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Why Process Matters More Than Products in Financial Planning

Owen Edwards, Certified Financial Fiduciary®, Encourages Investors to Prioritize Strategy Over Trends
As financial markets continue to evolve and an increasing number of investment products enter the marketplace, Owen Edwards, Certified Financial Fiduciary®, is reminding investors that he believes lasting financial success is built on a disciplined planning process—not on chasing the latest financial product or market trend.
“I believe the best investment isn’t a product, it’s a process,” said Edwards. “While innovative financial solutions can provide value when used appropriately, products should never come before understanding a client’s goals, risks, and overall financial picture.”
Edwards believes every successful financial strategy begins with a comprehensive planning process that enables clients to make informed decisions with confidence. Before discussing investment solutions, he focuses on understanding each client’s unique objectives, risk tolerance, tax considerations, retirement goals, cash flow needs, and long-term vision.
Rather than reacting to short-term market volatility or pursuing the newest investment opportunities, Edwards emphasizes that successful investing is rooted in discipline, consistency, and thoughtful decision-making.
“Our responsibility is not to predict every market move,” Edwards added. “Our responsibility is to help clients build a financial strategy that can withstand changing markets while remaining aligned with what matters most to them.”
This client-first philosophy extends throughout Edwards’ practice, including retirement planning, wealth management, fiduciary consulting, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and legacy planning. By focusing on the planning process first, clients receive objective guidance tailored to their personal circumstances rather than recommendations driven by products alone.
As the second half of the year begins, Edwards encourages individuals, families, and business owners to review their financial plans, assess their progress toward long-term goals, and ensure their strategies continue to reflect changes in their lives, businesses, and the broader economic environment.
“Markets will fluctuate. Interest rates will change. New investment products will continue to emerge,” Edwards said. “But a disciplined financial planning process provides the foundation that helps investors stay focused on their long-term objectives regardless of changing conditions.”
Edwards believes that while financial products may evolve over time, the principles of sound planning remain constant. His commitment continues to be delivering objective, fiduciary guidance through a disciplined process designed to help clients pursue lasting financial confidence.
As Edwards summarizes his philosophy: “Products change. Process endures.”
About Owen Edwards
Owen Edwards is committed to helping individuals, families, and business owners pursue financial confidence through personalized planning, fiduciary guidance, and disciplined investment strategies. By emphasizing process over products, he seeks to build lasting relationships grounded in trust, education, and long-term stewardship.
Learn more: https://royalfundmanagement.com/
Owen Edwards is an Investment Adviser Representative of and investment services offered through Royal Fund Management, LLC, an SEC Registered Adviser. 401(k) Maneuver is another business name for Royal Fund Management, LLC.

Zeus Companies Founder Dr. Steven Kaufman Outlines Strategic Healthcare Real Estate Model in KingsCrowd Interview

Dr. Steven Kaufman, founder of Zeus Companies, appeared on a KingsCrowd-hosted investor education webinar to discuss healthcare real estate as a distinct commercial asset class. The conversation, moderated by KingsCrowd CEO Chris Lustrino, covered the structural characteristics that Kaufman says make medical tenants the most defensible in commercial real estate, the results of a recently completed seven-year development project, and how Zeus Companies evaluates physician partnerships.
KingsCrowd is a private market research and ratings platform that hosts a recurring series of sponsored educational webinars for accredited investors. The Zeus Companies episode, titled “Healthcare Real Estate Investing,” aired live on July 21, 2025, and is available for replay on the KingsCrowd platform.
A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING COMMERCIAL HEALTHCARE TENANTS
During the webinar, Kaufman outlined six criteria he said Zeus Companies uses to evaluate the quality of a commercial real estate tenant, a framework he described as the product of 25 years of healthcare investing across more than $7 billion in transactions. He presented the criteria not as proprietary to Zeus but as a general-purpose evaluation tool for any investor considering commercial real estate with a medical component.
The six criteria Kaufman described are:

Triple net lease structure, in which the tenant bears all operating expenses including insurance, janitorial, and utilities
Meaningful tenant improvement investment by the tenant, not only the landlord, creating financial commitment to the space
Long-term lease duration, typically 7 to 15 years, with Kaufman noting one current Zeus tenant is under lease through 2044
Pre-leased status before construction begins, removing reliance on speculative lease-up
A financially established tenant rather than a first-year or early-stage operator
Tenant co-investment in the real estate itself, aligning the tenant’s financial interests with those of the landlord
Kaufman argued that healthcare tenants are uniquely positioned to satisfy all six criteria simultaneously, and contrasted that with other commercial categories where one or more criteria are typically absent. He cited dentists as the most extreme example of tenant stickiness, noting that the physical infrastructure required to operate a dental practice makes relocation a significant financial undertaking for the tenant.

