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Why behavioral finance is top of mind with wealth managers

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Why behavioral finance is top of mind with wealth managers

The aim of the wealth administration trade is to extend the worth of your portfolio. Add a brand new focus to the trade’s mission: your head.

How an investor thinks and feels — not nearly cash but additionally about practically each human expertise — is more and more marketed as one thing that may be monetized, for the good thing about each shoppers and advisors. And the means for doing so are multiplying. 

Consider a man-made intelligence-powered algorithm that decides a shopper is skittish about large-sum charitable giving however open to creating a personal basis. Or of a robo-advisor whose programming determines how you’re feeling about threat and subsequently how a lot fairness you need to personal. What a couple of paper credential exhibiting that an advisor has accomplished a coaching course on the biases — in layman’s language, beliefs — that get in our manner of taking advantage of our cash? Or a “storytelling” method that reframes an investor’s life experiences and monetary decisions to create a believable imaginative and prescient of higher outcomes? 

Instruments addressing the emotional and cognitive elements of saving and spending more and more make their manner into buyers’ monetary lives, signaling how behavioral finance is turning into a commodity for wealth managers.

The department of economics explores the methods by which people aren’t utterly rational in monetary choices massive and small. For instance, a shopper with loss-aversion bias can fall into the entice of ready for a really shedding fund to bounce again as a substitute of simply dumping it, taking the loss and placing cash into a greater guess. An investor satisfied that he is aware of extra about small-cap shares than he actually does, due to the welter of on-line commentary and insights, can throw {dollars} after dangerous firms due to his overconfidence bias. A shopper who cannot resist spending his bonus right now, reasonably than placing it right into a retirement plan, is troubled with a gift bias that makes delayed gratification powerful. 

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Embedding these insights, and a whole lot extra, into automated instruments and in-person approaches that advisors use to work together with shoppers will help stymie the all-too-human responses that forestall many buyers from amassing better wealth.

It is an train that should frequently be repeated. Requested if buyers realized from previous errors, such because the tech inventory bubble that burst greater than 20 years in the past, leaving many buyers within the purple, Richard Thaler, a professor of behavioral science and economics on the College of Chicago and Nobel laureate for is contributions to the sphere, stated in an interview with Morningstar final June, that “there does not appear to be any proof that we do be taught.”

That is the place advisors can add worth. Thaler stated that “a very good monetary advisor is an element economist, half psychologist,” and concluded that “understanding the psychology of the shopper is important to being a very good advisor.”

Analysis by Arizent, the dad or mum firm of Monetary Planning, reveals that the wealth administration trade has a quicker uptake of AI and machine studying, making it ripe for incorporating behavioral finance findings into apply with shoppers. As a cottage trade of ideas in regards to the area springs up, we talked to 2 wealth administration trade executives and a number one mild of behavioral finance, Meir Statman of Santa Clara College, in regards to the influence on wealth administration. Interviews have been condensed for size and readability.

Meir Statman, professor of finance at Santa Clara College in Santa Clara, California:

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FP: How has behavioral finance developed?
MS: We’ve got had two generations of behavioral finance. Within the first (one, within the Eighties), individuals are irrational and solely in maximizing their wealth — a rational need. Within the second, individuals are nonetheless are largely or totally curious about maximizing their wealth, however they’re neither a rational nor irrational — they’re usually “regular,” good and educated, however typically, they’re “regular,” silly and ignorant.

The primary technology talked about feelings as being errors — as if feelings aren’t helpful. I take advantage of the lottery for example. In first-generation pondering, individuals who purchase lottery tickets accomplish that as a result of they do not know math and statistics and they do not know the percentages. And I at all times ask, suppose that I see you about to purchase a lottery ticket and I let you know that the percentages aren’t one in 100 million as you thought, however one in 200 million. Is that going to discourage you from shopping for your lottery ticket? No. What individuals purchase is a dream. It is like what individuals purchase once they go to the film — fiction. You wouldn’t name someone silly for going to the films.

Feelings are helpful for us. It’s a matter of determining what’s it that folks need earlier than you declare them silly. Some individuals like (inventory) buying and selling the identical manner that some individuals prefer to play video video games. They don’t seem to be going to begin a Google, and if the lottery ticket prices, say, $1, and it affords them some type of psychic kick that you understand they’ll maintain the dream alive, is not the acquisition a rational choice? I’ve seen some lists of 200 cognitive errors, that are a cognitive error themselves. That’s what occurs when individuals choose the knowledge of a selection by the result.

