 |
August 2005 |
Capital Retirement Strategies, Inc.
Specializing in retirement plans
and personal investment management
In This Issue
Greetings! We’ve officially entered the dog days of summer here in New England, but it won’t be long before our vacations are over, the kids go back to school and life gets back to normal. I often find that my busiest times of the year are between January 1st and April 15th (New Year’s Resolutions and tax time!) and then again after Labor Day. As normalcy resumes in the fall, many people start to get around to some of the important things they put off all summer long. What important things, you ask? Things like getting a will, looking at interest rates to see if you can get a lower rate on your mortgage- or a higher rate on your savings. Things like starting that college fund you’ve been thinking about or making a contribution to your retirement account. If that sounds like you, then check out our featured articles this month. My first article describes some of the new products now available through Capital Retirement Strategies. If you’re unhappy with the returns on your savings accounts, CDs and money market accounts, you may want to check out the rates from EverBank and read “High-Yielding CDs and Money Markets Now Available.” Many of us followed the Terri Schiavo situation with great interest over the past several months. Although, it may seem like old news now, we can all learn from her family’s ordeal. Rick Burpee, a well-respected local attorney, has written a piece designed to point out just how simple it can be to avoid this type of situation in “Don’t Let What Happened to Terri Schiavo Happen to You.” Rick has been a great help to many of my clients over the years, and if you or someone you know needs legal assistance with wills, trusts, estate planning or elder law questions, Rick is an excellent resource. And finally, several times a year, a prospective client will ask me about “green funds” or socially responsible investing. These people want to be sure that the companies they invest in adhere to the same ethical and moral standards that they believe in, and are, in essence, good corporate citizens. I’ve described this type of investment philosophy in “What in the World is Socially Responsible Investing?” As always, I appreciate your business. If you ever have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please feel free to call me or send an email. And if you know someone who would appreciate the type of service I provide, please don't keep me a secret!
Best regards,
High-Yielding CDs and Money Markets Now Available In an effort to bolster our product offerings and in response to increased client interest, I have recently become certified to offer FDIC insured banking services. While concentrating my practice on long-term investment and financial strategies, it has become apparent that there is a tremendous need for higher-yielding, shorter-term investment products such as certificates of deposit and money market accounts. Through my recent certification and affiliation with EverBank, I believe my clients will find even greater value in the services I now offer. EverBank is a recognized leader in branchless banking, with more than $1 billion in assets and over 35,000 customer accounts in all 50 states. EverBank has been offering a wide array of high-value banking products since 1999, and is a Forbes.com “Best of Web” winner for 5 consecutive years. EverBank distributes its services through carefully selected alliance partners and trusted advisors that- when combined with not having to operate and maintain an expensive national network of “bricks and mortar” branches- keeps costs down and values high. The innovative banking products now being offered by Capital Retirement Strategies through EverBank include:
In addition, EverBank’s branchless service includes live customer service assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I believe this is a tremendous opportunity to enhance our client relationships and address important financial aspects, often overlooked by other advisors. For more information about EverBank’s line of deposit accounts, please call my office or simply click on http://www.EverBankpro.com/main.asp?affid=pb&IdPage=bnk&eapid=21002CH500699 ^Deposits held at the nationwide division of EverBank are added together with deposits held at other EverBank divisions for the purposes of the $100,000 limit on FDIC insurance coverage. ^Unlimited Web Bill Paying is free with a $1,500 minimum balance; otherwise a $4.95 monthly fee applies.
Don't Let What Happened to Terri Schiavo Happen to You By Richard L. Burpee A few months have now passed since the family feud over Terri Schiavo's medical care filled the national news. But the lessons from Terri's unfortunate plight should not fade from our memories or from our "to do" lists. Terri's husband and her parents fought over her medical care and her end-of-life decisions because Terri never did a simple thing—she never signed a health care proxy or "HCP." Maybe she thought she didn't need one. Maybe she thought she was too young to have one. Maybe she thought her family knew her wishes and would follow them. Maybe she thought she would get one tomorrow. The health care proxy is usually a simple legal document. In its most basic form, the HCP allows you to name another person to make medical decisions for you if you can't make them for yourself. The other person could be your spouse, a brother, a sister, a son or daughter, or a trusted friend. In Massachusetts, the HCP must be in writing and must be signed in the presence of two witnesses. You can usually find HCPs with simple fill-in-the-blank forms at hospitals, doctors' offices, senior centers and public libraries. You do not need to hire a lawyer to make out a health care proxy. When you prepare your HCP, you might want to consider adding provisions that will give some guidance to your agent. For example, you might want to specify whether or not you want your agent to authorize heroic measures, such as tube feeding and mechanical respirators, even if your doctors believe there is no reasonable hope for recovery. Including such provisions in your HCP can help your agent make difficult decisions consistent with your wishes and your religious or moral beliefs. We all saw with Terri Schiavo what can happen if you don't have a health care proxy. Now is the time to get one if you don't have one already. Tomorrow could be too late.Richard L. Burpee is an attorney in Sudbury, Massachusetts. He primarily works with clients in the areas of estate planning and elder law. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Rick can be reached at (978) 443-3600. His website is www.burpeelaw.com .
What in the World is Socially Responsible Investing? Over the past decade we’ve watched former Wall Street darlings collapse in the aftermath of corporate scandal. We’ve seen a company’s once strong sales crippled by high-profile media coverage of unethical practices, from clothing manufacturers employing sweatshop labor to toy makers producing dangerous products. So from these and other like examples it stands to reason that one may claim that companies with higher levels of integrity carry lower investment risk. But how do you go about investing in companies with higher levels of integrity? An investment strategy called socially responsible investing (SRI) is based on the principal of investing in ethical companies that act with integrity towards their shareholders, communities, employees, consumers, and the environment. And increasing evidence supports the idea that rigorous financial and social standards can work together to provide competitive long-term performance. The Origins of Socially Responsible InvestingSo, what exactly is SRI and what does it entail? Although the term socially responsible investing has a contemporary ring to it, the practice of screening investments is hardly new. It originated in the US in the late 1700s as a way for community-focused and some religious investors to integrate their investments with their principles. During the 1960s and 1970s, there was a resurgence of interest in SRI with the debate over apartheid and investing in South Africa. Today, roughly 11% of all money under professional management in the country is part of a socially responsible portfolio, and that number is growing. How SRI Works Of course, all fund managers look for companies with strong balance sheets, sound management and viable products. Socially responsible funds add another layer of analysis or screening on top of financial analysis. The screens will vary from company to company and fund to fund. Different mutual funds have adopted distinctive standards and social missions, reflecting the wide range of investor concerns and the individual philosophies of the fund’s Board of Directors. While some mutual funds screen out companies that don’t meet minimum social standards, others seek companies that are proactively addressing social concerns. The range of social issues varies widely, but the most prevalent are:
But there is more to SRI than screening. For example, the nation’s largest SRI fund family, Calvert Funds, often engages companies and encourage them to improve in areas in which they are seen as lacking. In fact, Calvert filed more than 28 shareholder resolutions in the 2004-2005 season, asking companies to diversify their boards, improve their corporate governance practices, and improve their environmental policies. Lastly, many SRI fund families lend one percent or more of their assets to community investment projects in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to earning competitive returns, these assets contribute to ending poverty by increasing affordable housing, community development, access to capital, and more. Millions of Americans are looking to integrate their financial goals with their concerns about the environment, safe products, fair labor practices and other quality-of-life issues. SRI offers investors the opportunity to build sound portfolios for their financial futures, while helping to build a better future for the world.
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