Entries by Steve Booren

Brexit – What Is It and What Should I Do?

All the news about Brexit reminds me of how the media spins stories, how bad investor behavior can cause investors to hurt themselves, and how wise investors should be grateful for volatility. It reminds me of the uncertainty in 1987, when financial markets fell “due to computers”. Brexit, Ebola, Sarin, you name the scare – volatility can create opportunity for wise investors.

That brings us to the latest panic: Brexit. The real question is what does it mean, how will it impact me, and what should I do?

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The 3 Principles of Retirement

There are millions of words written every day about the economy, the direction of the financial markets, investment advice, and so on, yet no other topic gets as much attention as the concept of “retirement”. When you think about it, it should get attention.

Investors spend their entire working career saving and planning for this phase in life. While we prefer the phrase, “making work a choice” (no one likes thinking about reaching the end of their usefulness) we know many people struggle to understand key issues of retirement. So today we want to cover three main areas.

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The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

To celebrate my 60th birthday my team gave me an incredible gift, a book of New York Times front pages from each of the past 60 years. A great gift indeed, but also a reminder of the words from Jean-Babtise Alphonse Karr, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Indeed, the more we think things have changed, the more we are reminded they are the same.

Reading through the headlines of the past 60 years I was struck by the familiarity of the messages. Frankly, I thought the headlines were from just yesterday, not five or six decades ago. The patterns seem all too familiar

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Social Media – Helping or Hurting Your Investment Behavior?

During a recent client meeting we ended up on the subject of social media, and the effect it can have on a business. Unfavorable press coverage led to an echo of bad news on social media among this client’s customers, and it was continuing to harm his business with no end in sight.

I was curious about the public’s persistent reaction, and why he believed the story was still in the news cycle many weeks later. Was his customer base being fickle? Were competitors spreading false and redundant stories? His response: social media. Once a key marketing strategy for his company, social media has quickly turned into a sore spot.

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The 5 Red Flags of Scams

The scams and fraudulent schemes that come to consumers via E-mail, phone calls, and the USPS change all the time. It could be the ‘Grandparent’ scheme, an offer to reduce credit card interest rates, the offer to sell a timeshare, or even winning a lottery or prize. The wise approach is to look for the common red flags and know what to do when you see them. This workshop was originally presented at Prosperion EDU 16.

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The Future of Denver’s Skyline

Explore the unique history of Denver as told by one of its eminent urban planners Ken Schroeppel. Why did Denver take the shape it did? What will it look like in the next 10 years? Why is the traffic so darn bad lately? Ken will explore all of these ideas and more as he walks you through new projects helping to shape the face of Denver and how past initiatives contributed to our wonderful city. This workshop was originally presented at Prosperion EDU 16.

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Brainworks – Simple Strategies for Staying Sharp

While cognitive decline may be an inevitable part of the aging process, studies show that we can prevent, or at least postpone its development through intervention. Our brain is actually radically adaptable if we train it appropriately—like we do our bodies. The “fitter” our brain is, the more energy efficient it becomes, and the easier it is to do important mental tasks such as focusing attention and being creative. This workshop was originally presented at Prosperion EDU 16.

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Scam Alert: Courtesy of Cary Johnson

Government Agencies will not contact you via telephone or E-mail to settle an outstanding issue, including any payment or fee! The IRS scam calls have never gone away. Now, however, the calls are supposedly coming from the U.S. Treasury Department or your Sheriff’s Office. These calls are from scammers, mostly calling from outside the United States, […]

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Progress in 5’s

I think daily minutia often blurs our capability to see the remarkable progress humankind has and is making. If we take a moment to think back 40 years, back to the time many of you started investing for the first time, we’ve seen tremendous advancements across the board. From energy to medicine, transportation to communication, […]

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2016: A Year of Drama-teries

As we look back at 2015 one word comes to mind: volatility. Though the swings felt dramatic, the S&P 500 Index actually had less volatility than what I would call a typical year. The peak-to-trough swings during the year were separated by 12.4%. Compare that to an average intra-year change since 1975 of 14%. So […]

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The Power of Growing Dividend Income

We create and communicate ProsperOn’s to deliver timeless, valuable wisdom to our clients, with the hope to provide greater clarity, capability and confidence. In other words to help people be better investors. We hope these are valuable to you and your family. By now most of you have heard us preaching the gospel of our […]

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Bird Watching and the Emperor’s Robe

We create and communicate ProsperOn’s to deliver timeless, valuable wisdom to our clients, with the hope to provide greater clarity, capability and confidence. In other words to help people be better investors. We hope these are valuable to you and your family. In August of 2015 the financial markets seemed to do what nobody likes […]

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The Good in the Gray

It is fascinating to watch and listen to the narrative of media within our country. We have a tendency to take sides on any given issue, resulting in a constant battle between good and evil, black and white, up and down. Then, when citizens attempt to turn off the noise, both sides yell louder in […]

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What the Wright Brothers Taught Us About Government Innovation

“Human flight by a machine will occur between one million and ten million years from now,” estimated the New York Times on October 9, 1903. Coincidentally, on that very day, Orville Wright wrote in his diary, “We started assembly today.” Ten weeks later, the Wright Brothers flew! The New York Times mistaken prediction was prompted […]

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What Postage Tells Us About Inflation

July 17, 2015 is the 40th anniversary of the linkup between America and the Soviet Union in outer space. This was an amazing feat back in 1975, considering the Cold War had not yet even ended; rather it marked a bold step by two global adversaries, willing to dock two space crafts in outer space […]

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