WHY INVESTORS ARE AFRAID AND MAD AS HELL!

FEAR and ANGER are the two dominant attitudes of the average American investor today and rightly so. You are fearful about your future and angry at those who are responsible and not doing anything about it. No two ways about it, the psyche of the average investor today has changed and this could be a blessing.

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig wrote the following:

Why Investors are Afraid?

• 73% of Americans are worried about their finances.
• 60% believe this recent downturn will limit retirement financial opportunities.
• Only 11% say they are strong financially.
• Over 50% of Americans are now fearful about the future of the U.S.A. as a global leader.

What Makes People Angry?

• 59% of Americans are angry about the debt in the U.S.
• “People now feel like bystanders in their own financial lives.”
• Most Americans feel victimized by the system and policies.

OUR PROMISED TO YOU!

As promised we have minimized your downside risk in this volatile time. Year-to-date (12-31-10 to 09-02-11) the large cap market indices are down -5.1 to -6.5% while the small cap Russell 3000 index is down -12.1%. Overseas, the EAFE index is down -13.0% while the emerging markets are down -12.3%. Our four portfolio’s are down -1.6% to -6.4%. If you are in need of rebuilding your confidence (as most Americans are) please give us a call as soon as possible.

We Promise To:

• Meet face-to-face anytime you want.
• Listen to understand how you feel.
• Be honest in our evaluation of today’s challenges.
• Re-evaluate the role cash fits into your plan.
• Re-examine your comfort level with our risk tolerance questionnaire.
• Continue to tactically rebalance on good and bad news, and to buy value.
• Decide what we can CONTROL and focus on that list.

Then, after these steps are done perhaps a new financial plan may be in order, or a change in risk levels and/or monthly income needs versus wants, etc. After understanding your options and tradeoffs available to you we can now make none fear and/or none angry based decisions. You are always in CONTROL.

Winston Churchill once said “The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty!”

Let’s keep a good outlook and without emotion make the decisions that are right for you.

Please call us with any questions or concerns. Feel free to forward this to others who might be interested.

Have a great day!
Bob and the All Star Team