FP: How ought to advisors speak to shoppers?
MS: You do not have to be a psychiatrist or a psychologist. You simply should be serious about issues as a very good buddy does and say, ‘What’s it  that you’re doing?’ Then you’ll be able to see if someone is exceedingly optimistic and pondering, ‘this concept goes to make me wealthy!’ You may then say, ‘Effectively, you understand, decelerate a bit and take into consideration what can occur on the draw back. If someone comes and says, ‘I simply know that the inventory market goes to go down, and I have been proper earlier than,’ then you’ll be able to information them with out insulting them.

It truly is the function of advisors to know that well-being comes from cash and that that underlies the whole lot, however it additionally comes from household. It comes from work, it comes from well being, it comes from buddies. And as a substitute of taking a look at ‘what’s your angle towards threat’, advisors ought to have a look at what issues to you — what goes on in your loved ones. Let’s speak about these issues which are painful to you.

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Each household has its personal ache, and in case you are a sensible advisor and also you solicit these items and also you share maybe your personal historical past, as a result of each household has them, then you definitely discover which you could assist (shoppers) enhance their well-being, even when they do not enhance their wealth.

FP: How do advisors mess up with shoppers?
MS: They may current themselves as good, and their shoppers as silly. And that isn’t good. It is actually essential to make use of humility and first admit that you’re topic to biases after which say, ‘my benefit is that I realized about these and I can information you as a trainer guides college students.’ You do not need to convey, ‘let me train you about these cognitive errors, you silly shopper of mine.’

FP: Are detailed psychological profiles of shoppers helpful?
MS: I do not suppose they’re actually helpful. The massive 5 you in all probability know (conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, openness and neuroticism), so these may be helpful. Conscientiousness, for instance, is strongly related to self management. Self management is a superb factor.

FP: What’s the most misunderstood idea in behavioral finance?
MS: Loss aversion. Loss aversion will not be an error — it is what individuals do, and typically it’s good and typically it isn’t as good. And affirmation bias: individuals hate to confront proof that’s inconsistent with their needs and concepts and so forth. And so how do you get individuals to confront details as they’re? It’s a must to watch out to not confuse good outcomes nearly as good choices and dangerous outcomes with that call.

Dan Egan, vice chairman of behavioral finance and investing at Betterment:

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dan egan headshot.jpg

FP: How ought to advisors cope with altering shopper conduct?
DE: One of many areas we have seen that has had a golden age and continues to be doing loads of fascinating stuff is asset managers and 401(okay)s, that are clearly the most important and most democratic financial savings instrument most Individuals have. There’s been loads of very fascinating analysis on how tweaking plan parameters, with issues like defaults and auto escalation and employer matches, can affect individuals’s behaviors. There’s lots you are able to do within the system across the individual, reasonably than asking them to alter their conduct first.

Additionally, and we have not seen this dramatically, however there’s beginning to be some use of gamification in constructive methods. 

And there have been just a few locations which have began to essentially mess around with pricing schemes that each incentivize and reward behavioral patterns for a way you get charged for providers primarily based upon the way you act.

FP: Are behavioral finance credentials for advisors value it? 
DE: I feel are, however it’s somewhat bit like a second-year med scholar: first you be taught loads of conceptual, historic truths about issues. This wrestle is to not present that folks will make choices in irrational methods; it is to indicate them how you’re going to assist them make higher choices. These packages make you conscious of the patterns and the way malleable we’re. However I do not suppose you find yourself being a very good physician who is ready to assist individuals enhance their decision-making and who is aware of what the treatment is. You are simply extra conscious of precisely what issues are.

FP: Do psychological profiles of shoppers have worth?
DE: Individuals are people who even change over time. It is essential to view them not as being a set ingredient. If someone got here in and had very weak legs, their private coach would not say, ‘cool. We will keep away from leg workouts.’ They’d be like, OK, that is one of many parts that we really need to alter and give attention to.

There’s loads of it that is fairly foolish, that feels somewhat bit like Cosmo quiz. And that is primarily based on the concept which you could ask questions and folks reply these questions in a different way, with out tying it again to with the ability to give completely different recommendation or higher recommendation or assist shoppers make higher choices. That stated, I do suppose it permits you to have a scaffold, with a set of questions. It isn’t a lot a diagnostic take a look at as it’s a actually helpful manner for us to scaffold a dialog about what you understand and what you do not and what you are snug with. A psychological profile is extra about giving a very good construction to the dialog about your relationship with cash.

