2008 Year-end Statements

Greetings!

Year-end 2008 Statements will be arriving any day

The turbulent markets since September 2008 have caught the attention of all of us. Bear markets come along on average once in every four years. This one has been harsh and is reminiscent of what investors experienced in 2001, the mid-1980s and the mid-1970s. We should expect, then, that a snap-shot of your portfolio on December 31, 2008 may well be alarming.

As I have done in my regular newsletters to you, allow me to provide context and be encouraging-

--Bear markets are part of investing for growth and are always followed by recovery. Recovery often occurs suddenly.

--Only a portion of your portfolio is exposed to the volatility of growth investments.

--For growth, you own good businesses [i.e. TD Bank, not General Motors] which will benefit from the recovery. It is just a question of when the recovery will come, not if.

--My client portfolios have not been hurt nearly as much as the stock markets.

--Stock markets recover before the economy does.

--Your exposure to growth investments is, by design, meant to be long term. Further, your time horizon is old age--not retirement--so as to protect your money from the erosion of inflation throughout your remaining years. So you have time to wait for the recovery and, with patience, you will realize the growth that you need.

--As a measure of my confidence in the recovery, I have invested $80k of my own money since the bear market began [trying to behave like a Warren Buffett]. Should you have cash to invest for the long term, I encourage you to consider doing the same. We can talk about it.

A number of clients have come in for a review [and to discuss an appropriate Tax-Free Savings Account for them]. This has allowed a discussion to take place and for information to be shared that clients are not getting from the media. Clients have appreciated the information and been encouraged by it.

I welcome a visit from any of you. If we have not done a review for a year, then we are due to meet.

Finally, I have attached some interesting reading on market volatility and the behaviour of successful investors. I highly recommend that you read it, and would appreciate your feedback. You can find it on the net at--

http://www.nezperce.org/content/081024%20Davis%20Funds%20Wisdom%20ofGreat%20Investors.pdf

Thank-you for your patience.

Tom

PS--what statements are coming? You will receive statements from fund companies, from MRS and B2B Trust for any self-directed accounts and Assante will be sending a comprehensive statement [showing the mutual funds you own but not term deposits].