Category: Analysis

Analysis

20 Lessons From 500 FAS Podcast Episodes: What I Learned Building An RIA From Scratch In My 20s

Market Expert Jul 29, 2026

Building an advisory firm from scratch is extremely difficult in the best of circumstances. While CFP educational programs teach the knowledge of financial planning, they don't teach the practice of it – and there's remarkably little established training or curriculum. From figuring out how to find or attract prospects in the first place, to establishingRead More... The post 20 Lessons From 500 FAS Podcast Episodes: What I Learned Building An RIA From Scratch In My 20s first appeared on Kitces.com.

Analysis

Amplifying Business Growth By Constantly Honing Your Time Towards Its Highest-And-Best Use: #FASuccess Ep 500 With Michael Kitces

Market Expert Jul 29, 2026

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 500th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast! My guest on today's milestone podcast is me, interviewed by Kitces.com Financial Planning Nerd Adam Van Deusen. In this episode, we talk in-depth about how I manage my time, starting with the exercises I undertook to better understand where my time wasRead More... The post Amplifying Business Growth By Constantly Honing Your Time Towards Its Highest-And-Best Use: #FASuccess Ep 500 With Michael Kitces first appeared on Kitces.com.

Analysis

Transcript: Lori Heinel, Global Chief Investment Officer at State Street Investment Management

Market Expert Jul 28, 2026

The transcript from this week’s, MiB:Lori Heinel, Global Chief Investment Officer at State Street Investment Management, is below. You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube (video), YouTube (audio), and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can… Read More The post Transcript: Lori Heinel, Global Chief Investment Officer at State Street Investment Management appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

Lefsetz on Costco

Market Expert Jul 27, 2026

I’m categorically against self-checkout. I mean I’m already doing all the work. But it’s even worse, the machines are so theft-avoidant that you’ve got to follow a specific routine, not only scanning the item, but placing it on a platform to register its weight, grocery shopping is frustrating enough already. And every time… Read More The post Lefsetz on Costco appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

20 Lessons Learned From 500 FAS Podcast Episodes: What I Learned Building An RIA From Scratch In My 20s

Market Expert Jul 27, 2026

Building an advisory firm from scratch is extremely difficult in the best of circumstances. While CFP educational programs teach the knowledge of financial planning, they don't teach the practice of it – and there's remarkably little established training or curriculum. From figuring out how to find or attract prospects in the first place, to establishingRead More... The post 20 Lessons Learned From 500 FAS Podcast Episodes: What I Learned Building An RIA From Scratch In My 20s first appeared on Kitces.com.

Analysis

MiB: Lori Heinel, Global Chief Investment Officer at State Street Investment Management

Market Expert Jul 26, 2026

This week, I speak with Lori Heinel, Global Chief Investment Officer at State Street Investment Management. We discuss her unlikely journey from majoring in religious studies at Princeton to working in finance and investing. She tells us about her role as CIO at State Street and how she balances active and passive management… Read More The post MiB: Lori Heinel, Global Chief Investment Officer at State Street Investment Management appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

An Advisor’s Guide To Opening 530A “Trump Accounts”

Market Expert Jul 26, 2026

July 4, 2026 saw the official launch of Sec. 530 "Trump Accounts" (TAs), a new type of 'starter' retirement account designed to be opened and funded on behalf of minor children so they can start accumulating tax-deferred retirement savings at an early age. Under the rules for TAs, parents and other individuals, employers, and governmentRead More... The post An Advisor’s Guide To Opening 530A “Trump Accounts” first appeared on Kitces.com. Click the icon below to listen.

Analysis

The Client Engagement Trap And Balancing Touchpoints Vs Rapid Responsive Service: Kitces & Carl 195

Market Expert Jul 26, 2026

In the time between review meetings, advisors are often busy doing work for clients (such as portfolio analysis or reviewing insurance needs). This cadence of work is crucial, but it’s also often invisible, especially when no action is needed. The antidote for many advisors is some sort of communication between meetings – from birthday cardsRead More... The post The Client Engagement Trap And Balancing Touchpoints Vs Rapid Responsive Service: Kitces & Carl 195 first appeared on Kitces.com.

