2021 Outlook, CE For Financial Professionals Only

Reviews Of Continuing Education Classes For Professionals
Yesterday’s class by Fritz Meyer received a 9.7 (out of 10) rating from attendees. What’s that mean? Of advisors who attended the class, 149 took the time to rate it.

Ratings and reviews of continuing education classes for professionals were first offered by Advisors4Advisors in 2011. At that time, publishing ratings and comments from CFP®, CPA, CFA®, CIMA®, and other professionals attending CE classes set a new standard, disrupting the continuing ed business.

A4A has an unusual business model, different from the traditional model of the continuing professional education industry: A4A is member sponsored content, which is in the best interest of advisors who join, which is why A4A attracts fiduciaries.

A4A efficiently provides education about investing, tax, and financial planning for advisors who are fiduciaries. Thought leaders Fritz Meyer, Bob Keebler and Craig Israelsen collaborate with me and you.

Of the 149 attendees who took the time to rate yesterday’s two-credit CE class by Fritz Meyer, 66 took even more time to write a review, which is much-appreciated, and-follows below:

• Excellent and relevant. Fritz brings a lot of clarity to the overload of data we get everywhere else
• Fritz has tried to justify in the last couple of webinars why he goes over the same info each month so I'm assuming he's getting that feedback. I would concur that most of what he spends his time on is repeat. I think it would be helpful to include some more new material and maybe repeat some of his stalwart charts every couple of months instead of every month.
• Excellent
• Good info - much to think about.
• Excellent. Covered lots of territory. Always great to hear alternative (more "true") views to what gets communicated or "fed" from other sources. Good
• Very informative.
• VG
• He was honest in his preface... "not too much " New" to talk about.” Still, an excellent recap and summary
• Love demographic data
• Excellent.
• It's great to hear Fritz continue to keep things in perspective...despite the euphoria in the markets and the chaos in our political climate.
• Great as always!
• When you look beyond the media noise, Fritz presents a message from his charts and graphs that can be reassuring to our clients.
• Very insightful. I wonder why Fritz does not make the logical conclusion that given Wall Street's "best" analysts can't predict future performance on sectors, the best strategy for individual investors is really "benign neglect with a set of low cost index funds allocated among the various market segments based on client risk profile and investment horizon". Too many of my CFP counterparts still push active funds and sectors...Always great stuff from Fritz.
• Great webinar (again) today with Fritz' outlook on Wall Street predictions, and cutting to the core or essence of the issues. Once again, much of what Fritz has said in the past continues to "come true" and his common sense and logical, measured approach to analyzing markets is far superior to the talking heads on CNBC and elsewhere. I have trained my clients to ignore those talking heads, and with good cause. Fritz has always conveyed only the data and other information, and left opinions on the sidelines.
• Great information. Really appreciate it!
• Good info
• Good Overall
• Great way to start the year with amazing content.
• Too long, first half repeated last two webinars
• Always enjoy
• Never miss it
• Liked the longer running time as it allowed for Q&A
• It was great.
• Well done. As you said, Fritz is the best. I listen to most of your webinars to keep up to date on all things economy, tax, etc... Thank you, Very informative as always
• Breadth of Fritz's knowledge is impressive.
• Fritz always makes sense
• Excellent as always.
• Excellent!
• Great analysis on recent events and answers to questions on most investor's minds least days. Excellent perspective as always.
• Excellent!
• If/since there are 100 (97+) slides of complicated concepts in less than two hours, it's tough to keep up.
• Material got this (#4 response) close to a "10."
• Excellent presentation, awesome information supported by facts.
• FANTASTIC!!
• Clear and consistent message as always
• Great info as usual!
• Great! I think it would be helpful if Fritz would talk about other economies sometimes, too. Since we all have international stocks in our portfolios, having a feel for those markets/economies might be interesting. Thanks
• I always learn and remember what I kind of knew when I attend Fritz's presentation. Extremely valuable information in guiding my financial planning clients.
• You should state that it doesn't matter how you answer the polling questions to get credit. I was reading all the options on the first polling question so I answered it correctly, and I didn't answer in time.
• We understand that need to provide continued and consistent material but when the time-frame is double the typical session, then you should be able to cover that consistent information within the same timeframe and then have plenty of time to add new or more relevant data, I do get a lot of great info from Fritz but it's time to expand on the materials.
• Fritz is always interesting.
• Nice update, thanks for the clarifications on questions!
• Excellent material and pertinent.
• Very insightful w data to support the suggestion
• Great objective points to better understand where the economy and stock are currently positioned Always excellent.
• Excellent and timely
• Fritz started by apologizing for "repeating" himself from month to month. This is not "repeating." He's reviewing the relevant talking points w/ regularly updated data. I repeat: Fritz does not (repeat). No apologies.
• Fritz is the BEST!
• Very good
• Absolutely excellent!
• Great stuff again
• Fritz is always great (excluding his soap box for buy & hold as the only successful investment strategy). I doubt that there are many RIA advisors who pay any attention to Wall Street analysts or their asset class forecasts.
• Fritz is always good. Very good presentation of the data.
• Good
• Fritz did a fabulous job on this webinar. I always enjoy listening to Fritz.
• Good material. i don't understand why we have to pay extra for the slides. Other CPE sites don't require additional payments.
• Really helpful. Reasonable, balanced perspective. Thanks!
• Very informative, as always.
• Very helpful in sorting through all of the noise
• Top notched
   

