FRIENDS and CLIENTS

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Ice Cream Social and Classic Jazz Concert on the Lawn

New retirement and business succession paradigms are emerging. These paradigms center on shifting focus from asset risk accumulation products to insured lifestyle structured financial instruments that are inflation protected, principal proofed and risk managed.

Basically, we can divide our assets into three buckets. How you perceive your "Bucket List" will provide you with your peace of mind and guidelines to preparedness:

• Consumption Bucket: are those assets we spend to enjoy life ... our home, entertainment, travel, education, etc.
• Contingency Bucket: are what we set aside "just in case"... illness, market downturn, business/income interruption, etc.
• Custodial Bucket: are those assets we'll never touch, but leave to either; our heirs; our causes, or, our government ... it's that simple

The problem with much of the financial services industry is that it's developed left-brained analytical tools to solve right-brained emotional issues. Sit down and talk to us about making the most of what you have. This will preserve your sleep at night along with a life of significance and dignity ... a more right-brained approach in keeping your buckets overflowing to the life you want and the people and causes you love.   -- Jim

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth
has a chance to get its pants on." -- Winston Churchill

Is it just me? It seems each quarter as we prepare our newsletter to you, the stock and bond markets are again in a state of turmoil or wild volatility. How high does your anxiety meter read these days? If it's high enough to cost you some sleep, then maybe you should take a page out of the investment philosophy of our largest institutional investors.

According to recent studies, including one by the Harvard Business School, major university endowment funds with over $1 billion in assets have only a 21% allocation to standard equities and 12% to fixed income. However, their allocation to alternative strategies is a whopping 46% for the larger endowments.

Yes, billion-dollar institutions do have access to some investments that are out of the reach of most of us, but the bulk of their alternative investments are the same hard assets that most of our firm's clients have in their portfolios, such as real estate, timber, oil and gas and equipment leasing programs.

Institutional investing for the individual investor! It can reduce the volatility of your traditional investment portfolio, and maybe help you sleep at night!   -- Gary

Have you considered the challenge posed by long term medical costs? Industry research and practical experience with our clients reveal that most of us are revisiting the potential effect long term medical care can create in our financial/estate plan. How do we plan for this event and prepare to offset these most onerous expenses. Do we desire to have home/community based care as an alternative to an institutional environment? Who and how will this process be managed when that day comes and assistance is necessary in our life?

These are just a few of the many questions causing concerns for clients in nearly every age group. One of my most important initiatives here at Feek-Justice Financial, is to assist our valued clients in understanding the strategies necessary to plan for this event. Long Term Care Insurance is another aspect of appropriate financial planning. Insurance in general is an important asset class of our balance sheet line items and our insurability can never be taken for granted.

In our various communications during the past year, we have highlighted our research relative to Long Term Care and we have this information available for our clients. It is my goal to assist you with identifying the strategies applicable to your individual needs, allowing you to make an educated decision and create an appropriate strategy. It is simply too important, and too complicated to be ignored. Please take the time to consider what plans you have already implemented and determine if those plans still apply today. With the skyrocketing cost of medical expenses, it is most probable that these plans may no longer achieve their original goals. Long Term Care Insurance policies have improved dramatically during the past decade and it may make sense to perform an "insurance audit", while recalculating the potential benefits necessary to protect you from this realistic and potentially devastating financial event.

I look forward to talking with you soon. -- David Harry