In Newsclips, we combine timely headlines with peer-reviewed research to uncover lessons that help our clients become better stewards of their capital. Our aim is to go beyond market noise—identifying durable frameworks, hidden risks, and behavioral insights that shape long-term outcomes. By drawing on both current events and rigorous academic work, we highlight the habits and principles that support thoughtful, fiduciary-minded decision-making.
CNBC: How Yieldstreet’s Real Estate Bets Left Customers with Massive Losses
Yieldstreet, a fintech platform with a mission to democratize access to private-market investing, offers individual investors exposure to alternatives like real estate, legal finance, and art. CNBC reports that several high-profile real estate investments on Yieldstreet have faltered or failed entirely, with some deals halted mid-construction and others wiping out equity holders altogether. In one Nashville tower deal, investors were left with nothing. The story is a cautionary tale for investors seduced by the language of “access” and exclusivity—features that often obscure basic underwriting, illiquidity, and real estate project risk.
Flatrock’s Take:
“Exclusive access” and “different returns” make great marketing copy—but a portfolio isn’t a luxury good. You don’t wear it, drive it, or display it. What matters is whether it advances your financial goals with clarity, discipline, and a margin for error. As Yieldstreet’s recent headlines remind us, sizzle can’t substitute for sound portfolio construction—and “access” without diligence is just another way to court risk in disguise.
Jason Zweig – The Intelligent Investor
Jason Zweig offers a much-needed reality check for investors evaluating private offerings. His checklist is refreshingly simple: know your exit plan, total fees, and use of leverage. Ask the tough questions—how will I get out, what’s the true cost, and how does this compare to a low-cost ETF? And remember, even the elite Ivy endowments haven’t reliably outperformed once costs and complexity are factored in.
Flatrock’s Take: Not applicable—we’re proud to say our own research was cited in the article! Zweig referenced data from our Second Quarter Client Letter where we examined how illiquidity, high fees, and opaque structures can often over-promise and under-deliver compared to simpler public-market solutions. While private markets can have a place in a thoughtful portfolio, diligence and humility are the investor’s best tools—and we’re thrilled to see those principles spotlighted in this piece.
Financial Analysts Journal: Asset Allocation Drift Due to Taxes
This article explores a quiet but meaningful risk: how taxes on IRA withdrawals can distort a household’s true asset allocation. A portfolio that looks like a classic 60/40 split can function like a 67/33 risk-tilted mix if half the assets sit in a traditional IRA and bonds are concentrated there. The mismatch arises because bonds are fully taxed on exit, shrinking their effective value relative to stocks in taxable accounts. The result? A portfolio that appears balanced on paper may be taking more equity risk than intended, especially in retirement.
Flatrock’s Take: This is a great reminder that gross account values don’t always reflect true economic exposure. At Flatrock, we’ve long accounted for this in our Whole Picture Financial Planning. We measure after-tax values precisely because tax-deferred accounts can quietly distort risk—especially when treated equally by software that doesn’t adjust for withdrawal taxes. While the authors assume bonds are siloed into IRAs, we typically favor credit assets in deferred or exempt accounts—positions that often sit between stocks and bonds on the risk spectrum. That nuance softens the distortion in many real-world portfolios. Still, the paper’s core message stands: if you’re not thinking about taxes in both your returns and allocation, you’re not seeing the whole picture.
SSRN: Underperformance of Concentrated Stock Positions
In this sweeping analysis of decades of U.S. equity returns, the authors find that most individual stocks underperform the market over 10-year periods, with a median return 7.9% lower than the index. The data is even starker for recent winners: stocks that had strong past returns tended to lag the market by nearly 18% going forward. The takeaway is simple; diversification matters most after a big run-up.
Flatrock’s Take:
We covered this very dynamic in our February post, The Mirage of More—how concentrated stock positions rarely keep up over time, even when they start as winners. Petajisto’s findings confirm what we often tell clients: the substantial volatility of individual stocks tends to be poor for wealth preservation. Fortunately, the toolkit for diversifying out of concentrated positions has never been more robust. From tax-aware, long-short strategies to competitively priced exchange funds, to Section 351 exchanges, clients can manage embedded gains without losing control of their wealth. In short, don’t let yesterday’s winners become tomorrow’s anchor.
The headlines may change each month, but the discipline behind good stewardship doesn’t. Whether it’s questioning what “access” really offers, rethinking the shape of a portfolio after taxes, or staying humble about concentration risk, we believe thoughtful investors win by staying curious, skeptical, and grounded.
Let us know if you would like to discuss any of these themes with us. Markets fluctuate, priorities change, we’re here to help.