Sector Picking Versus A Strategic Approach

Since 2007, Fritz Meyer an independent economist, has tracked the S&P 500 sector predictions by 10 strategists from Wall Street’s largest firms in a survey published in Barron’s every December.

Asking Wall Street’s best minds to predict which sectors will outperform and underperform is a recipe for failure. No one can predict the future of the 10 industry sectors over the next 12 months with any reliability. The premise of the story represents an old approach to investing. Yet the financial press and Wall Street are still complicit in promulgating the old approach.

Independent financial advisors with credentials from CFP Board, state boards of accountancy, IWI, and CFA Institute are taught about strategic investment techniques and focus on tax-managed results. This video draws a contrast between Wall Street’s old ways and the work of financial and tax planning professionals.

With a media blitz of predictions by gurus in the financial press this month, this video is a timely warning for long-term investors. The stream of content we provide for consumers draws clients based on facts and differentiates independent fiduciaries from competitors.

Fritz Meyer's Scorecard Of Predictions By Wall Street Strategists

Fritz Meyer has tracked the predictions of Wall Street top strategists’ in Barron’s every year since 2007. The results from the last 13 years are in this three-minute video.

Fact-checking the ultimate accuracy of predictions made in the financial press is rarely done. The press, more than ever, is stretched too thin to review how the predictions peddled 12 months earlier ultimately turn out for investors.

With the new year sure to bring a new barrage of stock market predictions in the press this month, now is the perfect time to warn investors.

Following the advice of Wall Street’s best minds would have resulted in huge losses at key inflexion points, and Wall Street's ability to forecast the S&P 500 is too unreliable to be helpful. Looking back at predictions by the best minds on Wall Street for the past 13 years is a rare bit of objective analysis that investors do not get in the financial press, and distinguishes an independent advisor from Wall Street’s sales-machine.

Presenting evidence supporting strategic investing builds advisor credibility and reinforces a fiduciary’s approach. The hardest part is that it must be done regularly in a stream of evidence-based financial wisdom. That attracts clients who value good thinking and strategic planning, who appreciate you.  

The Change In The Asset Valuation Paradigm

The first two minutes of this video is for clients. It summarizes the asset valuation paradigm shift that economist Fritz Meyer has been describing for many months. The last four minutes is an update for advisors about retail sales, housing and LEI reports.

Fritz’s updates never change dramatically month-to-month. The economy changes slowly. But there is a dramatic shift going on right now in the relative value of bonds versus stocks, gold, and other capital gain assets. It is unprecedented, driven by economic fundamentals of today's financial world.

Advisor clients that understand the shift in the asset valuation paradigm are likely to be lifelong relationships, but the only way they can come to understand it is by dripping on them with information about your view of evolving events.

Clients don't want to know about these details about investing until they do. By then they may already have found another advisor. The consumer version of A4A classes addresses the financial advisor information gap.         

At the January 13 class, Fritz drills into the change in asset valuations. In the four decades he's tracked financial economics, Fritz says he never seen something like this. If you've been foillowing Fritz's views for more than a year, you may be able to connect the dots between the change in the valuation paradigm currently under way and the aging demographic trend in the world's largest econmies that Fritz has been talkiung about for a few years.

The aging of the world's population and rising affluence is creating a future in which China, Germany, France, and other large economies have a smaller workforce at the same time more people are living longer ander and demanding income. Fritz's view is fairly simple and makes sense of the world.  Wishing all of our friends all the best for the holidays and 2021!           

An Important Update From Fritz Meyer  
As unlikely as it may seem, a powerful new bull market in stocks and housing may just be getting started. But isn’t that always how bull markets happen?

In this 19-minute update, Fritz Meyer talks about an economic statistic no one has paid much attention to for four decades – M2. 

Fritz’s classes for financial professionals on Advisors4Advisors have received ratings of 9.7 out 10 for many years. 

This week’s update is one of the most important of the hundreds of weekly conversations I’ve had with Fritz in the past 10 years.