Analysis

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (July 25–26)

Market Expert Jul 26, 2026

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that Treasury Department officials this week expressed concern about various "tax alpha" investment strategies, including Section 351 exchanges, "box-spread" ETFs, funds designed to generate ordinary losses, and ETFs that trade in and out of other ETFsRead More... The post Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (July 25–26) first appeared on Kitces.com.

Analysis

Tariffs, Yet Again

Market Expert Jul 25, 2026

Overnight, the Trump Administration announced a new, massive set of tariffs, claiming authorization by Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The full list of the 60 countries tariffs were levied on is at The Independant. These are as likely unlawful as the IEEPA tariffs were, but for different and more technical… Read More The post Tariffs, Yet Again appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

Vanguard: The Costliest Mistakes Even Experienced Investors Make

Market Expert Jul 24, 2026

I have been fortunate to get to know Joe Davis, chief economist at investing giant Vanguard, over the years. He has been on MiB a few times, and I have referenced his research many times. I had been to the VG campus a few times before — once to interview Jack Bogle for… Read More The post Vanguard: The Costliest Mistakes Even Experienced Investors Make appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

At The Money: Investing in Wheat

Market Expert Jul 23, 2026

At The Money: Investing in Wheat (July 22, 2026) Do you want to own a core food staple as a geopolitical hedge, an inflation offset, or simply as a diversifier? There’s an ETF for that! Full transcript below. ~~~ About this week’s guest: Sal Gilbertie began trading agricultural and energy commodities in 1982… Read More The post At The Money: Investing in Wheat appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

The Failure Gap

Market Expert Jul 22, 2026

We are all systematically blind to how often things fail. (Thank you to Joachim Klement for bringing this to my attention) The Failure Gap goes into great detail about this. The paper’s authors reviewed over 30 “life domains”; they determined that failure occurs about 61% of the time. But ask people what the… Read More The post The Failure Gap appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

Transcript: Jason Wenk, Altruist founder and CEO

Market Expert Jul 21, 2026

The transcript from this week’s MiB: Jason Wenk, Altruist founder and CEO, is below. You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube (video), YouTube (audio), and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here. ~~~ MASTERS… Read More The post Transcript: Jason Wenk, Altruist founder and CEO appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

Why A 14X EBITDA Sale Price In Headlines Often Really Isn’t By The End

Market Expert Jul 21, 2026

For most of their history, advisory firms were incredibly illiquid small businesses, and founders had to spend years or even a full decade training a successor in the hopes of having someone, anyone, to pay for the value of the equity that had been built. But over the past 15 years, a combination of lowRead More... The post Why A 14X EBITDA Sale Price In Headlines Often Really Isn’t By The End first appeared on Kitces.com.

Analysis

4Xing To $200M AUM In 4 Years While Staying Lean By Leveraging AI, Technology, And Outsourcing All You Can Let Go Of: #FASuccess Ep 499 With Ryan Townsley

Market Expert Jul 21, 2026

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 499th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast! My guest on today's podcast is Ryan Townsley. Ryan is the owner of Town Capital, an RIA based in Bel Air, Maryland, that oversees approximately $200 million in assets under management for 155 client households. What's unique about Ryan, though, is howRead More... The post 4Xing To $200M AUM In 4 Years While Staying Lean By Leveraging AI, Technology, And Outsourcing All You Can Let Go Of: #FASuccess Ep 499 With Ryan Townsley first appeared on Kitces.com.

Analysis

MiB: Jason Wenk, Altruist founder and CEO

Market Expert Jul 19, 2026

This week, I speak with Jason Wenk, founder and CEO of Altruist, a modern custodian for independent financial advisors. We discuss why Jason started the company and his plans to change asset management through technology. He weighs in on the state of RIAs, and how AI is going to change everything. A list… Read More The post MiB: Jason Wenk, Altruist founder and CEO appeared first on The Big Picture.

Analysis

Overvalued, Bubble, or Revolution?

Market Expert Jul 18, 2026

Perhaps the question I hear asked most often is: “Are we in a bubble?” and “What’s happening with this artificial intelligence thingie?” I picked a few of my favorite charts that shed light on this issue. All of these were pulled from my Q3 Review & Update quarterly call, which I do for RWM… Read More The post Overvalued, Bubble, or Revolution? appeared first on The Big Picture.