Articles
The true story behind paying a small fortune to the ‘potomac.com’ piper to strengthen our 40-year-old brand
Christopher Norton’s burst of creativity came aboard a flight when he had nothing but time and the electronic ear of Manish Khatta…
This is Going to End Badly,
Bro
Despite my unfairly given nickname, “Doomsday Dan,” we have never been known to be part of the “this is going to end badly” crowd.
Not so Efficient
Frontier
Financial advisors typically start their initial investment conversation by determining the client’s comfort level with risk.
If you are going to walk,
walk with Swagger.
We live in a world of instant information. If you don’t control your narrative, then someone else will. Talk about your…
From Turtle to ETF:
Managed Futures Overview
What started as a friendly debate between two successful traders turned into a challenge that aimed to settle…
AI Imagery
for Financial Advisors
Whether they’re effective or not, stock photos are still rampant in the contemporary marketing landscape. Our solution was Midjourney.
Not all Momentum
is the Same
When it comes to investing, momentum is the velocity of price change over time. Money managers may use momentum to identify…
Choosing to be
Different
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” That’s good advice but sometimes it’s hard to follow, especially… on Wall Street.
Not so Fast:
The Pitfalls of Buffer ETFs
Buffer ETFs have gone from nonexistent to an over $27 billion (about $83 per person in the US) AUM product as of mid-2023.
The Next Frontier
for Financial Advisor Growth
While the industry is yelling at you about content, blogs, SEO, email marketing, social media, podcasts, etc., it’s time to start…
Guardrails
8-Bit Version
Our April Fools gag for 2024 was one for the books. And while we don’t (yet) support vintage gaming systems, we are hard at work creating…
Why Advisors Need
an OCIO
Here are some key questions financial advisors should ask about the OCIO functionality and how it can impact their advisory business.
Dow Inclusion:
Signal or Noise?
We look at a few prior instances of additions and deletions from the Dow to form our own thoughts on the subject.
How I Invest
My Money
Investment managers should invest in the products they recommend to clients. Explore how Potomac takes the fiduciary…
Actively Passive;
No, Passively Active
Passive index investors are not interested in finding value in the market. So, as they pump more money into SPY, they are just pumping…
The Employee Turnover
is Unacceptable
We have been focused on growing the business, and some things just don’t get the TLC they deserve. But, as we grow…
Does your investment manager
“eat their own cooking?”
Explore the disturbing trend of the investment management industry not investing in their own management strategies…
Building a
Successful RIA
It is vital to reassess and determine if the tools you use are contributing to a growing business. Standing still (literally) gets you nowhere.
A Message From
the CEO
From the outside looking in, the absolute asset growth numbers are mind boggling but this is exactly what we expected to happen.
How Financial Advisors
Can 10x Their Firm
We’ve not made it a secret that Potomac grew from $140 million to $1.4 billion AUA/AUM in a span of four years. But if you missed it, yes…
Bitcoin ETFs?
Shall We Take a Look?
In today’s blog, we dive into the SEC’s approval of 11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs and what it means for our investment strategies.
Your Hand in Mine,
We Walk the Miles
The bond market looked at the stock market and said: And so, today my world it smiles, Your hand in mine, we walk the miles…
Performance
vs. Participation
“You know, Dan, there are only seven stocks holding the market up this year.” I have heard some versions of this comment many times over the past six months…
Thankful
& Blessed
As we move through the holiday season at a pace that could pass for an F1 race, Professor Russo wanted to step away from the charts and the markets to…
Kill Your
Darlings
Christopher titled his talk, “Kill Your Darlings.” And although originally a literary term, it is one he believes any successful marketer should, and must, follow.
Tactically
Seasonal
The market has continued to be choppy, frustrating both the bulls and the bears. Recall that, on average, the seasonal pattern calls for this…
Things
Change
We are witnessing what happens when a 40-year trend comes to an end. A trend that has been in place for most of our careers and many of our lives.