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FP: Do the identical biases have an effect on rich and not-rich buyers alike?
DE: Individuals are individuals, no matter what number of commas they’ve. Some individuals are tremendous ‘maintaining with the Joneses.’ They’re very materialistic. Despite the fact that they make a lot of cash or have a lot of cash, spending continues to be a difficulty. There’s a freedom from grocery invoice stress that prime internet value individuals have. They usually do not should spend as many thought cycles all through the course of the day serious about the way to optimize their cash and their funds. However I’ve seen individuals who have tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars}, and so they stress about it simply as a lot as someone who has $5,000. They make comparable errors. They get caught up in comparable fads. They need to beat their brother-in- regulation’s returns in order that they’ll speak about it at Thanksgiving.

FP: Ought to non-optimal behaviors be engaged, or averted?
DE: Should you can design programs round folks that reward good conduct and discourage or bypass dangerous conduct, that is going to be the best end result. What you are doing there’s avoiding their conduct. You are not truly participating with it. You are bypassing or doing the runaround. 
So in 401(okay) plans the place they auto escalate your financial savings, one of the crucial widespread issues individuals have is life-style creep. You begin out not making some huge cash, then you definitely begin making extra money, and as a substitute of dedicating a major proportion of every elevate to financial savings, you spend extra money. 

You may attempt to have them set a funds. It is effortful. Individuals hate this. Or you’ll be able to simply say, everytime you get a elevate, we’ll take 50% of it and chuck it into your 401(okay) and no one complains if you try this. Nevertheless it’s not like some hardship. 

So when it comes to effectiveness utilizing behavioral design, a system and altering the system is at all times going to be the best. It’s best to at all times be clear and upfront about that. It ought to by no means be hidden or sneaky. 

That is how we see that there are higher outcomes. Put your self in different individuals’s sneakers and take into consideration doing this to individuals who you actually care about. It makes you extra considerate in designing the system.

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Colleen Jaconetti, senior funding analyst at Vanguard:

FP: What does Vanguard do for advisors on the behavioral finance entrance?
CJ: I am a part of a group that develops analysis to assist advisors enhance investor outcomes. So we create analysis and thought management round serving to advisors implement issues with asset allocation, low-cost rebalancing and withdrawals. After which the opposite massive piece of labor is basically across the behavioral teaching. This stuff aren’t at all times straightforward to do, even by seasoned funding professionals, as a result of it appears at instances to be counterintuitive. And that is the place the behavioral teaching piece is available in, and it is actually serving to individuals assist your shoppers persist with a plan.

We’re attempting to assist advisors articulate the worth that they add to the connection and provides them concepts of how to elucidate issues, as a result of conduct teaching is considerably laborious to elucidate at instances. How do you clarify to a shopper that once they known as you in the course of the worldwide monetary disaster that you just determined to not abandon your 80% stock-bond allocation and go to 100% bonds or all money. You truly added loads of worth in hindsight?

FP: Do advisors have biases?
CJ: I feel all people has pure biases. I will give an instance. Seven years in the past, my father handed away. And my mom was getting alongside on her life insurance coverage, after which the market went down, down, down. I actually stated, ‘Mother, simply put your assertion down, earlier than (you) have a coronary heart assault.’ I knew that over the long term, the very best factor to do will not be get out of your balanced portfolio and go all money, despite the fact that that was what each fiber in her physique was pushing her to do. 

So I simply suppose that advisors aren’t completely different than different individuals, proper? However they could know somewhat extra to tug again once they may need to do one thing that may not be of their greatest curiosity.

FP: What’s the most under-recognized bias?
CJ: Recency bias is a robust one. Lots of people keep in mind the latest previous. I simply had a dialog about this yesterday: One of many hardest issues for us to work with shoppers on is why they need to observe a complete return method to spending in retirement.

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So which means spending from their revenue or capital appreciation, versus an income-only method. Say a shopper saves and sacrifices an entire lot to get $1 million. And as soon as they retire, they are saying, I simply need to dwell off the revenue. Generally, that may be a actually laborious bias to maintain individuals from as a result of it is truly higher for them to spend from the capital appreciation on their portfolio and meaningfully obese dividend-paying shares. 

That is one of many strongest funding implementation biases that we incessantly struggle towards. You’ve gotten the chance to essentially present individuals a few of these different histories or assist higher present issues that will have gone a method or one other had they not had behavioral teaching. In order that is smart. I really feel like the usage of know-how and successfully speaking the worth of behavioral teaching has helped.

