividends. (novelinvestor.com)2020 markets are nothing if not unsettled. (basonasset.com)Why everyone is talking about gold. (thereformedbroker.com)FacebookFacebook ($FB) is working hard […]

The United States is facing a reckoning when it comes to who has historically benefitted from privilege, and who hasn’t. Our country has enacted racist policies that made it more difficult, if not impossible, for Black Americans, other Americans of color, and immigrants to succeed.  The financial planning industry has not been historically kind to […]

Credit cardsHow the big credit card companies are trying to convince you not to give up your high-fee travel cards. (wsj.com)The pandemic is changing how we pay for stuff. (protocol.com)Why are credit card interest rates so persistently high? (awealthofcommonsense.com)LendingJumbo mortgages have been hard to come by in pandemic. (wsj.com)Banks don’t know who they can lend […]

This is the biggest story of the week. Here’s JC Parets at All Star Charts: There has only been one other month in the history of the universe where Gold closed at a higher price than it did yesterday. That was August of 2011. The trend here is still up: There will be a lot […]

Executive Summary When purchasing a product or service, it’s only natural to want to know what it will cost. But in the context of paying for professional services in particular, “what you pay” isn’t only a matter of measuring the value (relative to what you get), but also of understanding the incentives of the person […]

[embedded content] Get The Compound delivered to your inbox, subscribe here! Michael Batnick and Josh Brown discuss the hottest topics of the moment, including: * Is there a such thing as learning too much from economic history?* The flight to the suburbs is real and probably not going to end anytime soon.* What to make […]

Are you already signed up for our daily e-mail newsletter? Great, but did you know that we just launched an adviser-focused e-mail on Fridays? Now you do. Sign up here! Quote of the Day “The world has not become any harder to predict, but rather the stories we previously used to explain it are no […]

I turn 40 years old today. Since I hate birthday presents I figured I’d pass along some of the presents people have taught me over the last 40 years.  1) Always try to be a good person. This is the most obvious one and also often the hardest one. Life is hard and everyone is […]

Two weeks ago we paid back the entirety of our loan to JPMorgan Chase that we had borrowed under the Payroll Protection Program. Every cent, plus interest. We’re replacing it with a traditional line of credit from Chase. We’ll probably get access to our line next month, with the intention of only having to use […]

Tuesdays are all about academic (and practitioner) literature at Abnormal Returns. You can check out last week’s links including a look at the dangers of ‘first impression bias.’ Quote of the Day “The easy thing to do when confronted with disappointing results is to assume something is broken. But the reality is that all worthwhile […]

One of the things I’ve come to understand as we’ve built our business is that every time you choose a technology vendor, you’re doing a lot more than choosing a technology vendor. You’re making an investment. You’re buying in to that technology company’s future, its roadmap, its vision. You have no choice. Once you standardize […]

Executive Summary Welcome back to the 183rd episode of Financial Advisor Success Podcast! My guest on today’s podcast is Hannah Moore. Hannah is the Founder of Guiding Wealth, an independent RIA in the Dallas, Texas area, that oversees nearly $25 million of assets under management for 25 affluent clients. What’s unique about Hannah though, is […]

The longer I’m doing this, the more I realize the truth of one very big idea: The ability to withstand and endure volatility is worth more than the ability to avoid drawdowns. The good news is that enduring volatility is a more realistic ability for one to pursue and improve at. Limiting or managing volatility […]

Of the 20 million Americans who have lost their job in the virus-induced crisis, many more have been individuals without a college education than those with at least a bachelor’s degree.

The richest liberal arts school in the U.S. is reducing its cost by 15% for families on a one-time basis for the coming academic year.

He argues stretched corporate balance sheets and overly rosy economic projections make it too early to dive back in.

Historically low bond yields threaten the diversification value of bonds in the traditional 60/40 allocation.

The sooner you start planning for retirement the better. Too many people wake up 20 years from now and wonder where all their money went. By having specific financial goals by age, your retirement will be more comfortable than if you had just decided to just wing it. I suspect being overwhelmed with choices is […]

Here are the six key investment-platform considerations for brokers moving to an RIA.

MarketsWhat does the stock market historically say about the Presidential election? (thereformedbroker.com)Individual investors refuse to say they are bullish. (sentimentrader.com)FacebookThe Facebook ($FB) advertiser boycott looks to go global. (reuters.com)Facebook ($FB) should buckle up for continued pushback from advertisers. (thereformedbroker.com)Why Facebook’s ($FB) business is less fragile than you think. (stratechery.com)Why Facebook ($FB) was unwilling to confront […]

Incredible as it may sound to nearly all observers – once they learn what MMT says – its basic economic tenets are agreed to by most knowledgeable economists. The dispute is not really over its core economic model; it is over fears of its perceived political implications.

Here are some things I think I am thinking about. 1) The Mask Controversy.  I manage risk for a living. It’s something I obsess about every minute of every day. Understanding risk helps you optimize risk and reward by understanding when things have an asymmetric payoff. We all want to do things that have a […]

Ryan Detrick from LPL Financial made my Chart o’ the Day today… Here’s Ryan: Turns out, since 1928, the stock market has accurately predicted the winner of the election 87% of the time and every single year since 1984. It is quite simple. When the S&P 500 Index has been higher the three months before […]