During the conversation, Dr. Kaufman explained, “A dentist cannot just relocate. The reason dentists are considered the most sticky commercial tenant of any type in the United States is that they cannot just move all of those sinks, all of that power, all of those chairs. They need the real estate to actually conduct their business.”
EXIT RESULTS: HOUSTON MEDTAIL DEVELOPMENT CLOSES WITHIN $12,000 OF 2018 PRO FORMA
Kaufman disclosed the final results of a recently completed equity investment: a 30,000-square-foot medtail development in Houston’s Heights neighborhood that Zeus Companies underwrote in 2018 and exited in mid-2025. The project combined a freestanding emergency room with an anchored retail development and was held for approximately seven years.
According to Kaufman, the exit price came within $12,000 of the original pro forma projection on a $14 million transaction, a variance he characterized as less than one-tenth of one percent. He also reported that the project’s net operating income exceeded the revenue projection in the original pro forma by 37%. The investment had five partners, and Kaufman stated that each investor realized a profit of $1 million or more at exit.
Kaufman attributed the result to what he described as a dual-layer underwriting process: Zeus evaluates every potential equity investment first as a lender, asking whether the firm would originate a loan against the asset before considering it as an equity opportunity. He noted that the emergency room component of the project was sold separately in 2023 to a third-party operator, and that the retail real estate was held until the current exit.
Dr. Kaufman stated, “We underwrote it in 2018. We had not even heard of COVID. We exited about a month ago. We missed the pro forma exit price by $12,000 on a $14 million transaction, seven years later. And we underestimated revenue by 37%.”
PHYSICIAN PARTNERSHIP MODEL: HOW ZEUS STRUCTURES HEALTHCARE EQUITY DEALS
Kaufman described Zeus Companies’ approach to healthcare equity as centered on physician partnership rather than conventional landlord-tenant relationships. He said that in every equity investment the firm has made except one currently in progress, all co-investors have been physicians. No outside financial investors have participated in those deals.
He explained that Zeus typically seeks a minority ownership interest in the operating healthcare company in addition to the real estate, a structure he said is uncommon because most healthcare operators do not open their capital tables to outside investors. When such access is granted, Kaufman said, it has historically been the most profitable component of Zeus’s investments, consistently outperforming the real estate returns.
On the question of whether physicians make capable business partners, Kaufman pushed back on the conventional skepticism. “In my experience, most of those physicians know how to raise their hand and ask for help when they absolutely need it. Who’s smarter: the person who thinks they’re the smartest, or the person who recognizes they’re not the smartest and they need help?”
ASSET CLASSES ZEUS AVOIDS: OPERATOR-DEPENDENT INVESTMENTS WITHOUT KNOWN OPERATORS
Kaufman used the webinar to articulate an explicit prohibition in the firm’s investment thesis: Zeus does not invest in assets that are heavily operator-dependent unless the firm has an intimate, established relationship with the operator. He named biotech facilities, AI-dependent tenants, and co-working spaces as categories the firm declines on this basis.
He noted that vacated biotech and specialty build-outs can present secondary acquisition opportunities, since those tenants tend to over-invest in tenant improvements before departing, leaving behind high-quality, purpose-built space that a healthcare tenant can occupy at a fraction of the original build cost.
HOUSTON MARKET COMMENTARY
Kaufman repeated and expanded on commentary from a prior KingsCrowd appearance regarding Houston’s economic positioning. He cited the Houston Ship Channel’s post-COVID status as the leading U.S. port by import and export volume, surpassing the combined output of the Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York ports, and reiterated population projections showing Houston adding more residents by 2030 than currently live in Austin.
He described second-generation healthcare space in Houston as among the most sought-after commercial real estate in the city, noting that previously built-out medical suites lease faster and at stronger rates than comparable new construction because prospective tenants avoid the time and cost of a full build-out.
To learn more about Zeus Companies visit: https://zeuscompanies.com
About Zeus Companies
Founded over 20 years ago, Zeus Companies is a private equity firm with platforms spanning debt, equity, and healthcare investments. Under the leadership of Managing Principal Dr. Steven Kaufman, the company specializes in real estate-backed credit with a focus on the Texas market. Dr. Kaufman holds advanced degrees in economics, psychology, and organizational leadership and is a frequent media contributor on Bloomberg, CNBC, and Fox Business. Zeus Companies maintains a track record of over 17,000 loan transactions totaling more than $7 billion in real estate volume while delivering monthly distributions to investors for two decades.
About KingsCrowd
KingsCrowd provides institutional-grade research and analytics tools for alternative investing, with a focus on private equity and private debt deals. The platform offers educational programming and resources to help investors identify and evaluate investment opportunities across alternative asset classes.

