Entries by Steve Booren

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History Over Headlines

Perspective is in increasingly short supply right now. Business news and market commentary is ever focused on urgency. But good investor behavior requires thinking long-term, staying grounded, and resisting the belief that daily market machinations are important enough to warrant changes.

Meeting Mr. Market

What would it look like to have a conversation with “The Market” (the embodiment of the S&P 500)? What knowledge might we learn from this nebulous thing if only we could ask it? Let’s find out.

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We Plan For This

Gut check: How have you been over the past month? When my last column was published a scant four weeks ago, markets were knocking on the door of all-time highs, and the overall feeling was one of cautious optimism. A lot can change in four weeks.

Safety in Numbers

As of December 31, the “Magnificent Seven” accounted for roughly half of the Index’s 2024 gain, according to CNBC. This has left many people wondering, are these companies deserving of this much capital, or is a bubble inflating America’s largest enterprises?

An Investment in Efficiency

The Trump administration is set to kick off a series of policy moves focused on, among many things, reducing government waste. It’s not surprising to see a renewed focus on our government’s and politicians’ extravagant spending, especially when some families struggle to put food on the table due to persistent inflation (which is arguably also […]

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We Planned for This

With the holidays rapidly approaching, I find late December is a great time for family, friends, festivities, and a little reflection. The end of 2024 marks an important milestone: The first quarter of this century is now behind us. If you’re like me, the turn of the millennium doesn’t feel that long ago, yet the […]

Debt Pulls Your Future Forward (at a Cost)

Japan has 140 businesses that are more than 500 years old — operating around twice as long as the oldest companies in the United States. Nineteen of their businesses claim to have existed since the first millennium. Let that sink in for a moment. From plagues to wars, natural disasters to collapsing economies, these ultra-durable […]

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Keep Politics Out of Your Investment Strategy

In just over two weeks, Americans will head back to the polls to decide, among other things, who will lead our country for the next four years. Rest assured this won’t be a political article attempting to sway you toward any candidate. Instead, I want to share a story about a former client who, ahead of 2020 election, decided to sell his investments to avoid election uncertainty.

Volatility: Seen and Unseen

A few weeks back, a colleague showed me an article on commercial real estate in the Denver Tech Center. Apparently a few well-regarded buildings had changed hands at prices that caught his eye. The surprising news was the sell price earlier this year…

Compounding Quietly

Compounding growth, whether in nature or finance, is similar: enough time can bring impressive results. Seemingly every few years, a familiar story is published. A quiet person from a forgotten town, typically with little or no education and a low paying job, accomplishes the unusual.

Selling Fear, Greed, or Both

Across social media and YouTube, there are no shortage of pundits, professional or otherwise, offering financial “advice.” I congratulate writers focused on educating readers about these concepts. But my sense is many of these “gurus’” acquire and grow their income not on the education they offer, but on the number of eyeballs they attract.

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Planning for Lasting Inflation

If you’ve been to a grocery store lately, the announcement from the Federal Reserve last week should not have been surprising: inflation seems to be sticky. While some progress has been made in reducing the inflation rate, prices remain elevated and are getting higher on many necessary goods and services. Though the inflation rate may […]

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Finding Financial Happiness, Part 2

Last month we discussed how Americans are still overwhelmingly dissatisfied with their finances, despite record net worth and increased income. That conversation focused on spending, and how increased inflation in housing, groceries and other necessities has made those higher incomes feel insufficient. For people feeling the angst of the uncontrollable (interest rates, inflation, etc.), I […]