View the 2-minute consumer version of this video about M2. 

The Financial Impact Of Poltical Abnormality 
Fritz Meyer sticks to the economic statistics in this update, until asked whether President Trump’s effort to overthrow the election results is having any effects on financial markets. 

Retail sales rose slightly less than expected but are still strong, housing is booming, and the LEI rose again, in line with what Fritz has been expecting. So the economy is doing fine.

However, U.S. political derision and dysfunction is abnormal. So I was obliged to ask Fritz about the Elephant in the room: the impact of political abnormaility. 

In this week's update, I shared my video-cam with Fritz and he reciprocated, resulting in this impromptu look at our faces. That's why I am in my gardening getup. We'll be more deliberate about video-cam sharing next time. 

Class Description: 2021 Outlook, CE For Financial Professionals (Two Credits) The relative value of stocks versus bonds has changed, and a new valuation paradigm is emerging.  The tectonic shift has been trigged by a confluence of fundamentals, 10-year bonds yielding less than 1%, a 1.2% inflation rate, Covid emergency relief, and an explosion in M2, according to Fritz Meyer, an independent economist who has tracked fundamentals for over 40 years.

Fritz Meyer is an independent economist. In monthly webinars on A4A since April 2011, Fritz has averaged about a 4.8-star rating from independent investment professionals attending the sessions.Fritz explains economic fundamentals driving investment markets, drawing on three decades of experience as a money manager and investment strategist at one of the world's largest investment companies.

This webinar is eligible for two hours of CE credit towards the CIMA® and CPWA® certifications, two CFP® CE, two PACE credits toward the CLU® and ChFC® designations, and two live CPA CPE credits.

Election Eve Update From Fritz Meyer 
The economy grew at an anomalous 33.1% annual rate in the third quarter, according to data from BEA Friday. That’s unprecedented growth. It’s one of numerous Covid statistical anomalies distorting the shape of the recovery..  

Yes, the 33.1% growth rate is twice the previous  set in Q1 1957, and BEA’s actual growth pronouncement, which will be corrected twice in the days ahead, was stronger than the WSJ consensus prediction in mid-October. The shape of the recovery curve changed noticeably, but Fritz says it does not shorten the time it’s expected to take to return to the 4Q19 annualized GDP run-rate of $19.3 trillion.  

A full recovery – to what would have occurred had there never been a Covid recession, to full employment – is still not expected until at least 2023. Forecasts of GDP beyond two years are unreliable, which is why the WSJ and other consensus surveys of economists generally limit projections to six or seven quarters. 

ISM Manufacturing survey drops today and the Services index on Wednesday. You’ll have to wait until Friday for the most important release, however: the employment situation report from BLS. And then there’s an election!

Fritz is speaking one week after the election.on November 10, and Bob Keebler gives a post-election tax and financial planning update on Nov. 12.

Fritz Meyer Economic Updates: Professional Versus Consumer Versions
Fritz Meyer's update on the right covers the latest twist in the housing data, September 0.7% increase in the LEI, and the consensus forecasts through mid-2022 in seven-minutes.  The last two minutes of the video is the consumer version for advisor clients. 

Because Fritz has educated advisors on economics for about 20 years, his updates are very concise. But they're not concise enough for clients.  

To retain clients and keep them on a financial plan, advusors must continually keep clients on course, especially during a pivotal week like this one, with U.S. tax, economic, and Covid-crisis policies riding on the national election.  

The long version of Fritz's update distills the crucial facts a financial professional needs to know right now, but the two-minute version that follows boils down the current outloook to a simple message. 

Financial fiduciaries are information gatekeepers, but the pace of news makes streaming strategic wealth management content on a continual basis extremely difficult to RIAs. Which is why we create a consumer version of thought leadership CE classes on A4A. 

Free consultation about how to use our platform in your RIA  
     

Skip RMDs And Convert To A Roth
The unprecedented election to skip RMDs by the end of the year, along with a conversion to a Roth IRA account, could stretch IRA accounts for clients. 

Advisors should be telling their retirement income clients about this year-end tax tip right now. However, it is a complex two step process since it involves the one-time CARES RMD provision and also a conversion to a Roth IRA. So you likely will not see this written in advisor email newsletters or blogs. Here's a video that tells clients the basics in about a minute. 

RIAs Must Keep Wealth Management Priorities In Perspective

Perhaps the most important job of an advisor is as a financial "choice decider." You set the agenda for clients, prioritizing what they could and should do to build their wealth.

As the financial choice decider, it’s important to tell clients that the best choice they could make right now is to pay attention to tax planning, amid the stock market’s attention-grabbing gyrations. 

The video on the right puts financial professionals in the role of choice decider in the current financial economic and tax situation.