This week’s news that cities, counties and states will tighten “social distancing” and “stay at home” orders will continue into May was unimaginable several weeks ago. The “models” all forecast that COVID-19 in the United States is expected to worsen over the next two weeks before hopefully beginning to take a positive turn.

Our obvious first concern is for the health and safety of our clients, our associates and their loved ones. This crisis has crystalized what each of us knows in our hearts; it’s the people in our lives and our relationships that mean the most to each and every one of us. This is clearly a challenging time for our nation. With this said, my hope is that some good will come from this tragedy. During this humanitarian crisis, so many people have shared the fact that they have gained or regained perspective around what is truly important in their lives. Additionally, I have read and heard so many stories of people helping one another. Let’s hope that perspective is gained, and divisiveness is tempered as this crisis dissipates.

While our country is clearly being challenged during this health crisis, we are also experiencing an unprecedented financial crisis. Our clients need advice during these challenging financial times; and our friendship, counsel and expertise is needed now more than ever. In this regard, I am incredibly proud of how our people have responded to their trusting clients’ needs. We continue to provide timely and relevant information via our semi-weekly webinars, social media broadcasts, daily written communications to our clients, and personal touches from our advisors and their teams. We have risen to the occasion and we will continue to be there for you.

Abraham Lincoln pleaded towards the end of the Gettysburg Address that the dead “shall not have died in vain”. And the renowned musician, Sting, is quoted, “I do my best work when I’m in pain and turmoil.”

Let’s not let this pandemic pass in vain – let’s find ways to be better as human beings. And I’ll leave you by confidently stating that during this crisis, we will do our very best work for you.

Take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Sincerely,

Glenn Spencer

This is a truly unprecedented time in history. There is no need to supply you with data or statistics that you hear all day, every day on the news channel of your choice.

When this story is over, I’m more confident than ever that you will be incredibly pleased that you have a relationship with our firm. I know that your advisor has been a trusted voice to each of you and that our company has provided you with timely and relevant counsel.

Our experience provides us with clarity in times like this. First and foremost, people are concerned about their families, friends and coworkers – they want safety and health for loved ones. Next, people want to have optimism for their future. They want to feel a sense of security that creates peace in their hearts. Beyond that, it’s really hard to predict. In times like this, everyone experiences feelings, thoughts and concerns that are unique to them.

Knowing that each person reading this has individual emotions, we know that you cherish TRUST. Trust that we have your interest above anything else. Trust that we care about “you” and “your business.” Trust that we are really good at what we do. Trust that we are “on our game” at this time. We honor and respect your trust and will never take it for granted.

While none of you live inside our four walls, these are just a few of the actions we have taken to continue earning trust:

• Our Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) is talking daily and meeting weekly to assure that we are effectively managing our clients’ investments.
• Our research and investment teams are working continuously to assure that we have the best, and most up-to-the-minute information to make decisions.
• Our disaster recovery plans have allowed us to operate seamlessly.
• Our client communications have increased to assure that you are well informed.
• We have delivered more virtual education sessions for our clients than in prior history of our company.

With this said, the ultimate trust you have in our firm rests with your trust for your advisor. We are confident that you are well served in this regard.

We wish everyone good health and peace of mind during these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Glenn Spencer

Our firm’s vision is to inspire people to achieve their life’s ambitions. We understand that given that current state, it is very difficult for our clients to stay focused on their long-term life objectives.

This global health challenge is causing tremendous financial volatility and uncertainty. Although this situation is unique, investment volatility and dramatic market decreases due to world events is not. Over the past twenty years, the U.S. has experienced the Dot-Com Recession, the events of 9/11 and the Great Recession of 2008-2009. Over this same period, we have been challenged with multiple Venezuelan financial crises, the European Debt Crisis, Russian Financial Crisis, Brazilian Economic Crisis and the Chinese Stock Market Crisis outside of the United States. Be confident that our firm has expertise in managing through times of uncertainty and volatility with our clients.

Our role is to proactively provide excellent information and to be available to our clients that are in need of advice. I am extremely pleased with the quality of our firm’s communications over the past several weeks as this crisis has evolved. You should continue to expect invaluable communication from our firm’s investment professionals and your advisor.

I wanted to provide each of you with additional information about operational measures our firm has taken as this situation has evolved. I would summarize by stating that we are first and foremost focused on the health and well-being of our people and our communities. Our next concern is being available to our clients and proactively providing them with quality information and advice. To this end, below is a summary of the actions we have taken:

• Suspended all non-essential client travel beginning on March 11
• Cancelled all internal meetings requiring travel through the month of April
• Required advisors and associates to quarantine for 14 days when returning from certain international travel
• Enhanced our capabilities to conduct effective virtual meetings
• Encouraged advisors & associates to conduct virtual meetings
• Established procedures to ensure that advisors and associates are not at risk when meeting with clients
• Stressed the importance of practicing recommended “social distancing” procedures in order to assure our communities are safe
• Enhanced our business continuity processes and procedures to assure that client service is not disrupted while our people are working remotely
• Ensured that our business partners are prepared to continue meeting our client service needs
• Encouraged advisors and associates to begin working remotely after March 15

Given the modifications we have made to our business, we are confident in our ability to not only serve our clients’ needs, but to proactively engage with them to assure that they are receiving quality and timely information.

We encourage each of you to do everything possible to protect yourselves, your families and your communities. Thank you very much for your trust and we work through these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Glenn Spencer