A TIME FOR
- PERSPECTIVE -

Our job is to put things into perspective for our clients and help them focus on living their lives.

All of the negativity we are hearing and reading is affecting many of our clients' ability to decide what to do with their money. While we don't have the power to control what and how the daily media reports as news, we are conducting monthly Roundtable meetings to get feedback from our clients on how they are doing, what bothers them the most … and to facilitate questions and solutions.

We find that our clients are experiencing angst that is exacerbated by the doom and gloom they hear daily:

• "We are in another depression"
• "The market will get much worse before it gets better"
• "This recession is likely to continue for a long time"
• "Real estate may not recover for many years"

While our clients have no power over what the market does or what the media writes, we believe they do have control over how they react to all the negativity.

We believe at Feek Justice Financial that it is part of our responsibility as financial/life planners to help our clients get through this emotional period.

Our Roundtable meetings bring together 10-12 clients a session without any specific agenda. After one of our meetings, a client asked that we periodically send emails/letters to report the positive and/or expose exaggerated negative news we all are bombarded with.

Another client was concerned about policies being formulated in Washington, D.C. that may be similar to that which prolonged the Great Depression (large government spending) and that it took additional warfare before the economy would recover.

We quoted Ben Stein from a column he wrote for The New York Times early in 2009:

"We are more than our investments. We are more than the year-to-year changes in our net worth. We are what we do for charity. We are how we treat our family and friends … losing and making money are not moral issues so long as you are being honest. You may have a lot less money as this year ends then you did two years ago. But, you are just as good or bad a person as you were then. It is a myth that money determines who you are, and if you have gotten over that myth by now, then 2008 will have been a very good year."

It is not our intention to trivialize what is happening. We know many people are suffering. However, most of our clients (most of you) are achieving lifetime goals. Some need to make adjustments and we are here to help them do that. We want to put things into perspective for our clients, stabilize their security, mitigate their anguish and help them focus on living their lives. I hope you join us when we invite you to a Roundtable discussion. -- Jim

The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.” --Charles Kuralt, Reporter, Author

There is nothing more troubling for someone in retirement, or thinking about retirement, than the worry about running out of money before running out of years. With what has happened to the stock market over the past year, there are more people sharing that worry than ever before.

Guarding against that concern is why many Americans have chosen to put some of their money into insurance and annuity products that offer what are known as Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWB). How often have you seen the word “guaranteed” used in conjunction with an investment?

These GLWB options are most commonly associated with variable annuities, products that allow equity investing inside a tax-deferred wrapper. The GLWB benefit ensures that a contract owner will receive a guaranteed stream of income for life, regardless of whether the underlying contact value has gone down. In fact, most income riders also guarantee an annual increase in the withdrawal fund.

Over the years there has been a lot of argument over variable annuities, with critics citing the fees paid for the various features, surrender fees and sometimes abusive sales to seniors. But, for many Americans who have seen their retirement portfolios decline in the wake of the tech bubble burst of early-2000s and collapse of 2008/2009, the lifetime income guarantees have become welcome relief to the worry of running out of money in retirement. -- Gary

* Please note guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuer.

In uncertain times such as these, the value of highly rated, financially solvent companies, who provide GUARANTEED results, along with tax efficiencies, showcases the value of alternative planning. Utilizing life insurance as a financial planning vehicle is nothing new, but when the markets are booming the current interest rate, north of 5% does not seem as compelling.

We all talk of diversification, asset classes, rebalancing etc, but many times what is overlooked, is the value of insurance and your insurability, as one of your key investment classes. It is so much easier to make money, by not losing your principal and the effect of a stable, guaranteed life insurance contract to smooth out the undulations of the market is profound.

Many of our professional clients who have exhausted the tax deductions of their company offerings, or feel over exposed to the market, are relying on alternative, life insurance based retirement planning. The buildup or growth of cash value inside a life insurance contract is Income Tax Deferred, much like a 401K or traditional IRA. However, unlike the aforementioned vehicles, the distributions, if structured properly, can result in TAX FREE income at a predetermined point in your financial future.

This concept is the last bastion of relief offered by our current tax regulations, which allows for unlimited contributions on an after tax basis. It is however discriminatory, as only those who can qualify medically and financially, have the opportunity to consider this strategy. Unlike traditional Qualified plans, flexibility is the key in today's reshaped markets and a professional retirement concept provides near limitless flexibility, with no IRS penalties on early (prior to age 59 ½) distributions. Existing contracts and the current values can be exchanged into today's more robust policies with lower cost of insurance factors, due to the increased mortality ages we enjoy. Many factors, including intense competition, have created an opportunity to improve your position.

Whether through a retirement concept, or for pure risk protection and estate planning needs, appropriate life insurance products are a necessary part of nearly all clients' basic financial plans. We have the expertise to review and audit your current insurance products, as well as make recommendations for alternative, non-correlated concepts to protect your family, as well as provide financial stability. If you have not reviewed your policies in the past 5 years, you should. -- David