FP: Why ought to an investor consider an advisor as having a default empathetic compass?
CJ: So that you’re paying them for an expectation. You are paying a price to assist me attain my targets. And in case you’re not treating me with empathy and respect for my targets and emotions — say I name you and I am actually upset about what is going on on out there— you are going to get fired. Individuals have increased expectations now for all of the providers they’re paying for. There’s a degree of professionalism anticipated.

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The Container Store files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

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The Container Store files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Investors in The Container Store (TCSG) have been sent packing as the struggling home goods chain files for bankruptcy.

The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Sunday, Yahoo Finance learned exclusively. The company said in a press release it is doing this in order to refinance its debt to “bolster its financial position, fuel growth initiatives, and drive enhanced long-term profitability.”

For the quarter-ended Sept. 28, 2024, The Container Store listed total liabilities of $836.4 million against $969 million in total assets.

CEO Satish Malhotra — a former Sephora executive who took over atop The Container Store in 2021 — is confident the maneuver will allow the 46-year old company to stick around.

“The Container Store is here to stay,” Malhotra said in a statement, adding that it is taking these necessary steps in order to advance the business, strengthen customer relationships, expand its reach and bolster its capabilities.

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It plans to lean into custom space offerings, “which continue to demonstrate strength,” he said.

The bankruptcy process is expected to last several weeks with the reorganization anticipated to happen within 35 days. The bankruptcy does not include the company’s Elfa home goods business in Sweden.

The Container Store has filed for bankruptcy, putting its future in question. (Courtesy: The Container Store)

The business will operate as usual across all stores, online and in-home services. The company operates 102 stores across 34 states.

The company says all customer deposits are safe and protected, and vendors will get paid in full. There are no planned layoffs.

There are also no planned store closures, but that may be a possibility in the future as the company goes through the reorganization process.

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Chapter 11 allows companies to “renegotiate the terms of their leases to align their store footprint with market realities and business needs,” sources told Yahoo Finance, adding “if they do not achieve meaningful rent reductions, they may be forced to close a select few locations.”

The filing has been expected by industry experts.

Read more: Why Walmart won the 2024 Yahoo Finance Company of the Year award

The Container Store — a chain founded in 1978 that rose to fame for its nifty home organizational goods in the 1990s — was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 9 after it fell below the exchange’s standard to maintain a market cap of $15 million over 30 consecutive trading days.

The company has seen its profits plunge post the home remodeling frenzy fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and competition picked up from Walmart (WMT), Amazon (AMZN) and Target (TGT). It has been unprofitable for the past two fiscal years, with losses tallying about $10 million for the fiscal year-ended Sept. 28, 2024.

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Personal finance lessons from Warren Buffett’s latest letter

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Personal finance lessons from Warren Buffett’s latest letter

Last Nov. 25, Warren Buffett announced that he would donate a substantial portion of the shares he owned in Berkshire Hathaway to his four family foundations.

In his announcement, he included a letter which contained some important personal finance lessons that we can apply to our own situation.

One of my favorites is his comment that hugely wealthy parents should only leave their children enough so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing.

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Despite being one of the richest men in the world, Buffett shared that his children only received $10 million each when his wife died. Although $10 million is a lot of money, it’s less than 1% of his wife’s estate.

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I am not hugely wealthy, nor do I have $10 million. However, Buffett’s comment about just giving our children enough made me reflect on the importance of also making our children resilient.

Many of us want to make sure that our children will be financially secure by the time we pass away. While there is nothing wrong with this, sometimes we go overboard in making sure that this goal is met.

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For example, sometimes my husband and I are guilty of overindulging our children.

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Warren Buffett’s comment reminded me that we should also allow our children to go through difficulties so that they will become resilient and learn how to survive comfortably with less. Aside from letting them know that they shouldn’t expect much in terms of inheritance, this could mean limiting their allowance, allowing them to commute to school when there is no car available, and saying “no” to their request to buy nice and expensive things like the latest top of the line gadgets.

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Another thing that we are guilty of (especially if you are Filipino Chinese like me) is thinking that we need to build a successful business so that our children will eventually have a steady source of income and the bragging rights of being their own boss.

Although there is nothing wrong with building a successful business, passing it on to our children should not be a priority. This is because there’s no guarantee that our children will want to run our business. In fact, they might not be equipped to run the business properly. If that is the case, they may end up running our business to the ground. This would put them in a worse position, especially if they were raised to think that they do not have to worry about money because they have a business that will take care of them.

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Another personal finance lesson Warren Buffett shared is the importance of being grateful and learning to give back.

