Dear Clients,

What a summer it has been. I feel like we were on a constant rollercoaster for the last two months. Up one day, down hard the next, just to repeat the process week in and week out. I guess the 2 questions on everyone’s mind are: When is the volatility going to stop and what do I do to preserve my assets?

I’ll answer the questions in order. The market will become less volatile when some of the macro economic questions are resolved. The market is now event driven. Everyday another headline crosses the tape and becomes the mantra for the trading that day. A couple of examples are: Greece is going to default. Greece is going to get a bailout. Germany is going to give extra money. Germany will not give extra money. China is slowing and will have a hard landing. China is slowing but will have a soft landing. I could go on; but I think you get the point. The market is not trading based on company fundamentals but on headlines.

How do you help to preserve assets? I said it before and I will repeat it again DIVIDENDS, DIVIDENDS, DIVIDENDS. Pick investments that pay good income. Craig and I are dedicated in finding you the best dividend paying companies out in the market.

Where will we be in 6 months from now? My best educated guess is somewhere close to where we are now. This is not 2008. Our banks are in better shape now. Europe needs to clean up its problems. Our exposure to the European banks is minimal, but as a trading partner, it could lead us into a mild recession.

Over that last 3 months I have been to both China and Europe and seen first hand that both sides of the globe have issues. We need to invest wisely.  For me, multi international companies with dividends and municipal bonds are my 2 favorite investment choices.

Lastly, you will soon receive correspondence on your statements regarding future fee changes to your Pershing accounts. Starting January first, Pershing will charge a fee for paper statements and confirms. Attached is a letter further explaining this fee and what you can do to avoid it.

Please remember you are life blood of our business and we feel privileged to help you during these turbulent times.

Sincerely,