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With what types of client do you work?
What is your investment approach?
What types of personal financial planning services are offered?
What services do you provide?
How are you compensated, and when do you get paid?
How will you communicate with me about my account?
Who will be working on my account?
Will I be able to take part in the investment decisions?
Will I have to sell all or part of my current investments to work with you?
Will you charge me an extra fee to consult with my tax advisor or estate planning attorney?
Can you arrange for regular payments or transfers of cash to be made from my account?
Will I get reports to help with income tax return preparation?
Can you provide advice on how I should invest the money in my company's 401(k) Plan?
What is the process to start working with you?

With what types of client do you work?

Our clients are very diverse, and have a broad range of employment backgrounds, ages, and investment objectives. The majority of our clients are individuals and families, but we also work with company pension plans, and charitable trusts. We can be particularly valuable to clients who are going through a life transition, such as retirement, divorce, loss of a spouse, or sale of a business, because we are effective in translating new financial circumstances into sustainable, long-term financial plans and investment strategies. While many of our clients are retired or approaching retirement with net worths from $1 million to $20 million or more, we are also committed to working with younger clients who may be in the early stages building their investment portfolios. We approach every prospective client on a case-by-case basis to determine if the relationship will be mutually beneficial.

What is your investment approach?

We seek to diversify a client's assets broadly across the important investment markets worldwide. We look for attractive investment returns wherever they can be found, provided that we can invest in those markets at low cost and with controlled risk. We fundamentally believe that long-term investment performance is determined primarily by the investment markets in which one participates, and to a lesser extent by the specific investment security itself. We combine these market investments in a way to reduce risk, while not sacrificing the returns.

We will use primarily "asset class" and institutional investment vehicles to represent these markets. We will design a customized portfolio for each client based on his or her specific investment objectives. Each client portfolio is therefore unique and changes are made based on the client’s individual circumstances.

What types of personal financial planning services are offered?

We are responsive to the particular needs of each client, and strive to help them with a large number of personal financial planning issues at no additional charge. The following list is representative of some of the services we offer, but it is not intended to be a comprehensive list.

• providing an analytical report that attempts to project likely living expense levels sustainable over one's lifetime, based on a client's assets, tax rates, assumed inflation rate and assumptions unique to each client's spending plans and goals.
• guidance on gifting strategies, including amounts and forms of the gifts.
• savings strategies for specific long-term goals, such as developing a plan to fund a college education.
• analyzing specialized client holdings, such as stock options, concentrated and highly appreciated securities, and stock purchased through an employee stock purchase program.
• planning and calculating opportunities to use tax-deferred retirement plans for both company-employed and self-employed individuals.
• providing guidance and analysis to assist with selecting the best personal debt choices, including home mortgages and home equity loans.

What services do you provide?

We consult with the client to determine their overall financial objectives, and then design and implement an investment program that is consistent with those goals. We will continuously monitor the investments, the markets, and the client's situation to adjust or "rebalance" the investment holdings to reflect changing conditions. We report quarterly to clients on their investment assets and performance, and encourage at least annual face-to-face meetings to review their overall financial health and investment program. We provide more detailed financial planning analysis and guidance on issues specific to each client as they arise.

How are you compensated, and when do you get paid?

We charge a management fee based on a percentage of the value of the assets we manage. We accept no commissions or other forms of compensation from investment product providers or financial institutions. The fee is quoted as an annual percentage fee, and is billed quarterly by taking the value of managed assets at the end of each calendar quarter and applying one-fourth of that annual percentage fee. The fee is normally deducted directly from the client account or accounts.

How will you communicate with me about my account?

You will receive a quarterly written investment performance report and separate newsletter from us called "Perspectives." We will also have occasional special mailings and email alerts on topics of interest. Most clients will often talk with us by telephone several times during the year, and we like to meet face-to-face with each client at least once per year. Clients are also encouraged to contact us by e-mail, fax, or telephone at any time to discuss their investments, ask any questions, or discuss any financial planning matter.

Who will be working on my account?

Each client typically meets with two or more of our partners, who are responsible for developing the investment strategy and overall financial plan, and reporting to you about its performance. They also will consult with you on other financial planning issues.

Will I be able to take part in the investment decisions?

Yes, you will. At the outset, your investment goals, previous investing experiences, tolerance for risk, and your specific preferences will be the most important determinants of the investment strategy we recommend. As we select specific investments, we will explain to you the purpose of each one, and you will have the opportunity to either endorse, modify, or reject any particular recommendation.

We allow each client to engage us on either a "non-discretionary" or "discretionary" basis. Non-discretionary means that we must receive your approval on each and every investment change or trade before we make it. Discretionary means we can and may take an investment action on your behalf without getting explicit approval in advance, provided the action is consistent with the overall investment goals we discuss and document with you at least annually. There is no difference in management fee between the two choices.

In all cases, you will receive notification by mail within 3-5 business days of each investment change, and you are always welcome to call and discuss the change.

Will I have to sell all or part of my current investments to work with you?

In most cases, there are some significant changes we would recommend, but often they can be implemented over time, or can be adapted to some of your current holdings. For example, some clients may have significant unrealized investment gains in their current holdings that could trigger large income taxes if they were sold. In other cases, clients have specific holdings that they have a particular desire to keep. In all cases, we will use our best judgment to recommend the most appropriate portfolio for you, then adjust and adapt it to accommodate specific concerns.

Will you charge me an extra fee to consult with my tax advisor or estate planning attorney?

No, in most cases such consultations are offered as part of our normal management fee. In fact, we welcome the opportunity to discuss tax or estate planning opportunities with other professionals that you have engaged. We realize that they may charge you for their time speaking with us, so we will not undertake such discussions without your express permission, or unless as a result of a direct inquiry from them.

If you have a need to find a tax professional, attorney, insurance, or retirement plan specialist, we are happy to provide referrals to professionals we know that we think can assist you. We accept no referral fees from anyone in return for referring a client.

Can you arrange for regular payments or transfers of cash to be made from my account?

Yes. We can set up regular, periodic transfers of a fixed dollar amount on a bi-monthly, monthly, or quarterly basis. Alternatively, we can arrange to have the interest and dividends earned paid out of your account, which can vary from month to month.

Will I get reports to help with income tax return preparation?

Yes, you will. We can send you a report of taxable events, including earnings from interest, dividends, realized capital gains, and capital gains distributions. We can also prepare a report showing the unrealized gains in your account at any time.

Can you provide advice on how I should invest the money in my company's 401(k) Plan?

Yes. If you are actively participating in your company's 401(k) plan, we will provide guidance on how to choose among the available funds in your company plan.

What is the process to start working with you?

We recommend starting with a brief 15-20 minute phone call to understand what your overall objectives and needs are, and to plan the first meeting. Before our first meeting, we will send you an introductory package about our firm, and encourage you to fill out a Personal Information sheet about yourself.

During our first meeting, which normally lasts 1-1/2 to 2 hours, we will explore your needs and expectations in much more detail, introduce you to our wealth management approach and reasoning behind it, and describe how we believe our approach could best be applied to your situation. We will answer any questions you might have about how we would work with you.

If our approach makes sense to you and you have decided to work with us, we would take you through the steps of establishing our advisory relationship. contact