I attended the TD Waterhouse conference in Orlando, Florida in February. One of our speakers was former President George H.W. Bush. It was quite an honor to be in the presence of a former president. He told very entertaining stories about his presidency, being the Director of the CIA, his views on global problems, the economy and the war.

He told of risks and reward. He was the youngest pilot in the Navy and flew 58 combat missions during World War II. He loved flying. He went skydiving on his 80th birthday, much against the wishes of wife, Barbara. He jumped from the plane at 12,000 feet, glided down to the marked landing area, landed on both feet and proudly said to Barbara �Well, what do you think of that jump?� She replied �I have not seen a free fall like that since l992.� (This was his landslide loss to President Clinton)


You always have enough energy to do the things you love. ~Alan Cohen~


A measure passed by Congress on Feb. 1 will increase the limit on federal deposit insurance for certain bank accounts. It was included in the $39 billion budget bill. The provision raises federal deposit insurance levels on retirement accounts held at banks to $250,000 from $100,000. The bill, S 1932, was signed Feb. 8 by President Bush.


A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright~

Interest Rate increases
Fed policymakers unanimously agreed at their meeting on March 23 to raise the benchmark federal funds rate to 4.75 percent. This was the 15th time since June 2004, when the rate was 1%, that the rate has been increased.

The Fed noted that higher oil and gasoline costs have not resulted in higher consumer prices for items other than food and energy. Such "core" prices rose just 1.6 percent in the 12 months that ended in January, well within the Fed's comfort zone. Bonds continue to fall in reaction to interest rate increases.

Morningstar Investment Reports
We have the ability to run aggregate (grouping your accounts together) snapshot views of your holdings with us at TD Ameritrade or Schwab. These reports will be available by April 10, after downloads are available, and thereafter, just after the quarter end. If you would like to receive these reports, please let Carol Somoano know and we will mail the report to you. You will see your one year return, three year return and the performance of each security in your accounts. At this time, preferred stocks and some of the other investments I use are not available to be listed. We will substitute a proxy for those investments, as similar to the original, as we can.

Cost Basis: Why I keep talking about it!
Our portfolio statement from API shows your current investment value, but it is not a true picture of your investment gains. If I purchase a mutual fund for $25,000, this is your �cost basis� in that fund. If the fund pays a quarterly dividend of $250, and the dividend is reinvested, you purchase more shares and now your �cost basis� is $25,250. When capital gains pay at the end of the year, that amount (let�s use $1,000) is usually reinvested and is added to the �cost basis�. When your portfolio statement shows the cost basis as $26,250 and the current value as $26,750, it appears this investment has only gained 2% since it is calculated using the cost basis. In reality, the investment has increased in value from the purchase price of $25,000 to $26,750, or an increase of 7%. I hope our clients look at the bottom line, or the overall investment gain in their accounts and do not read the investment gain/loss % on the bottom of the statement as the gain the account has produced. That would be very misleading and understating our performance.

Please schedule a meeting with me if your cash flow needs or investment time horizon has changed. The market is very positive and is at 5 year highs, as of the end of March.
Securities have responded well, bonds have not.

My vacation should be April 14th to April 21st. I am glad tax season is almost over and I am looking forward to Easter vacation with my family. I will be swimming and riding my bike over the hills in Napa valley, training for a longer and harder triathlon this year. I hope everyone has some exciting summer plans to look forward to.

Sandra C. Field, CSA, MBA, CFP