I have so much news to share this quarter. Last quarter was the first time that I did not write comments in my quarterly newsletter. I was in France and stayed in a wonderful house in the countryside. Of course, while I was in France, I had to continue to train with biking, walking and swimming for my big triathlon on July 31, 2010. That was the day I finished my Half Ironman Triathlon. 1.2 miles swimming, 56 miles of hills on the bike and a very hot and hilly 13.1 mile run at the end. We call it 70.3 since I covered 70.3 miles by self propulsion.
The race began in Guerneville (Sonoma) and finished in Windsor. We biked past beautiful wineries and miles of vineyards. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and I finished in just under nine hours. It was so hot and hilly, in the main heat of the day, I was so happy to see the finish line!
Market News
The markets recovered from the June end lows and have provided good gains, year to date. My expected rate of return, good and bad years averaged, is 7% per year. We are on track to exceed the average this year, barring a market melt-down. I am still concerned over high unemployment, foreclosures and home values, but lenders across the nation are re-working mortgages rather than proceed with foreclosures. I have heard of rewrites at 2% interest rates and the national averages on mortgage rates may soon fall again. It is still a good time to refinance a mortgage with fixed low fees.
Asset Planning hosted a Memorial Golf Tournament for Breast Cancer Month
On September 25th, we held a golf tournament in the honor and memory of my best friend, Gail Moreno. Gail was a well known breast cancer mentor to newly diagnosed women. BMW honored her with their Drive Across America and she was involved with many other groups as well, and the entire time, she continued to battle cancer herself. She lost her fight after 11 years but she touched the lives of so many people. We had a roster of 52 golfers who had a fun time golfing the 9 hole course at Little Rec in Long Beach. The food was incredible and catered by Olives Gourmet Grocer in Belmont Shore. Several mutual fund sponsors stepped forward with golf balls and gifts including TD Ameritrade, American Century, Ariel, Payden & Rygel. After all expenses were covered, we raised $3,000 for the Breast Cancer Angels charity. Thank you to so many clients that came out to support this tournament. Next year, it will be all scramble teams so think about putting together a team of friends. Date will be approximately the same.
Notes from Carol:
It was amazing to see Sandy reach her Ironman goal this summer. Her dedication is inspiring. I celebrated my own momentous occasion in September- my 25th wedding anniversary. Time goes by so fast!
On Saturday, October 23, I will be participating in the Orange County Financial Planning Day. This is a free event sponsored by the Orange County Financial Planning Association. It will be held at the Huntington Beach Central Library from 10 am – 3pm. There will be various educational workshops on credit counseling, social security, medicare, estate planning and more. There will also be private consultations with a planner and I will be one of the planners providing advice one-on-one. There is more information at www.financialplanningdays.org. It is the first time the FPA is holding this and we expect a big turnout.
