Hi Everyone,

I wrote to you back in August of 2007, when all this market volatility began, about the need to be patient in the face of such turbulence. And that your patience would ultimately be rewarded with higher investment returns.

Well, unfortunately I’m back in June of 2008 with a refresher on that same theme. Although the severity and the protracted nature of this downturn was not totally unexpected, that fore knowledge probably hasn’t made the volatility any easier to live through.

So far in the month of June alone the Dow is down 9.4%. If it doesn’t rebound in the few remaining days of the month, that will make June the worst monthly performance since 2002.

On an upbeat note, your accounts are doing much better than the Dow. On average they are down less than a third of the market decline in June. I know positive relative returns don’t compare with positive absolute returns, but in times like these I believe it’s the best we can do.

My job is to help you preserve your capital during these downturns so that when the market takes off again (it will), you will be in a position to take full advantage on the upside. I sincerely hope that this will be the last of my patience pep talks and the market will quickly return to form. But if doesn’t, and you would like to discuss your specific situation in more detail, please give me a call.

Your Continuing Partner in Patience,

Jim