stairs and an escalator

What is “Normal”?

Over the last ten days the stock market has experienced higher levels of volatility than we’ve seen in some time. The result has been many headlines highlighting the downfall of a strong market. It’s left many people wondering if this is…
Three plants illustrating growth

5 Tips to Help You Pursue Growth of Your Retirement Funds

How can you pursue growth of your retirement funds? We have five tips on how a dividend growth strategy that focuses on “blue chip” companies with a history of paying dividends may offer benefits when compared to a traditional investment…
Steve Booren
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2017 In Review

At the end of every year I enjoy taking a look back. As you probably know, I’m a big believer in perspective and investing for the long term. And though our ability to look forward in time is still a work in progress, our ability to look back and gain some perspective is always valuable. So as we wrap up 2017, I want to take a look back at some of the major events that defined the year.
Pat Alfano

How Dividend-Paying Stocks Are Like Tenants

In real estate, people tend to invest for rental income today and the possibility for more an increased price tomorrow. But in the stock market, I've found that many investors focus on price and ignore the long-term potential of dividends. They're taught to buy low and sell high—and they forget about the income opportunity between those two points.
Growing Old Will Your Money Keep Up?

Living to 85? Will Your Money Keep Up?

Did you know there’s an 80% chance that a 60-year-old couple will have at least one spouse reach the age of 90? And about 1-in-10 adults will live past age 95, according to the Social Security Administration. That’s a problem for most investors. Few retirement plans account for such a long period (sometimes more than 30 years!) of time. So the typical question becomes: what’s going to last longer, you or your money?
Your Income Should Not Depend on Market Whims

Market Up or Down: Your Income Should Not Change

If the market dropped 10% during your first year of retirement, how would that affect your income? What effect would a 5-year bear market have on your plans? These are the questions we encounter time after time. Investors want to understand…
Brannon Brown

Joy and the Successful Investor: The Upward Spiral

In my decade plus time advising clients, I have seen this truth—my most joyful clients are my most successful investors. Not the other way around. The rewards follow the joy, not joy the rewards. They view the future as bright and invest faithfully in it knowing that no amount of market return will ever be able to generate an internal joy, but that prudent stewardship and a long-term perspective can perpetuate the upward spiral of joy.
Steve Booren

The Crystal Ball of Context

The advisors at Prosperion don’t make short-term market predictions – you see, we don’t have a “crystal ball”. Like you, we aren’t sure when the next market correction (or major upswing for that matter) is going to happen. But we can say with certainty that one will happen… eventually.
John Booren
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For These Financial Areas, Emotion is More Important Than Logic

Money is hard. Take it from us, we are honored to have very intimate, fragile conversations with clients like you every single day. And if you’ve been a part of those conversations, you know that it can be very emotional. Sometimes we think myopically that money is just about numbers—it’s spreadsheets and calculators. All we need to do be completely rational and figure out how to get the most out of an investments. But that’s not all money is. You may have heard the phrase: “Personal finance is a whole lot more PERSONAL, than it is finance.” There is so much truth in those words.
Steve Booren
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With Markets at All-Time Highs, is Now a Good Time to Invest?

It’s a fair question and one we’ve heard a lot lately with the DOW and S&P continuing to push into record territory. Our little bull market has grown up and is about to start third grade. We’re due for a correction right?

The Right Perspective

Today I want to address what I believe is the very core for successful financial behavior – an optimistic disposition. 2016 is a great example of why it is so important to have an optimistic perspective. The optimists “won” and pessimists “lost”… again. Whether attempting to follow financial folklore such as, “as the first week of January goes, so goes the market for the year”, or that saying “sell in May and go away”… speculators who believe in superstition and let it influence their actions are bound to fail.
Choosing the Companies in Your Portfolio

How We Choose the Companies in Your Portfolio

Today we’re going to cover how I choose the companies that end up in your portfolio. Before we get started, keep in mind that there’s a lot that goes into selecting the right mix of stocks, bonds, and other financial products that come together to address your financial needs. Today, we’re going to look at only one, but it is central to potentially creating and protecting a growing stream of income.

The Unfair Advantage of Dividend Tax Rates

Dividend tax rates are an opportunity for investors. The favored status of qualified dividends means they are taxed at a lower rate than standard income, by anywhere from 10-20% less.
Role of a Fiduciary
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The Role of a Fiduciary – Putting Your Interests First

As many of you have undoubtedly heard, regulatory changes are coming to the finance industry pertaining to “fiduciary standards” and the obligations we have as financial professionals with respect to retirement accounts. Let me be clear: we embrace these changes as we serve as a fiduciary for your money in advisory relationships, just as I believe we always have.
Dividend Investment Strategy Intro

Our Dividend Focused Investment Strategy: An Introduction

As many of you know, I spent the first 26 years of my working life as corporate pilot. It was an exciting profession and I loved going to my “office” at 43,000 feet. Getting people to and from places safely was always the focus of the job. As a financial advisor I spend my days navigating quite different terrain. But the job is the same: helping people get from here to there safely. So today I’d like to cover our Dividend Focus Strategy, and why we think it’s a smart fit for our clients young and old. Since a picture tells a thousand words, let me draw you a picture. It will be readily apparent why I thankfully did not choose to be an artist – but it will illustrate a few important points.