Predictability in an Unpredictable World
A great irony of investing is that people crave certainty when the world offers very little of it. Yet beneath all that motion, something remains surprisingly steady: Dividends.
Entries by Steve Booren
Where Does Your Risk Live?
Most investors instinctively define risk as market volatility — the uncomfortable reality of stock prices rising and falling over time. When markets drop sharply, the losses feel immediate and visible. Investors see account balances decline, and the headlines only amplify their fear — creating an emotional impact that is powerful and persuasive.
But volatility is only one kind of risk.
When Markets Panic, Memory is the First Casualty
There is a curious trait built into human nature: When something is painful, frightening or deeply disorienting, we don’t just want it to end — we want to forget it ever happened.
COVID fits that description perfectly.
The 62-Year Scorecard
Somewhere around age 62 — about the time many people begin thinking seriously about retirement — the focus shifts. The conversation moves from accumulation to preservation, from maximizing growth to ensuring durability. The question is no longer, “How much can I build?” but rather, “Will this last?”
The Quiet Power of Dividends
They aren’t flashy. They don’t dominate headlines. They rarely fuel cocktail-party conversations or social-media bravado. In a market obsessed with price momentum, dividends can feel like the broccoli of investing — nutritious, dependable and routinely ignored in favor of something more exciting.
Debt Is Real; Panic Is Optional
Recently, I met with a prospective client who leaned forward, lowered his voice and said, “I have one question — and I want your honest answer. The United States is bankrupt.”
Looking Forward with the Perspective of the Past 50 Years
Most people reading this column — whether early in their careers or well into retirement — have had their entire financial lives shaped by the events between 1975 and 2025. And yet almost none of us were taught to study that period carefully. Instead, we’ve been conditioned by markets, media and our own wiring to obsess over what’s happening today and what might come next.
Such a short-term obsession is the enemy of good investor behavior.
Your Plan (and Behavior) Matter More Than the Headlines
The biggest success determinant has nothing to do with cleverness or timing. Instead, it has everything to do with having a plan and sticking to it.
Amid all the noise in today’s world, it’s easy to get distracted from the foundation of your financial plan. By returning to those core principles, you can recalibrate to your highest priorities, both for now and the future.
Overcoming Inflation Using a Familiar Friend (Part 2)
If your income doesn’t rise to match inflation, your lifestyle must fall to compensate. That’s not pessimism but basic math.
Understanding Inflation, the Silent Killer (Part 1)
Among the greatest long-term threats to retirees and investors is inflation. The world was reminded in recent years — and almost overnight — just how quickly inflation can roar back to life.
From Accumulation to Freedom: A Better Retirement Mindset
I want to start with a story that’s uncomfortable and all too common.
A man dies at 73 with $2.4 million. He lived in the same modest house for forty years, drove an aging car and clipped coupons until the end. He never took the big trip or upgraded anything to make daily his life easier. Instead, he just kept stacking dollars in the bank.
Shortly after his funeral, his children split the money. Flush with cash, they purchase new homes, cars and consumer goods to upgrade their lifestyle — until the money runs out.
Human Nature Is a Failed Investor—But Your Plan Doesn’t Have to Be
When I entered this business in the late 1970s, I quickly realized that markets weren’t the real challenge — people were. Not because they lacked intelligence or information, but because the human mind is wired for survival, not investing.
Anchoring: The Mindset Mistake That Quietly Steers Investors Off Course
I meet monthly with thoughtful, experienced investors who genuinely seek the best decisions. Despite any savviness, however, they often fall prey to a similar mental trap: anchoring. It’s not one of ignorance but of human nature. Anchoring is the tendency to grab onto a familiar price, memory or belief and let it shape decisions long […]
The Underestimated Orchard
The one force in finance that remains stubbornly misunderstood is compounding. Human brains have evolved to understand straight lines, not curves. We grasp addition and subtraction, but our intuition breaks down around exponential growth. We expect the world to follow a ruler, but compounding moves like a spiral. And given enough time, that spiral becomes […]
Markets Have Seasons—And So Does Your Portfolio
As we settle into another Colorado winter, my mind shifts toward the seasons — their predictability, their necessity, and how much they reveal about what truly lasts. Even as the final bits of a colorful autumn fade, the gardener knows that winter isn’t something to fear but to anticipate. Their landscape hasn’t died. Under the […]
Latest Commentary
There Is Still No Algorithm for TrustJuly 13, 2026 - 3:27 pmAI raises an important question, especially for any business that offers advice: What can technology do, and what can it never truly replace? I believe technology can provide information, but a good advisor provides understanding.