Financial Advisor and Author Pri Cosentino Challenges Conventional Money Advice with New Book, Who You Are Is Costing You Money

Fern Prosperity Founder Reveals Why Identity—Not Financial Knowledge—is the Missing Link to Lasting Wealth 
Financial advisor, speaker, and founder of Fern Prosperity, Pri Cosentino, has released her groundbreaking new book, Who You Are Is Costing You Money, offering a fresh perspective on why so many intelligent, capable people continue to struggle financially despite knowing what they should do. 
Drawing from behavioral neuroscience, financial planning, and years of experience working with individuals and families, Cosentino argues that the biggest obstacle to financial success is not a lack of knowledge; it is the way people see themselves. 
At the heart of the book is the concept of the Identity Gap: the distance between the financial decisions people are capable of making and the ones they actually make. Rather than focusing solely on budgeting strategies or investment tactics, Who You Are Is Costing You Money explores the emotional patterns, self-worth beliefs, fear, and shame that quietly influence financial behavior. 
 
“For years I watched capable people do the exact opposite of what they knew they should with money. The gap was never knowledge—it was identity. Once you see who’s really making the decision, you can finally change it,” said Cosentino. 
 
Through evidence-based insights and practical exercises, the book empowers readers to recognize the internal beliefs driving their financial choices and provides a clear framework for creating lasting behavioral change. By addressing the psychological and emotional roots of money decisions, readers can develop healthier financial habits and build sustainable wealth with greater confidence. 
As the founder of Fern Prosperity, Cosentino has dedicated her career to helping individuals and families transform their relationship with money through a holistic approach that integrates financial planning, behavioral science, and personal growth. Her signature WISE Method combines practical financial education with neuroscience-backed strategies and faith-centered principles to help clients create meaningful, long-term financial success. 
Pri Cosentino holds academic training in Business Administration, Accounting, and an MBA in Neuroscience, bringing together expertise from finance, psychology, and leadership to redefine the conversation around wealth building. 
Who You Are Is Costing You Money is now available for readers seeking a deeper understanding of the connection between identity and financial well-being. The book is designed for anyone who has ever wondered why knowing the right financial choices isn’t enough—and how lasting transformation begins from within. 
For more information about Pri Cosentino, Fern Prosperity, or the new book, visit http://fernprosperity.com/ 
 
About Pri Cosentino 
Pri Cosentino is a financial advisor, author, speaker, and founder of Fern Prosperity. Blending behavioral neuroscience with practical financial planning, she helps U.S. individuals and families build lasting wealth through her WISE Method. Trained in Business Administration, Accounting, and an MBA in Neuroscience, she unites financial education with faith and personal growth. 
 
 

From Ashes Into the Light: Thomas Campbell Reveals His Extraordinary Mission to Restore Hope and Transform Communities

TC Bradley interviews Thomas Campbell, founder of The Light Project and author of From Ashes Into the Light. From childhood homelessness and foster care to leading a movement of hope, Campbell shares the experiences that inspired his vision for 24-hour Lighthouse Transformation Centers. Together they discuss leadership, purpose, faith, community, and building lives rooted in hope and transformation. Learn more by connecting with Thomas Campbell and The Light Project.

Rick Miller, Founder of Miller Wealth Planning, Interviewed on the Influential Entrepreneurs Podcast Discussing Protecting the Surviving Spouse in Retirement

