Numlock News: August 14, 2025 • Dunking, Hamilton, Dessert

Aug 14, 2025

By Madison Hall

Walt is out on vacation, and filling in today is Madison Hall, a data visualization reporter for Ignites and BoardIQ, two Financial Times-affiliated trade publications focused on mutual funds and their independent boards. Check out her work here.

Morning, y’all! Today’s edition of Numlock is a combination of a few stories I’ve done as well as some that piqued my interest or seem topical in some way.

Beauty Dunking is Pain

I have no shame in admitting I’ve never been able to dunk a basketball on a regulation-height hoop, but messing around on trampolines and much shorter hoops as a kid frequently left me thinking about how painful it is to actually dunk a basketball. Specifically, I’d always wondered if the pros had some sort of secret to dunking a basketball painlessly. As it turns out, basketball’s most prolific dunkers say dunking hurts their hands like hell, but despite that, the number of dunks in the NBA per year grew 41% between 2002 and 2022.

Tim Cato, The Athletic

What the Truck

As America’s hubris has risen over the years, so has the height of its trucks. Coincidentally, so has the number of pedestrian deaths from vehicles, which jumped 82.1% from 2009 to 2021. A major reason for this jump can be traced to the increasingly large blind spots that modern trucks are forced to install for driver protection in case the truck rolls over. America’s distaste for the short kings of cars has notably led some trucks to have worse sightlines than an M1 Abrams battle tank.

Madison Hall, Business Insider

Rules for Thee, Not for Me

Investors are typically drawn to investment products for two main reasons: the fund has historically performed well or the fees the investor is charging to manage the fund are relatively low compared to its peers. The fees in many of First Trust’s portfolio of ETFs are several basis points higher than its company’s competitors, yet First Trust currently manages $195.7 million in ETFs according to Morningstar. So, how do they do it? Taking prospective clients out to fancy dinners, dangling trips to Hawaii and Palm Beach, sporting events and more probably has something to do with it.

Emily Graffeo, Bloombergxt

The Room Where it Happen$

Hamilton is celebrating its 10th anniversary on Broadway this year with a bang, bringing back the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and original Broadway cast star Leslie Odom Jr. to the Richard Rodgers Theater in September. Scalpers made a killing off Hamilton during its first year on Broadway, raking in more than $15.5 million from the 100 performances preceding Miranda’s final show. Most of the tickets to the two stars’ return to the stage are already sold out, but StubHub still has some listed for more than $14,000. Nothing’s more sure in life than death, taxes and scalpers making a killing.

Tiff Fehr, New York Times

Back to the Vault

Ronald Lauder, scion to a multi-billion-dollar cosmetics fortune, played a large role in ensuring that Holocaust victims and their families could be repaid in a $1.25 billion settlement. This comes from the money of victims that was left dormant in Credit Suisse’s vaults for decades. Lauder thinks victims likely lost out on gaining somewhere between $5 and $10 billion more from that settlement, pointing to a rushed deal to ensure funds could be distributed amongst Holocaust survivors. More than 25 years later, he’s trying to make up for that lost money.

Marion Halftermeyer and Hugo Miller, Bloomberg

I’ll Have What They’re Having

Mutual funds are overseen by boards of directors, 40% of which are required to be independent from the company and advisers. Most independent directors are compensated based on the amount of money they oversee and the complexity of the fund, with annual compensation ranging from $0 to more than $400,000. Oddly, some mutual fund prospectuses note that directors receive thousands more in meeting fees. Imagine getting paid an additional $5,000-$10,000 each time you show up to one of the four meetings you’re already required to attend. Not a bad gig, huh?

Madison Hall, BoardIQ

There’s Always Room for Dessert

After winning the Premier League, you might think Liverpool would have a quiet offseason focused on running it back for a second time. Instead, the club has spent around $350 million on agent and transfer fees for Florian Wirz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitike. While it’s certainly more than the club has spent in previous years, it’s not strapped for cash. The Athletic estimated that Liverpool earned $212 million during its 2024-2025 title run while also making ~$70 million from its partnership with Nike for YNWA.

Chris Weatherspoon, The Athletic

Follow Madison on X @bymadisonhall or on Bluesky @bymadisonhall.com.

🚢 Long Live the Ever Given 🚢

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