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Welcome to 2009, and from all of us at Financial Service
Group, we wish you a happy, healthy, prosperous and sustainable new
year. I think we can all agree 2008 wasn't the best year we've ever
had and as I reflect on the previous 12 months, I'm comforted in the fact
that I hold more optimism for 2009. As a country, we voted for change,
and change we will have. Even before taking office, we're beginning to
see glimmers of President-elect Obama's plans for
our nation. I believe we will see radical changes on Wall Street as
consumers demand more attention be paid to their interests rather than to the
interests of a few chosen institutions or crooks like Bernie Madoff. I think this bodes well for a greater
portion of the financial services industry to adopt the same fiduciary
standards that Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs),
like Financial Service Group, have had in place for years. Putting your interests first has been something for which I
remain boundlessly proud. I know that preserving the trust you place in
us to help you gain peace of mind around your personal wealth management
is a bond that can not and will not be compromised. I also believe the more
financial service providers who finally adopt this client-focused standard
the better to help our country recover and lead us back to prosperity and
opportunity. In terms of 2009, I'm seeing several opportunities that we
intend to pursue. You will hear more about these as the year
progresses, but I wanted to highlight them for you now as a preview to the
strategies we'll be pursuing during 2009. The coming year will be a great one for refinancing debt.
With record low interest rates, the early part of recessionary 2009 will
present the chance to consolidate and refinance debt. We will be
looking for opportunities to help you reduce your liabilities and increase
your peace of mind. As dismal as our financial markets seem to be, this is a right
time to rebalance your portfolio and we will be working to ensure your
portfolio is balanced to take as much advantage of the current situation as
possible. For some that may mean no changes are necessary, for others
we may recommend changing your investment allocation. I'll also be talking a lot about personal sustainability in the
coming months. I am a strong advocate that in a world of continuous
change, developing habits, attitudes and structures that provide for personal
sustainability will be increasingly important. Personal sustainability
touches on many aspects including sustainability around your finances, your
career, your health, and your relationships -- as all of these areas impact
and influence your ability to be flexible and agile
when the inevitable changes occur. All in all, I think 2009 will be a remarkable year. It
will be our first full year in our new office center, which allows us the
atmosphere to do our best work with and for you. We will have a fresh,
new government who, at least as it appears in rhetoric, is focused on
improving all of our lives. Having exposed the malfeasance on Wall
Street, we can expect to see an increased demand for fiduciary responsibility
which will benefit us all. The notion of sustainability has captured the world's attention
and we will find new ways of personalizing our individual roles in that
global wellspring. I'm looking forward to 2009 with optimism and
confidence, and looking forward to serving your needs and helping bring
positive things to you as well. All the best for 2009! Appreciatively, |