Clark Shofner started his career in 2004 as a trusted advisor in Jasper, Texas. He founded Retirement National in 2013 and has been helping people throughout southeast Texas develop and live out their dreams in retirement. Retirement National services approximately 150 households and is growing each year.
Clark was first introduced to the stock market in June of 1997. He had just started college at Texas A&M University, and his Longhorn friend from Austin called him and said Clark needed to buy some Dell stock. Clark said, “What is stock, and how do I buy it?” On his friend’s advice and in no time at all, a little money turned into a lot! He later realized that “timing” is an overwhelming contributor to the success or failure of most of our money in the stock market.
While working for his family’s business, Clark continued to search for and invest in a wide range of investments and so-called opportunities. The family tried money markets, CDs, bonds, stocks, mutual funds, all types of annuities, insurance, REITS, land, rent houses, oil and gas, minerals, royalties, timber, 1031 exchanges with commercial real estate and the list goes on. Being involved in these transactions led to Clark’s in-depth knowledge of many types of investments.
Through his experiences, Clark has both experienced great success and suffered extreme loss. Having this understanding and knowledge of “investment reality” allows him to help his clients develop the very best plan for their level of risk and their requirement of income. Oftentimes, knowing what to do comes from an understanding of what NOT to do!
Why is it called Retirement National? Our primary purpose is our clients’ retirement. We wanted the name to reflect exactly what we do. When you read the name, there is no wondering or doubt about what we do here: “We do Retirement!”
We get to know who you are by starting a trusted relationship. We will work with you to determine what is important to you and what you are looking for in your retirement. We will develop and implement a customized retirement plan based on your needs, wants and circumstances. There is no “one size fits all.”
We use many of the processes and products that you have been familiar with through your employer’s 401(k) or at a brokerage firm in the past.
However, our business focuses on and caters to people from age 55 through the rest of their retirement life. We chose to serve this specialized clientele because “investing for retirement” and “investing during retirement” are NOT the same. To not know the difference between the two may cause you a lot of stress and pain in your retirement life.
Our specialty – and No. 1 priority – is creating your retirement income plan. In our opinion, income is the only thing that keeps you retired. Many people focus on their account balance or rate of return, and although they are important, we believe your monthly income plan is the dominating factor that will determine your success in retirement.
