Building Trust, Growth and Stability in a Volatile World

“The future is never clear; you pay a very high price in the stock market for a cheery consensus. Uncertainty actually is the friend of the buyer of long-term values.” — Warren Buffett

Given the Octopus’s Garden of uncertainty fueled by inflation, deficit spending, and global economic volatility, sadly many people are mired in a posture of hesitancy when it comes to planning for their retirement or carving out a cushion of financial security within the landscape of today’s world.

One financial advisor who has kept on top of all the vagaries, unpredictability, and opportunities of the investment markets is Paul Parson, who serves as Managing Director at Parson | Dedic Wealth Management Group and has helped create investment portfolios spanning a divergent range of client needs and objectives for over 26 years.  With a primary office located in downtown Owosso, recently Parson and his team opened an office of convenience in Old Town Saginaw that is located at 418 Court Street.

Closely affiliated with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, Paul explains how his team worked out of the Saginaw Wells Fargo Advisors office before going independent. “We have quite a bit of business in the Saginaw Valley area which is why we decided to open an office of convenience in Old Town Saginaw.  We like what has happened in Old Town and are more excited about what is going to be happening next.”

In terms of what distinguishes the Parson | Dedic Wealth Management Group from other financial service entities; “Paul references the small office feel with BIG Firm resources – we bring together the best of both worlds.”

“Another important thing in terms of operations today is the fact that we have three financial advisors and four assistants,” notes Paul.  “A diverse range of clients have a broad range of needs.  One might need money to buy their granddaughter a car, while another might need to expand their business.  Our staff can collaborate with the advisors and assist clients in a very timely manner to accommodate their needs efficiently.  We are very full service.

Our team made the FORBES Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams again for 2024. This is something we are immensely proud of.  Awarded January 2024; Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based on the time period from 3/31/2022-3/31/2023 (Source;Forbes.com).  The Forbes Best-in-State Teams rating algorithm is based on the previous year’s industry experience, interviews, compliance records, assets under management, revenue and other criteria by SHOOK Research, LLC.  Investment performance is not a criterion.  Self-completed survey was used for rating.  This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria.

Armed with education, information, experience and a deep bench, the most essential element involved with the success and growth of his wealth planning services is the level of trust he considers fundamental to cultivate in order to meet both the needs and objectives set forth by each of his clients.

“The services we offer center around investments, retirement planning, and risk management that are utilized in a customized manner designed to help people achieve specific goals with their wealth planning that are unique to each individual,” explains Paul.  “We have a lot of tools, and we are extremely client service oriented.  With our team of highly trained staff, we work diligently to meet all of our clients’ needs.”

“The financial vehicles we use to try and assist in achieving these goals for our business owners and individual clients range from using IRAs to help businesses with their 401K retirement plans to our most popular type of instrument today that is called a Separately Managed Account, although that requires a higher minimum investment to work with,” he continues.  “These are known as SMA’s that are personally managed by asset managers for individual needs.  SMA’s can provide flexibility to customize portfolios, better tax efficiency and tax selling strategies, which is a good area to explore right now as well.

An area of increasing concern that financial planners have expressed over the past few years is how many GEN X’er’s under the age of 40 do not have the financial resources to plan for their retirement future, with many living paycheck-to-paycheck and in numerous instances, still living at home with their parents; so what is Paul’s perspective and personal experience with this disturbing trend?

“My son Mark Parson is 38-years old and part of our team along with Jillian Dedic.  They work with a lot of our younger investors, so while there is a lot of truth to that concern, I would not cast a net over the entire Gen X population,” reflects Paul.

 “I think there is a lot of disparity between some doing well and some not so well, but with that what I find interesting is the mental game that occurs when growing up.  Someone who grew up during the Great Depression or 2008-09  with the Great Recession or 2019-20 with Covid are aware of the financial hurt that occurred during each of those times.  It can have a significant impact.”

“We believe the key to building wealth is through education and information, and then comes the most important element of all, which is building Trust in somebody you can work with,” he emphasizes. “That is a big piece of our business: Education, Information, and Trust.”

Yet, with so many financial products out there, how does one know what vehicles will offer security and good returns with so much market volatility going on?

“That’s an open-ended question in the sense that it’s hard right now to predict what will happen, yet there are two sides to every coin,” reflects Paul.  “Right now, we are trying to make sure people are very diversified in the category of what their investment objective is. People who have ten years or longer to work are leaning more towards growth, while older age groups tend to be more conservative, so we might place a piece of their portfolio in something growth oriented, and then have a drawer of instruments that don’t have a lot of volatility.  Ultimately, it comes down to packaging their portfolio in accordance with the individual and their needs.  This also is where SMA’s have relevance in the customization that they offer.”

When asked about the most challenging component involved with predicting the stock market, Paul references the 2024 Presidential race. “When we see a movement in the market that may be concerning, we continue to focus on building balanced portfolios in these situations,” he explains.  “Right now, one of our goals is making sure people have enough dollar liquidity in their portfolio so they don’t have to be as concerned about the day-to-day fluctuations in the market.”

We are working on building our assets in the Saginaw area while potentially adding more advisors and additional support staff in an effort to continue to grow our team,” concludes Parson. 

Parson | Dedic Wealth Management Groups’ Saginaw office is located at 418 Court Street in Old Town Saginaw and is open Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment only.  Their primary office is located in downtown Owosso at 201 North Washington Street.  You can make an appointment or find out more information by phoning 989-725-8131 or 800-725-8131 and by visiting their website at www.parsondedicwmg.com

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN), Member SIPC. The Parson | Dedic Wealth Management Group is a separate entity from WFAFN. ©2024 Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC.