Common Sense Financial Podcast Podcast Por Brian Skrobonja arte de portada

Common Sense Financial Podcast

Common Sense Financial Podcast

De: Brian Skrobonja
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The Common Sense Financial Podcast is all about finances, mindset and personal growth. The goal is to help you make smart choices with your money in your home and in your business. Some of the podcasts here are historical in nature. They aired before July 1, 2022 and were previously approved by Kalos Capital. The views and statistics discussed in these shows are relevant to that time period and may not be relevant to current events. This is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual's situation. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety or lifetime income, generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the issuing carrier. Our firm is not permitted to offer and no statement made during this show shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the US Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by the third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by our firm. Securities offered only by duly registered individuals through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC. (MAS), Member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through Skrobonja Wealth Management (SWM), a registered investment advisor. Tax services offered only through Skrobonja Tax Consulting. MAS does not offer Build Banking or tax advice. Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Tax Consulting, and Build Banking are not affiliated with MAS. Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.All rights reserved Economía Finanzas Personales
Episodios
  • Investing with Guardrails: The Rise of Defined Outcome ETFs and Structured Income Notes
    Dec 3 2025
    Brian Skrobonja sits down with Phon Vilayoune to unpack buffered ETFs and income notes. Phon is the Founder and CEO of VETA Investment Partners, where they currently oversee over $5.5 billion in assets. They discuss the benefits of positioning your portfolio for growth and safety, how to protect your nest egg in volatile markets, and practical strategies for optimizing gains while limiting downside risk. Tune in to hear professional insights on ETFs, income notes, and actionable frameworks for navigating today's complex market cycles. Phon explains how he entered the investing world and now helps oversee roughly $5.5B in assets.Phon highlights what trading during the 2008–09 crisis taught him about being positioned like Warren Buffett or Middle Eastern banks. In deep volatility, cash plus cash flow gives you the power to buy when everything is on sale. Why you want a Buffett-style portfolio in a downturn: Buffett held strong during bear markets and bought when others panicked. How to win more by losing less. Phon says risk management is the key. You never want to be a forced seller during a correction because you take a double hit: loss plus selling at the bottom.Phon and Brian break down buffered ETFs and how they're tied to S&P 500 options designed to provide a more predictable range of outcomes over 12 months. Think of it like investing with guardrails — you're participating but with intentional limits on downside.Learn what income notes are: Phon says it's basically converting equity exposure into monthly income. For example, instead of holding stocks outright, you buy a structured note designed to pay you steady monthly income while still giving some market participation. It's like blending investing and cash flow without fully being in the stock market.Phon on the future earnings potential of ETFs. He believes growth will continue, especially as aging demographics seek income and protection. BlackRock projects more than $600B in defined-outcome/Buffered ETFs in the coming years.Brian highlights that markets don't move straight up forever. We all intellectually understand cycles, but emotionally, we forget. That's why having a plan for downturns is essential.Phon shares a real-life ETF scenario and how, in 2002, a near-retirement couple protected their nest egg during intense volatility using defined outcome tools. They preserved their lifestyle when others were taking major hits.How to balance your portfolio for growth and safety. For Phon, the best thing you can do is to talk to a real human advisor. There's too much DIY noise; professional guidance helps you tune the right mix for your unique situation.Phon on what to ask your advisor: Ask how your portfolio would perform in a COVID-style year or another global-financial-crisis scenario. Then ask how it generates income and supports your goals. His favorite question: "Have you actually guided clients through a deep bear market?"Why working with a professional matters: Many strategies look great and work during bull markets. But the real test is whether they protect you when things are down.Phon explains that good portfolio design is about being structurally prepared before volatility hits. You want a position that holds through downturns—and ideally lets you buy when opportunities appear.Phon's parting advice to the audience: Go outside, walk your dog, and take real time away with family. Getting off screens and into nature helps you stay grounded. Investing is long-term—your life should be too. Mentioned in this episode: VetaInvestmentPartners.com BlackRock.com/us/financial-professionals/insights/outcome-etfs BrianSkrobonja.com SkrobonjaFinancial.com SkrobonjaWealth.com BUILDbanking.com Common Sense Financial Podcast on YouTube Common Sense Financial Podcast on Spotify Alternative investments may be subject to less regulation than other types of pooled investment vehicles. Alternative Investments may impose significant fees, including incentive fees that are based upon a percentage of the realized and unrealized gains and an individual's net returns may differ significantly from actual returns. Such fees may offset all or a significant portion of such Alternative Investment's trading profits. Incorporating alternative investments into a portfolio presents the opportunity for significant losses including in some cases, losses which exceed the principal amount invested. Also, some alternative investments have experienced periods of extreme volatility and in general, are not suitable for all investors. Asset allocation and diversification strategies do not ensure profit or protect against loss in declining markets ---- BUILD Banking™ is a DBA of Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC. Benefits and guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company. Not FDIC insured. Results may vary. Any descriptions involving life insurance policies and its use as an alternative form of financing or risk management ...
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    42 m
  • My Story - Replay
    Nov 26 2025
    In this podcast episode, Brian shares his remarkable journey from his parents' middle-class immigrant background to achieving financial freedom through decades of learning and building businesses. He recounts his early aspiration for an opulent lifestyle and the pivotal moment when he realized the importance of creating income-producing assets. Through content creation, including three books and the Common Sense Financial Podcast, Brian's financial wisdom and expertise have garnered recognition and awards, providing valuable insights into wealth, financial freedom, and the pursuit of life's true riches. Join us as we explore Brian's wealth-building principles, the significance of faith, family, and relationships, and the pursuit of genuine financial freedom. It was over 30 years ago when Brian got started in business and he's spent this time building his knowledge while building teams and companies.Brian begins by telling the story of his parents and how they came over from Croatia and lived a middle-class life.His father worked evenings and weekends as a lab engineer while also running a business on the side. His work ethic greatly inspired Brian as he grew up.As a teen, he always dreamed of having expensive things, but his only model for getting that done involved trading time for money, which is exactly what he did throughout his early 20's. This led to him working harder to keep up with his increasingly expensive lifestyle.After doing it wrong for years, Brian had an epiphany where he realized he needed to create income-producing assets that would pay for his lifestyle.He set out to create a passive income stream to support his lifestyle and successfully accomplished it. That's when his focus for what he was really trying to do for his clients came into clarity.Brian began producing content back in 2010. And out of that came three books: Common Sense, Generational Planning, and Retirement Planning, which can all be found on Amazon.This led to the beginning of the Common Sense Financial Podcast, which has since been recognized by Forbes as a top 10 podcast by financial advisors. Brian also became a regular contributor for Kiplinger magazine locally in St. Louis. He's gone on to win numerous awards for his work.After 30 years of helping clients create the passive income they need to create real financial freedom, Brian regularly hears clients say that his process has really opened their eyes about how money works and how to think about wealth.In his personal life, Brian has been married to his wife Carrie for 30 years and has three kids, who have also grown up and had families of their own.Throughout their lives, Brian and his wife have taught their children two main things. First, most importantly, for them to pursue a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to live out their faith in their daily walk. Second to that, is to understand that a worthy pursuit in life is the things money can't buy: building relationships, investing, and creating memories and experiences with people that you love.A key lesson that took Brian a long time to figure out is that the pursuit of things never brings satisfaction.Real wealth is not found in things but in the freedom to live your life free from having to work for a paycheck or trade your time for money, which is another lesson he tries to impart to his kids as well as his clients. Mentioned in this episode: BrianSkrobonja.com Common Sense Financial Podcast on YouTube Common Sense Financial Podcast on Spotify SkrobonjaFinancial.com SkrobonjaWealth.com BuildBanking.com Common Sense: YOUR Guide to Making Smart Choices with YOUR Money by Brian Skrobonja Generational Planning by Brian Skrobonja Retirement Planning: Have A Plan So You Can Live Your Life by Brian Skrobonja Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. This is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual's situation. Securities offered only by duly registered individuals through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC. (MAS), Member FINRA &SIPC. Advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through Skrobonja Wealth Management (SWM), a registered investment advisor. Tax services offered only through Skrobonja Tax Consulting. MAS does not offer Build Banking or tax advice. Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Tax Consulting, and Build Banking are not affiliated with MAS. Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. The firm is a registered investment adviser with the state of Missouri, and may only transact business with ...
