Michael M. Pompian, CFA, CFP, CAIA

Is this portfolio commentary, I quickly discuss three items: 1. I take a look at traditional election year patterns for the stock market. 2.I also discuss why I think the probability of a larger conflict has increased from 1.5% to 10% with the passage of the $95 billion package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. 3. I point out that small capitalization stocks are following a traditional recessionary recovery playbook. https://lnkd.in/eTaXbcaT https://lnkd.in/eR3RPJgV #stockmarket #recession

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In this week's commentary, portfolio manager Brian Schaefer steps back from current market dynamics to share key elements of the disciplined process our Investment Committee applies to portfolio allocations. As he writes, the antidotes to emotional decision-making are "process, planning and preparation" – and professional investors need those antidotes just as much as clients do. #InvestmentCommentary https://lnkd.in/gbWMc-V4

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The Times They Are A Changin’ The three pillars of Private Credit have evolved from 1) Middle Market Lending, 2) Lower Middle Market Lending and 3) Upper Middle Market Lending to a broader, larger TAM that is worthy of consideration. Capital allocators have greater flexibility with a strong potential for enhanced returns by optimizing and diversifying their portfolio of Private Credit holdings. Key to select upper-quartile, experienced managers, however the approach to strategy that has prevailed during the past 10 years, may not be optimal in the years to come. Looking forward, Private Credit will be defined differently. Direct Lending will continue to receive allocations, however Asset-Based Lending will begin to take a larger share of the growing pie. ABL is huge, the TAM is measured in tens-of-trillions and I believe will grow to be as large as Direct Lending in 10-years’ time. Marathon Asset Management has been actively running its ABL strategy for the over 15 years and as an incumbent and experienced ABL manager we see firsthand how this market is developing. Basel III-Endgame will advance the development of Private Credit ABL just as Basel III enabled private credit managers to capture market share for Direct Lending over the past 15 years since the GFC. As the global economy grows, both Direct Lending and ABL will benefit as they form the 2 key pillars of the Private Credit market. The 3rd leg of the Private Credit stool are Opportunistic Strategies, defined as Capital Solutions, Dislocation & Distressed. Capital Solutions are a critical component to lending allowing for both growth capital as well as bridge capital during times of stress or transition for a company. Capital solutions may require a turn of extra leverage, carrying significantly higher coupons (~200bp+), +warrants supported by super-strong covenant package that can provide the lender with higher IRRs and MOICs.. Given current market conditions, capital solutions are a key component for any opportunistic lending program. As companies go all out to avoid BK, distressed exchanges have added to the opportunity set, as new money solutions enable companies to exploit weak documentation within credit agreements lenders previously accepted. Today, Opportunistic Credit is robust and I see as many opportunities in Capital Solutions as I do in special situations and dislocation. The right combo for a Private Credit portfolio might be 40% Direct Lending, 40% Asset-Based Lending & 20% Opportunistic Credit. Private Credit performance is remarkably consistent with lower volatility relative to most alternative assets. Porfolio Construction is always top of mind for me - how would you build your Private Credit portfolio? What strategies, which managers, how big of an allocation across a balance book that includes Public Debt, Public Equities and Alternatives? Private Credit in aggregate is approaching $5T across various strategies. I believe it will 3x ($15T) in 10-years.

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Last chance to register for today’s webinar with Ed Slott and myself, discussing how you can grow your wealth management business with tax management and unpack the new secure act final regulations!

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Starting the prep for #LPLFocus. Looking forward to helping all advisors who have recently joined #LPLFinancial transition their entire client base. Don't leave accounts because former managers are not available or capital gains are too much of an issue to make changes.  There is a better way..

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"The heart of an advisory practice is the client." Yes, JD, I agree! Listen to the latest episode of The Deep Dive with Jay Hummel where he interviews Aptus Capital Advisors CIO and Founder JD Gardner, CFA, CMT to talk about how advisors should (and shouldn't) spend their time. It's a great conversation!

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Florida Man (and Woman), Credit Card Chaos, and How To Calculate Retirement Numbers | COT 48 Join Jeff and Ron in this week's episode of the Cents of Things podcast as they discuss some interesting business decisions made by companies like Google and Blockbuster. They also dive into the hilarious world of Florida Man (and now woman) headlines. Additionally, the hosts provide valuable insights into retirement planning, breaking down how to calculate the amount needed for retirement using a simple back-of-the-napkin method.   Don't miss out on this informative and entertaining episode! Stay tuned for: Insights on business decisions made by tech giants like Google and Blockbuster Hilarious Florida Man headlines and stories A step-by-step guide to calculating the amount needed for retirement Tips on financial planning and strategies for a secure retirement Subscribe to the Cents of Things podcast for more weekly updates on business, economics, and fun stories. Don't forget to like, comment, and share your thoughts with us. We appreciate your support!   [00:01:26] Blockbuster rejecting to buy Netflix. [00:07:44] Florida man antics. [00:10:22] Retirement planning strategies.  [00:15:10] Strategies for retirement planning. [00:17:19] Retirement planning and savings goals. CLICK HERE FOR PODCAST - https://lnkd.in/gqQCMwhy   To follow Jeff Kikel: https://lnkd.in/guyC3uch www.freedomdaywealth.com   To Follow Ron Lang: https://lnkd.in/gJvBbyjA www.atlasbuildswealth.com   #centsofthings #podcast #markets #stockmarket #economy #economics #finance #investments #investing #trailingstops #atlaswealth #ronlang #jeffkikel #freedomday #financialplanning #retirementplanning #estateplanning #atlasbuildswealth #marketmanipulation #fedfutures #ratecuts #treasury #treasuries #cfo #ceo #accounting #CPA #benefits #hr #humanresources #aapl #msft #googl #nvda #sp500 #nasdaq100 #taxbrackets #irs #irsgov #tax #taxes #atlaswealth #401k #sep #solo401k #403b #tsp #taxfiling #inflation #cpi #ppi #pce #stockmarket #dowjones #sp500 #sp500index #spy #qqq #financialplanning #estateplanning #trust #estate #gifting #tod #qdro #jtwros #ronlang #atlasbuildswealth

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Get prepared for a successful year end by joining this webinar on Thursday where Amy and Kim will give you some great tips and answer your tough questions!