In his comments, Warren Buffett acknowledged the role of luck in making him wealthy—being born in the US as a white male in 1930 and living long enough to enjoy the power compounding.

However, he recognized that not everyone is as lucky as he is. Because of this, Buffett and his family are focused on giving back so that others who were given a very short straw at birth would have a better chance at gaining wealth.

Learning how to be grateful is very important. We cannot be truly happy unless we are grateful for what we have. In fact, many people who are rich are unhappy because they constantly compare themselves to others who have something that they don’t.

Meanwhile, giving back is a natural outcome of being grateful. It is also very fulfilling. For example, in my company COL Financial, we believe that everyone deserves to be rich. This is why we actively educate Filipinos on personal finance and the stock market.

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Helping Filipinos better manage their hard-earned money is one of the greatest fulfillments of my career as an analyst. In fact, this is one of the reasons why I have stayed as an analyst despite the availability of other higher paying jobs.

Finally, Warren Buffett shared the importance of learning how to say no.

People who are wealthy will always be approached by friends, family and others seeking help. Although giving back is important, there is a limit as to how much we can give. Because of that, we need to learn how to say no, even if it is difficult or unpleasant.

To make it easier for his children to say no, Buffett’s foundations have a “unanimous decision” provision which states that unless all his three children agree, the foundations cannot distribute funds to grant seekers.

Although most of us are not as rich as Buffett, we can also benefit from having an accountability partner to help us say no to requests for help. That person can be our spouse, our sibling, or someone who shares our values and understands that while we want to be generous, our resources are limited. Our accountability partner can also help us decide who we should or should not help which is also a difficult task.

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Warren Buffett ended his letter by saying that his children spend more time directly helping others than he has and are financially comfortable but not preoccupied with wealth. Because of that, his late wife would be proud of them and so is he.



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As a parent, I’d be happier to have children who grow up to become productive citizens with good values rather than to have children who become very rich but are dishonest and greedy. INQ

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Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey warns over 'mind-blowing' Christmas debt

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Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey warns over 'mind-blowing' Christmas debt

Holiday spending is putting a big strain on American wallets and leaving some in debt well past the holiday season; however, personal finance expert Dave Ramsey said ‘mind-blowing’ debt can be avoided.

“The average over the last several years has been that people pay their credit card debt from Christmas into May,” The Ramsey Solutions personality shared during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday. “So it takes them about half the year to come back, and because they don’t plan for Christmas… it sneaks up on them like they move it or something.” 

According to a study conducted by Achieve, the average American will spend more than $2,000 for the 2024 holiday season, breaking down the outflow of cash into travel and holiday spending on hosting parties, food, clothing, and other gifts.

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STOP OVERSPENDING OVER THE HOLIDAYS AND START THE NEW YEAR OFF FINANCIALLY STRONG

Another recent survey by CouponBirds indicated that parents will spend an average of $461 per child and that 49% of parents will go into debt to pay for this Christmas. 

Ramsey Solutions’ Dave Ramsey says “you won’t overspend” if you stick to a Christmas budget. (Getty Images)

The Ramsey Solutions personality balked at the amount of money shelled out for the season while explaining that the holiday should not come as a shock, and that spending for it should be planned out. 

“Those numbers are mind-blowing when you look at the averages there. That’s a lot of money going out,” Ramsey added, “all in the name of happiness comes from stuff, and it doesn’t.”

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He also weighed in and agreed on advice from fellow expert, Ramsey Solutions personality and daughter Rachel Cruze, who suggested making a list of people to shop for and noting how much to spend on each.

“You know, I’m old, and I met a guy from the North Pole,” the expert joked. “He said ‘make a list and check it twice,’ so Rachel’s right.”

Ramsey followed up by expanding on his daughter’s suggestion: “If you do that, and you put a name beside it, and then you total up those dollar amounts, you have what’s called a Christmas budget.”

“If you stick to that, you won’t overspend,” “The Ramsey Show” host remarked.

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The money guru pointed out what he sees as problematic with the holiday season – not taking a shot at Christmas itself – but referring back to the spending issues.

“The problem with Christmas is not that we enjoy buying gifts for someone else. That’s a wonderful thing,” he reassured. “The problem is we impulse our butts off, and we double up what we spend because the retailers make all their money during this season.”

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Ramsey concluded by advising shoppers to be wary of retailers and to not be ensnared by their marketing strategies.

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“They’re great merchandisers,” he warned. “They’re great at putting stuff in front of us that we hadn’t planned to buy.”

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