A Perfectly
Normal Year
The second you let your political views (not analysis) drive your investment decisions, you have already lost.
What Does it Mean
to be Extended?
Let’s dig back into your memory, to that statistics class that you took, and you will find that there is a way to define or quantify extended.
My Take on a Legend’s
Investment Rules
Dr. Martin Zweig had 17 rules that he developed during his illustrious tenure as a money manager. “Don’t Fight the Fed” is easily his most famous.
And the Loser Now
Will Be Later to Win…
No one knows for sure if the “times they are a-changin’,” but that Bob Dylan line came to mind when I looked at the chart…
How We Manage Money
to Reduce Risk
At Potomac, we are a tactical money manager that specializes in risk reduction. Our chosen investment vehicles are mutual funds and ETFs.
Gear Up
Podcasters
A guide to podcasting gear for financial advisors, curated from the successes (and failures) of the producers of the Conquer Risk Podcast.
A Teacher and
a Student
Teaching my technical analysis class has served as a constant reminder of the importance of sticking to the fundamentals.
What’s In A
Name?
I’ve seen too many advisors not appreciate the importance of their brand. Your visual identity, and more importantly your story, matters.
Let’s Have a
Chat (GPT)
With ChatGPT all the rage for the past six months, Dan Russo, CMT, thought it was time for him to take it for a spin.
Have You Spoken With
Our Website Lately?
I’d like to introduce you to something new: ChatGPT for your website. But most importantly–ONLY your website.
Should You Be Numb To
the Narrative(s)?
If we were in the business of selling narratives (which we’re not) this is the one that we would be pitching.
The Financial Crisis Taught Investors What They
Didn’t Learn in Investing 101
Investors should pay attention to the magnitude of losses, because of the time it takes to recover from these kinds of extreme losses.
What Would You Say
You Do Here?
So, what gives? Has Potomac’s marketing become a mixed bag of reactionary print products and holding on to what was?
Technical Analysis 101:
The Advance/Decline Line
Simply put, the A/D Line is perhaps the best way to gauge the market’s overall health. It’s typically used for an entire index…
ChatGPT for
Financial Advisors
It may just tackle the most daunting element every marketer has faced for the past two centuries: The blank page.
Who Charted? (E39)
Risk-On?
Dan Russo and Drew Wells highlight International Small-Cap, Discretionary / Staples, S&P 500 High Beta, Bitcoin, and more.
OCIO by Potomac
Launch Day
After increasing demand from RIAs, large OSJs, and TAMPs, we’re launching our newest product offering, OCIO by Potomac.
The Truth About the
Killer Yield Curve
Let’s dig into exactly what an inverted yield curve means, the implications for market losses, and if you should start to batten…
Digging Deeper into Breadth
Divergences
We review the historical returns and risk when the S&P 500 and its Advance Decline Line are confirming each other, and when…
What Is a “Breadth Thrust,” and
What Are the Risks?
The Technical Analysis community has a nearly endless number of loose definitions for what specifically constitutes a “Breadth Thrust.”
Volatility as a Breadth
Measurement
We apply the same concepts of volatility breakouts in the form of breadth analysis on the major equity indexes…
Pros and Cons of
Index Funds
While many investors have been told they should invest in them, not many understand why they may or may not be a good fit for…
What Is Ratio Analysis,
and How Can Investment Managers Apply It?
This output provides the market participant with a plot that can then be utilized to determine trend, momentum, volatility, and more.
Downturns Make Room for
More Strategists
if the S&P 500© had a book coming out next week, it would be titled “One strategist may not be getting the job done.”
When Does It Make Sense
to “Buy the Dip?”
We seek to provide some historical context around “dip buying” opportunities and, more importantly, the risks associated with…
A Mile High and
an Inch Apart
The experience of our first company retreat was a shared one, each with our own “firsts” and favorite moments.
Learning from Correlated
Markets
What does correlation measure, how can it be defined, and how can investors use this tool to help with their decision process?
