News from Blue Prairie Group
 
P R A I R I E  P O S T
News from Blue Prairie Group               
 
Message from Matt                                                                            Summer 2009

Blue Prairie Group was just named one of the fastest-growing privately held firms in the country by Inc. Magazine. (We ranked number 1,037 out of 5,000 nationally, and number 42 in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet metro region.) As we turn 7 this month, we are proud of this accomplishment.  But how we got here is the real story...

I started the company in August of 2002 with one client. Unlike many professional service firms, we did not glom books of business together nor spin-off from an established business. BPG is 100% organically grown -- one satisfied client at a time.  Our client retention rates are astronomical and referrals have always been and remain our best marketing strategy.

Our inclusion in the Inc 5000 list coincides with another milestone: I am proud to announce the launch of our first subsidiary, BPG Integrated Solutions (BPG IS.) Our new subsidiary will offer retirement, investment, human resource, benefits brokerage and financial advisory services to emerging, small and mid-market companies. We're committed to providing smaller organizations with the same practical, value-added services we offer to our biggest corporate clients.

On behalf of everyone at Blue Prairie Group, I would like to thank all of our clients and strategic partners for their support and business. It is truly an honor to be of service.

Take care,

Matt Gnabasik
Managing Director

IN THIS ISSUE                                                                        Summer 2009
 
Blue Prairie Group is a rapidly growing firm. We're looking for bright, hard-working people who would like to help build a national investment and human resource consulting company.
 
Please consider contacting us about open positions or, spread the word!We are hiring!
 
  RETIREMENT AND INVESTMENT
Lessons From Behavioral Finance - How to Help Employees Help Themselves
By: Tess Malone, Institutional Retirement & Investment Practice Leader
 
Why are saving and investing wisely the exception, rather than the norm? Recent findings show that peoples' attitudes about money, their assumptions about retirement and even their feelings of anxiety or comfort about money are quite often, irrational.... read more
Heads Up !
 
Blue Prairie Group is always focused on improving. In the coming weeks, we will send out a brief, web-based client survey to our institutional clients. We want to hear how we can do better from the people who know us! We've also begun several important internal initiatives from redesigning our proprietary investment reports to reengineering our custom target date strategies. (Blue Prairie Group is redefining the investment consulting industry with a series of powerful proprietary services, tools and work flow processes that we will share in upcoming newsletters.)
 
  INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT
5 Things You Should Be Doing Right Now to Protect Your Portfolio
 
Click here for Blue Prairie Group's fact sheet about prudent investment management in a difficult market. Learn various portfolio management approaches that fiduciaries need to consider. Steps that investors and fiduciaries can take to protect themselves for the future.

 

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Upcoming Speeches, & Panel Discussions
  WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Retirement Withdrawal Strategies
By:Don DeBruin, Wealth Management Consultant
People use many different strategies to manage their funds during retirement, but a common question is: How much can I safely withdraw from my portfolio to cover living expenses, travel or even a new car?  
 
We all know that we need to be careful so that we don't outlive our money but the inherent uncertainty of the future can make managing the withdrawal process quite stressful... read more
  HUMAN RESOURCES
Retained HR: Addressing Your Human Capital Management Needs in Difficult Economic Times 
By: Warren Rothman, Senior Human Resource Consultant

"We'd really like to bring an HR professional on board but we just can't afford it." That's an understandable perspective for a company that has yet to make this investment and many organizations punt - pulling in another employee to function as the HR department. This may work, up to a point... read more