Rick Miller discusses the importance of protecting the surviving spouse in retirement 
Listen to the interview on the Business Innovators Radio Network: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-rick-miller-founder-of-miller-wealth-planning-discussing-protecting-the-surviving-spouse-in-retirement/
Rick Miller, the founder of Miller Wealth Management Planning. Delved into the crucial topic of protecting surviving spouses in retirement, a subject that Rick is particularly passionate about given his 27 years of experience in the field.  
Protecting Surviving Spouses in Retirement 
Retirement is often envisioned as a time of relaxation and enjoyment after years of hard work. However, for many, it can also be a period marked by significant challenges, especially for surviving spouses. The loss of a partner not only brings emotional pain but also presents a myriad of financial hurdles that must be navigated carefully. As discussed in a recent episode of the podcast “Influential Entrepreneurs,” hosted by Mike Saunders and featuring financial expert Rick Miller, the importance of protecting surviving spouses in retirement cannot be overstated. 
One of the most pressing issues highlighted in the podcast is the concept of the “income cliff.” This term refers to the immediate financial challenges that often arise when one spouse passes away, leaving the other to manage a significantly reduced income. In many cases, the husband is the first to pass, leading to a situation where the wife, now a surviving spouse, faces a sharp decline in her financial resources. 
When both spouses are alive, they typically enjoy a combined income from pensions, Social Security, and other sources. However, upon the death of one spouse, the surviving partner may experience a drastic reduction in income. For instance, if the deceased spouse had a pension, it may either cease entirely or be reduced significantly—often cut in half or down to a mere 25%. Similarly, Social Security benefits may also diminish, as the surviving spouse is only entitled to the higher of the two benefits rather than both. 
The podcast also delves into the unique risks that women face in retirement. Statistically, women tend to outlive men, which means they are more likely to find themselves as surviving spouses. This longevity brings with it specific financial implications, particularly concerning long-term care. Women often require long-term care services for an extended period—averaging over five years—due to their longer life expectancy. The high costs associated with long-term care can deplete savings quickly, making it essential for women to have a robust plan in place.  
Innovations in Long-Term Care Planning 
To address the risks associated with long-term care, Rick Miller emphasizes the importance of hedging against this uncertainty. His practice focuses on innovative strategies that help individuals prepare for the possibility of needing long-term care without jeopardizing their financial stability. This includes exploring options such as long-term care insurance, hybrid policies, and other financial products designed to mitigate the risks associated with healthcare needs in later life. 
The challenges faced by surviving spouses highlight the critical need for comprehensive retirement planning. It is essential for couples to engage in discussions about their financial future, considering scenarios that may arise, including the death of one spouse. Financial advisors play a vital role in helping clients navigate these complex issues, ensuring that both partners understand the implications of their financial decisions. 
In conclusion, protecting surviving spouses in retirement is a multifaceted issue that requires attention to income, taxation, longevity, and long-term care. As discussed in the podcast, proactive planning and innovative financial strategies are essential to safeguard the financial well-being of those who are left behind. By addressing these challenges head-on, individuals can help ensure that surviving spouses can maintain their quality of life and achieve a secure retirement, even in the face of loss. 
 
Rick shared: “This is a topic that’s near and dear to my heart because in the 27 years been in this business, as you might expect, had numerous deaths occur in my client base. And, typically what happens is the man that goes 1st, and it’s the wife that usually becomes the surviving spouse. And with that comes an awful lot of challenges.” 
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/aPJBtgS-Y58 
About Rick Miller 
At Miller Wealth Planning, we provide Doctors, business owners and other high net worth individuals a comprehensive, bullet-proof financial plan. Rick has put together an exceptionally talented and experienced team to show you how to manage the numerous risks high net-worth professionals face. 
These risks include: tax risk; market risk; longevity risk (running out of money);inflation risk; long term care risk, lawsuit risk and loss of income risk among others. Your freedom from worry is our objective. 
Rick credentials include: Certificate in Financial Planning; IRMAA Certified Planner; Certified Dementia Practitioner and Investment Advisor Representative. 
Rick has Master’s degrees in English and Counseling along with broad experience in business creation, real estate investing and more. 
Learn more: https://www.thecaregapsolution.com/  
Recent News & Interviews

Rick Miller Discussed Hedging the Long-Term Care Risk https://authoritypresswire.com/rick-miller-founder-of-miller-wealth-planning-interviewed-on-the-influential-entrepreneurs-podcast-discussing-hedging-the-long-term-care-risk/
Rick Miller Discussed Understanding IRMAA https://authoritypresswire.com/rick-miller-founder-of-miller-wealth-planning-interviewed-on-the-influential-entrepreneurs-podcast-discussing-understanding-irmaa/
Rick Miller Discussed Financial Planning as Risk Management https://authoritypresswire.com/rick-miller-founder-of-miller-wealth-planning-interviewed-on-the-influential-entrepreneurs-podcast-discussing-financial-planning-as-risk-management/

The opinions expressed on this show by the host and Fredric W. (Rick) Miller are their own and do not reflect the opinions of this radio or television station.  All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information believed to be reliable. Although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.

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