Operating From
Home
As a tech-savvy firm, and being 100% digital, it pushes us to use and create the best technology innovations there are.
When Mentors Become
Business Partners
Any (good) RIA business owner will have a mentor(s) to lead them. Business is a contact sport, and taking a docile approach always loses.
Advisors Connecting through
Client Events
Five tips and observations to help advisors navigate the new normal while getting the most out of seeing their clients outside the zoom box.
The 200 Day Moving Average Strategy:
What Is It and How to Use It
The 200-day moving average has stood the test of time and market lore as one of the most popular indicators on several charting platforms.
What Is a
TAMP?
The word “TAMP” is thrown around this industry a lot. You may be saying to yourself, “I don’t even know what a f/**ing TAMP is.”
SEO for Financial Advisors:
A Beginner’s Guide
If you’re planning to grow your business, your business will need exposure—consistently. SEO can help Advisors stand out
What Can Historical Volatility
Teach Us?
While the topic of volatility is covered ad nauseam across the headlines, two key characteristics are often left out.
Shifting
Gears
When the world is hurting, no one cares that you’re clever, that you’re good at marketing, or what campaign you dreamt up.
The New Face of Wealth
Has Requests
If advisors don’t put new methods in place for the influx of women investors, they will begin to seek advice elsewhere.
A Bull in Bear’s Clothing?
Another Look at the Death Cross
Has the death cross been unequivocally disproven as the harbinger of doom that many claim it to be? Absolutely not.
Elevate Your
Tech Stack
We’re in an era of digitalization. If you’re not a part of the new digital age of operations, I’m afraid you might drag behind.
2022 Investment News
Best Places to Work
Potomac is honored to have been recognized as 2022 Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers by InvestmentNews.
Something New in
Intermarket Analysis
How fast will the economy grow in 2022? Where will the S&P 500 be at the end of the year? What about inflation?
(how-to) Get Your
Sh*t Together
When left to their own devices, everyone will do things differently. Save yourself— allocate the resources for a strong Project Manager.
Delving Deeper into
Intermarket Analysis
As markets become increasingly interconnected, cross-asset price action can’t be ignored; so, how can you apply this in real life?
Is Potomac
an RIA?
No matter who you are or what you do, one thing remains consistent: we are all media companies—or we should strive to be.
Intermarket Analysis as a Guidepost
for Risk Management
Uncovering new relationships as markets evolve will likely provide a bigger advantage to managers who adopt them ahead of the herd.
Operating Just Got a
Whole Lot Easier
For those who want to colossally change how to manage operations at your financial advisory company, pull up a chair.
Profound Industry Maker and
Player (PIMP) Awards
Potomac is pleased to announce the first annual Profound Industry Maker and Player (PIMP) awards.
Third Party Strategists (Part-Two)
A Wild Goose Chase for Advisors
If you’ve tried looking for a third-party strategist to manage assets for your advisory firm, you know this feeling quite well.
Third Party Strategists (Part-One)
How to Build Your Own Due Diligence Process
As more advisors are outsourcing portfolio management, it is critical that you have a way to evaluate each provider.
Not Your Grandfather’s
Financial Plan!
Goals is a word that is thrown around a lot in financial planning. So much so that most of us are dead tired of it.
Why Financial Advisor Communication is Broken
(And What You Can Do to Fix It)
It’s a hard truth to face, but the fact is the way many advisors communicate with clients is broken.
Customer service: The most boring, and important,
aspect of your firm
In this guest column for Investment News, Manish Khatta discusses why boring old customer service is so important.
Check Yourself Before
You Wreck Yourself
The fastest growing companies use business intelligence to gain a growth advantage over their peers.
Death of a (Whole) Salesman
(Guest Column)
This was an age before (the industry had fully adopted) the internet, when the local wholesaler reigned supreme.
