Among the issues and questions we intend to address:

• Confronting the “Threshold Limit” in the value of your Portfolio: As credit markets seized up and stock markets incurred steep losses you may have made an ad hoc decision to change the structure of your portfolio. This decision may have been driven by a decline in portfolio value to your threshold limit – i.e., the level at which you are unwilling to incur further losses. Are there wealth management strategies that anticipate this decision, or even set it in motion at a predetermined level?

• Evaluating the impact of the Financial Crisis on your personal circumstances: The recent declines in the stock market have likely changed your position relative to your primary objectives, such as

Firm principal Jon Chambers was quoted extensively in an article that appeared in the Bureau of National Affairs (“BNA”) Daily Report for Executives on Monday February 11, 2008. The article, “Labor Effort to Enhance Plan Fees Disclosure Draws Mixed Response” describes a series of Department of Labor (“DOL”) initiatives to improve the quality of fee disclosure in the 401(k) marketplace. Mr. Chambers describes how the DOL initiatives will help improve existing practices, but argues that Congressional action is still required to address problems relating bundled fees and intra-company revenue transfers.

Jon Chambers, principal at Schultz Collins Lawson Chambers, Inc., testified at a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor hearing concerning 401(k) fees on October 4, 2007. You can also download the text of his testimony.

We are often asked, what objective criteria have been established to evaluate the many different types of representatives and advisers that provide financial services. The supervisory bodies of the securities industry have created a comprehensive set of regulations aimed at protecting investors from wrongful conduct on the behalf of agents, brokers, and investment advisers. Once you read the lead article in the current edition of INVESTMENT QUARTERLY you will be able to answer these questions:

• What is the evolving regulatory framework governing the activities of Investment Advisers?
• What sorts of person or organization can claim the title Investment Adviser?

Historically, investors viewed investment in commodities as a highly speculative venture advocated by salespeople using questionable—if not fraudulent—methods of promotion. Recently, however, not only individuals but also institutional investors have turned their attention towards commodities. Here’s our take on commodity-related investments.

For more on the Investing in Commodities

Reforms in works for 401, by Kathleen Pender, San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday, August 1, 2006.

The House of Representatives passed a pension bill Friday designed primarily to shore up underfunded defined-benefit plans and head off a government bailout. But it also will make some important changes to 401(k) plans. The most controversial provision would let the same companies that run 401(k) plans — such as mutual fund, brokerage and insurance companies — advise individuals on how to invest their accounts.

Our lead article, “The Asset Location Debate: Taxable vs. Tax Deferred Accounts,” continues last quarter’s review of academic literature on the impact of taxes on wealth accumulation. While the previous article considered the implications of differing tax rates and policies on various investments, this quarter’s article focuses on how locating different types of assets in taxable and tax-deferred accounts affects long-term wealth.

Investment Quarterly Download