Client Brochure

Updated January 2009
Personal
     Mike was born in England in 1947 and holds an honors degree in Economics from the University of London. He was previously employed by the Natwest Bank and by the Bank of Nova Scotia in England, by Scotiatrust in the Cayman Islands and by Barclays Bank and an American subsidiary of Natwest Bank in the U.S.A. He was employed in varying capacities - as an accountant; bank officer; mutual fund administrator and trader; money market trader and trust officer. Since 1981, he has been in private practice on Cape Cod and the office relocated to Falmouth in 2006. Mike is a permanent resident, and a citizen of the U.S.A. He has lived in Falmouth since 1980 and both of his children were educated in the Falmouth school system.

     Nancy was born on Guam and was raised in Woodstock, Vermont. She holds a degree from Boston College in Economics and French and a Master’s degree from Bentley College in Financial Planning and Taxation. She has worked with Mike since November of 1992 and formerly resided in Centerville. Nancy and her husband have two young children and they currently reside in East Falmouth. Nancy’s primary responsibilities are all aspects of financial planning and tax preparation.

Practice
We currently manage $109.7 million for 103 different clients and their families. I charge on a sliding scale with a typical schedule as follows:
Amount Under Management
    % Fee
First $50,000 
    1.25% p.a.
Next $150,000 
    1.00% p.a.
Next $250,000 
    0.90% p.a.
Next $500,000
    0.80% p.a.

      There are slight variations in the fee structure based on the ongoing workload, but this is a fairly typical fee schedule. The fees cover all aspects of the investment management and financial planning that we perform on your behalf. The fees are tax deductible as itemized deductions on schedule A of your Federal tax return. Bills are distributed quarterly in arrears for the prior three months time.

      I perform a full range of investment management and financial planning services for my clients. I recommend qualified professionals to perform specialized accounting and legal tasks that are beyond my area of expertise or qualification. I also work with Fidelity Brokerage who provides all my discount brokerage services at extremely competitive rates. All of these relationships are chosen very carefully and are based solely on the competence of the providers and the value of the services to my clients. My clients’ interests are paramount and I receive no benefits, financial or otherwise, from these professional relationships. All my remuneration comes directly from my clients in the form of quarterly fees in arrears (see above).

      I am a value investor in the classic tradition of Benjamin Graham and I have also attached a sampling of my previous reports issued to my clients. My methodology and operating practices are explained thoroughly in the letters.

      The rest of this document is the material that is required as full disclosure by the Securities and Exchange Commission who are my regulators. A current ADV form is available online at www.sec.gov.

      The contracts that I have with my clients are verbal, non–assignable and can be cancelled by the client without notice.

      I have limited powers of attorney for each client account, which gives me discretionary authority to trade in the accounts, but it doesn't give me authority to remove securities and/or cash from the accounts. I buy (and sell) for my clients based on need, availability of cash, and the size of the existing holdings (if any). The size of the purchase is based on the overall portfolio total and a risk tolerance adjustment. Those with the greatest need for the holding receive the allocation first. Allocations are determined by use of numerous linked Excel spreadsheets, categorized by security type and may also be further sorted to include foreign or domestic properties.

      The general idea behind this is to create an impartial system of trade allocation based on individual client need. I have never been subject to any litigation, either civil or criminal, that pertains to my investment and financial planning practice.

      The preceding information is a summary of the pertinent information gleaned from my annual filings on form ADV with the SEC. In addition to this report I would be glad to provide copies of the complete filings to any interested clients.