Why a New TAMP for Small RIAs
Has a Months-Long Waitlist
Called Union, the unified managed account platform serves up big-TAMP technology plus “human handholding”
The Powerful Breadth
Surge
Explore how a surge in positive market breadth can effect forward looking returns. The use of technical analysis…
Why We Started
the Union Platform
So, we gathered the team and decided, “either we are going to solve this problem, or we need to find another business…
The Perfect Record of a
Breadth Thrust
Risk management is an important part of investing to protect from volatility and bear market declines. Explore whether…
Understanding Your Risk Tolerance
with Manish Khatta
Our CIO is featured on the YCharts blog in a Q&A about what we do and how we use their products to better understand risk.
A Small Investment Company Launches
a TAMP for the Little Guy
Potomac says competitive pricing and superior service will make Union a viable business, even amid consolidation.
Do Moving Averages Work
for Risk Management?
Risk management is an important part of investing to protect from volatility and bear market declines…
What Advisors Should Say When They
Don’t Know What to Say
A global pandemic. Civil unrest. People are hurting. How does an advisor proceed when the world is on fire?
What is a
Bear Market?
There isn’t a consistent definition. Explore how Potomac defines a bear market and why you should care about avoiding them.
The Truth about
Risk Management
I think one of the biggest misconceptions about risk management is you must permanently choose a side between risk-on and risk-off.
How Bear Markets Can Humble a
Buy the Dip Investor
Explore how market historians understand that bear markets have a unique way of humbling the staunchest buy the dip investor.
Know What You
Recommend
Financial advisors should understand the underpinnings of their recommendations, and never be surprised about what is lurking…
Understanding the Mutual Fund
Share Class Fiasco
Financial advisors and brokers have a responsibility to understand the convoluted landscape of mutual fund share classes.
Dangers of
Calendar Year Returns
Short-term performance is meaningless and calendar year returns can be the leading cause of FOMO.
HSAs Can Be a Niche Market
for Advisors
Advisors can grow a niche and add value by discussing the opportunities of an HSA account to protect against growing…
The Skinny on
Bear Market Funds
Bear Market Funds provide a quick and easy way to immediately protect against bear market losses. But how should they be used?
Choose a Path that Fits
Your Business Model
Financial advisors have many choices. Explore the various ways Financial Advisors can access Potomac’s tactical risk-managed…
Four Ways You Can Lessen the Impact of Loss Aversion in Your Investment Portfolio
Having a healthy amount of fear can often save us from making bad decisions and keep us physically safe…
Morningstar Ratings™
Fact or Fiction
Explore how Morningstar Star Ratings have been used by investors to construct portfolios for decades, but in an industry that lives by a…
Why Most Retirement Plan Participants
Are Invested Wrong (And What To Do About It)
Explore the history, current popularity, and dangers of target date funds, and learn how Potomac can provide a more personalized…
Your Biggest Asset Is
Also Most At-Risk
For many people, especially those who are further along in their careers and nearing retirement, their financial holdings may…
5 Steps to Take
in an Aging Bull Market
The recent spike in market volatility has provided an opportunity for investors to experience drawdowns for the first time in over a year…
Stop Ignoring the Conversation
About Risk
The most recent stock market pullback is a small taste of what could be a very small part of a much larger bear market…
The 5 reasons why employees should
have unlimited vacation
The best way to serve clients is to make sure you have the best staff in place. Employees should come first in every way possible.
Bond investors: Address the risk of rising rates now
or suffer the consequences later.
Explore the shifting trend toward sustained rising interest rates and why we believe the risks for bond investors are as high as ever…
The Most Misunderstood
Asset Class!
Explore how high yield bonds can produce positive returns, however, as with most investments, the downside risk of…
It’s All About Timing: Why Market
Cycles—Not Luck—Matter to Investors
Learn why luck is not an investment strategy. Investors should understand the importance of market cycles and timing…
Risky Business:
Why Investors Need to Discuss Risk
Learn why investors should put maximum drawdown at the forefront of every decision about client discussion..
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