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    11 m
  • The 5 Key Performance Indicators To Help Measure The Health Of Your Retirement Plan - Replay
    Nov 19 2025
    In this episode we talk about the importance of using key performance indicators beyond just investment performance to gauge the health of one's retirement plan. There are five crucial data points that form the foundation of a successful retirement strategy: passive income, effective tax rate, cash flow ratio, banking capacity, and horizontal asset allocation. By focusing on these metrics, you can adopt a comprehensive approach to retirement planning that factors in various financial variables and bridges the gaps in your financial plan. Business owners use KPIs or key performance indicators to track and understand the health of their business and marketing efforts. Those planning for retirement should consider their retirement KPIs to help measure the health of their financial situation.People often make the mistake of substituting investment performance for more meaningful key performance indicators. ROI is not the only KPI you should be paying attention to.People often view their finances in silos and tend to make standalone decisions about what to do while leaving out other important variables concerning their situation, which can result in having gaps in their overall retirement plan design.For example, the stock market can go down, but that doesn't necessarily mean your plan should change. The flipside is also true: the market may be up, but that could mean you need to make adjustments.Knowing what KPIs to use and how to use them can help measure the health of your overall financial situation, not just track portfolio performance.A KPI is simply a collection of data points that helps provide a consistent method for measuring and monitoring the health of your retirement plan.In my experience, there are five key data points needed to measure the effectiveness of a retirement plan.The first is passive income. Income is an obvious component and the central theme of a retirement plan.Income is not growth of a share or unit of a particular investment. It is the income generated from the share or unit of an investment.If there is a retirement income gap of $5,000 each month, the goal of the retirement plan is to not simply cash out investments each month or spend down savings to meet the goal. It is to create passive income sources that can consistently provide the cash flow.Missing this point can be catastrophic to the longevity of a retirement plan. The second is the effective tax rate. Tax rates in the United States of America are progressive. The more you make, the higher the marginal rate is on portions of your income. Marginal rates have their place when filing a return or making decisions about asset positioning.The effective tax rate is a single rate that's calculated using the total taxes that are paid against the gross income. This percentage gives us a better overall understanding of the impact taxes are having on retirement income.If the retirement income gap is $5,000 each month and the effective tax rate is 30%, we can determine the additional amount of income required to cover the tax liabilities.The more tax mitigation techniques you incorporate into a retirement plan, the less pressure there is on your assets to generate additional income just to pay the tax. The third is cash flow ratio. People often define cash flow too narrowly and often exclude things like taxes, retirement savings and health insurance premiums, which leaves gaps in understanding.It is also important to know the ratio of income to bank payments, taxes, savings insurance, as well as fixed and variable expenses.It's also important to know the earned income versus passive income ratio along with the number of different income sources you rely on to fund your lifestyle. The fourth is your banking capacity. When it comes to asset allocation, there is often the out-of-the-box structure where assets are divided up between investments and bank accounts. This approach oversimplifies a more complex situation and overlooks the realities of life and how people actually use and spend money.There are many factors to consider outside of just growing assets and covering emergencies, such as big ticket purchases and other family needs, that could benefit from incorporating a family bank into the financial plan.A family bank, aka Build Banking, is a specially designed life insurance contract that enables a family to have banking capabilities within their own financial ecosystem without relying on an actual bank outside of their financial situation.This piece is usually missing from most retirement plans. The fifth is horizontal asset allocation. Most people think of diversification as a vertical landscape of public market investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds or ETFs, but that's the wrong idea.Asset allocation is similar to gardening. It requires diversity in many different forms to help manage growth, produce income, minimize risk and mitigate taxes.Adding things such as real estate businesses, private equity, life ...
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    16 m
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