Dividend investing feels safe because the cash is visible. But dividends do not create wealth, they rearrange it. Companies adjust in price, payouts can be cut, and high yield portfolios often hide costly sector bets. Real safety is not a dividend stream. It is total return, diversification, and alignment with your spending needs. Income should be designed, not chased.

Averages feel comforting, but in wealth management they often mislead. Markets don’t deliver smooth outcomes, investors rarely earn “average” returns, and retirement spending is uneven across life stages. Wealth is shaped by extremes, not typical numbers. At Westmount Wealth, we plan to lives, using discipline, diversification, and ranges, not averages.

A new year inspires bold resolutions, like perfectly timing the market or only buying winners. But like gym memberships, most investing promises fade fast. Wealth has never depended on reinvention. Markets change, trends come and go, yet fundamentals keep doing the work. At Westmount Wealth Management, the new year is a reminder that while nothing works all the time, timeless principles do. This year, focus on diversification, patience, discipline, and a plan you can live with.

Each year brings a fresh batch of seasonal market stories, Santa Claus rallies, “Sell in May & go away,” the January effect, even Super Bowl predictions. They all promise hidden rhythms in returns. But over time, the data has stripped these patterns of their power. At Westmount, we remind investors that lasting results come from fundamentals, discipline, and a long-term view, not from chasing calendar quirks. As the year winds down, stay focused on what matters, a resilient plan grounded in prediction.