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We were quoted this week by CNN Underscored—in an article by Kate Stalter, Paul Curcio, and David Tony, "How to invest $1 million: 4 strategies"—regarding how to #invest $1MM. Also quoted in the article were Jacqueline Schadeck, CFP®, AWMA® of Golden Wealth Strategies, R.J. Weiss of The Ways to Wealth, Shinobu Hindert of Investing is Your Superpower, and Marc Lichtenfeld, CMT of The Oxford Club. Definitely consider engaging a multifamily office or financial advisor to help develop your personal financial roadmap based on your assets, liabilities, family needs, and priorities. Also, if you are a qualified investor, you may want to consider investing through a private placement life insurance (#PPLI) or private placement variable annuity (#PPVA) account for estate planning optimization—we can help with that. QUOTED EXCERPTS 1. How to invest $1 million in stocks For a $1 million stock investment in a taxable account, investors should consider a custom stock index with tax-loss harvesting that can mimic an S&P 500 or Russell index while also offering tax benefits, said Michael Ashley Schulman, a chartered financial analyst (CFA) who’s a founding partner and chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors in El Segundo, California. The ability to harvest tax losses, he said, offers investors in these index funds to outperform on an after-tax basis. Custom indexing, he explained, allows an investor to do line-item vetoes on companies or industries they either don’t like or already own in another portfolio. “So if you already own $1 million in Google, you probably don’t need to buy more of it and can choose not to own it within your custom index; this is a feature you can’t do with an exchange-traded fund (ETF),” Schulman said. 2. How to invest $1 million in bonds “People tend to think of stocks as risky and bonds as conservative, but that isn’t always the case,” said Schulman. Stock portfolios can be made less risky based on their components, and bond portfolios, he said, can be more risky based on the underlying securities. 4. How to invest $1 million in alternative assets Investors with $1 million to put to work often consider alternative assets. Some alternatives, such as commodities, can be easily traded using ETFs. Others, such as fine #art, #collectibles or #venturecapital, are held outside of traditional investment portfolios. For investors with $1 million, Schulman said his firm has been focused lately on #privatecredit, meaning private loans between borrowers and non-bank lenders, and #secondary funds, which allow #privateequity investments to be transferred between primary and secondary #investors. “Private credit can offer better yield than bonds, and #secondaries can help you gain access to diversified private equity and venture capital portfolios at a discount and with quicker realizations than primary funds,” he said. ~~ #investing #uhnwi #penguins

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Article featuring my quotes and a link to my blog post regarding how -- or whether -- the results of the upcoming election might affect investors' portfolios.

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This is welcome, but legacy pricing still persists. 1-1.5% of assets under management annually, plus, plus active management costs, plus financial planning fees - egregiously overpriced - is the stubborn pricing standard in RIA land, no different than the Merrill Lynch's and Edward Jones' practices. "All in" cost structures of 1.5-2% annually of AUM are still, unfortunately, all too common, and damaging to client wealth creation and income. Independent RIA's can control every expense, so they can keep their own costs low (no unnecessary trading floors, research departments or senior management salaries to support as in the legacy firms). An independent investment advisory firm can be run, with superior support and software, at a fraction of the cost of the competition, with no sacrifice in deliverables - high quality financial planning and personalized investment advice. These savings MUST be passed on to clients. The 1% pricing paradigm must go. Firms can be run at lower (.25-.5% of AUM, like our firm, Middle Street Capital), and as we've shown, grow nicely. But, unless the unnecessarily high, and completely arbitrary, 1% AUM fee structure is addressed by these new advisor firms from the start, the shift is meaningless.

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In the world of investment strategies, the 60/40 portfolio is the classic approach aimed at balancing growth and stability. But what if there was a potentially better option? Aptus Capital Advisors shares why put options can provide a clear, reliable form of downside protection by allowing investors to sell or hedge their holdings at a predetermined price. Dig into the details in their blog. https://lnkd.in/e_9Q-mUT

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Employees choose wealth management firms—and decide whether to stay at them—based on the opportunities to move their careers forward. Here’s how leaders at successful firms think about creating effective career paths.

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In the ever-evolving landscape of finance, private markets have emerged as core portfolio building blocks for investors seeking diversification, unique investment strategies, and higher potential returns. In this article, we'll cover...

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Earn your CE credits by watching the recording of my talk, "The Advisor's Field Guide to Private Credit." In this webinar, I dive deep into the diverse strategies of private credit funds, from large U.S. mega-funds, BDCs, and interval funds to niche specialty asset-based lenders. It's a valuable resource for anyone looking to expand their knowledge and expertise in this field. 👉 Access the webinar here: https://bit.ly/4axSe86 #SteepeAndCo #CECredits #ProfessionalDevelopment #PrivateCredit #Webinar

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In Part 2 of our three-part series on bringing order to your investment universe, we looked at Transitions and Taxes, or how to balance sensible tax management with effective investment planning. Today, we’ll wrap our series with additional ways to ease your transition from chaotic to more orderly investing. Some steps are purely practical. Others help you remain calm and confident along the way. We can mix and match them as needed to contribute to your investment success. Read the article here 👉 https://buff.ly/3zplWPl #financialplanning #investing #Denver

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