Employer Fiduciary Liability

Did you know that you can be sued by your employees for the performance (or lack of) and fees in your retirement plan? The Dept of Labor sets clear standards for the structure of retirement plans, yet many employers are unaware of this fact and maintain plans that are OUT of compliance.

Employers are often also under the false assumption that the investment provider is liable for these things or acting as a "fiduciary" along with the employer. Sadly, in most cases the investment provider  is not assuming ANY fiduciary liability, and thus would leave you to fend for yourself (just ask your provider if they are acting as a fiduciary).

In a January 25th class, we'll look at the regulations for employers and how to protect yourself from employee litigation. Additionally, in this class Paulette Ruminski will talk about health insurance issues that may pose a legal threat to employers.

Join us here at Veritas at 7:30 AM for a complimentary breakfast or 11:30 AM for a complimentary lunch.  To register, call 920-893-5262 or email Jo Ann at jo.ann@veritasinvesting.com and we will reserve a space for you.

Jeremy Burri
Financial Advisor Coach

Investment Advisor Representative

Investor Education: What's In It For YOU?

At Veritas, one of our primary purposes is education. The more informed you are about how investing works, the less you will be swayed or distressed by the ups and downs of the stock market. If you stay fully invested, truly diversified, and maintain the proper asset allocation, you CAN withstand the fluctuations of the market—and may even profit from them.

Margaret and Jeremy, our financial coaches,  often talk to people who say  they are doing all right because their financial rate of return is about the same as everyone else's. While we understand the kind of malaise that can set in when things just seem overwhelming or unchangeable, now is NOT the time to be complacent. What you don’t know can hurt you, and what you do know can help you! If you take advantage of the many educational opportunities we provide, you can become a more informed investor—and most importantly—you can gain true peace of mind about investing! 

Each month we offer another class from our Investor Education Series along with a complmentary lunch or dinner at the Mill Street Grill, Plymouth's newest restaurant. Most classes last about an hour or so. One hour out of a month to gain genuine understanding and peace of mind is worth making time for—don’t you think? We do too, and that is why we will keep finding ways to help you be a wiser, more confident investor.

Click on the "Learning Opportunities" tab in our blog header to see a list of classes offered in 2011.

Call us at 920-893-5262, or enail Dorcas at dorcas.george@veritasinvesting.com or Cathy at cathy.knuth@veritasinvesting.com and we will be happy to send you a reminder postcard when new classes are coming up. 

We are also happy to provide complimentary workshops for your group, workplace, or other gathering and can offer classes designed for financial novices to seasoned investors (what you don't know can be surprising), for couples, and for high school or college-age groups.  Just give us a call to explore options.

After the Crash: is the Sky Falling?

Margaret Wittkopp
Veritas President and Financial Coach
Investment Advisor Representative

On the wall at Veritas Financial Services hangs a photograph that my daughter, who was living in Virginia, sent me. It is not particularly impressive, just a car parked at a curb. The street and the nearby grass are dusted with about a half inch of snow. More about that in a moment.
Are you feeling skittish about the stock market? Do you wonder if you might be better off putting your hard-earned dollars in a certificate of deposit, your savings account--or under your mattress?

No, I wasn’t serious about the mattress, but I often talk to investors who are fearful about their portfolio. And who could blame them? After all, here are a few headlines from leading financial publications and newspapers. They probably will not surprise you:

1. “Wave after wave of selling again moved down prices on the Stock Exchange today and billions of dollars were clipped from values.”
2. “The…volume of retail sales went down an estimated 10% last year."
3. “In one hectic week, the paper value of the 1,545 stocks listed on the Big Board plunged by $30 billion—which is more than the GNP of Australia, Sweden, and Ireland.”
4. “The U.S. banking system has been stretched very nearly to the limit.”
5. “The recent crash bears an uncanny resemblance to the crash of 1929.”
6. “Most Americans have lost faith in the stock market.”

What may surprise you about this gloomy list of quotes is that the first one is from 1929, the next is from 1947, then 1962, 1974, 1989, and the last one is from 2002.

I could share many more such headlines, but the point is that market ups and downs do not mean that the financial sky is falling. They happen.

The reason stocks have historically returned more than fixed income over the long-term is precisely because stock holders endure the volatility of the market. Without the volatility (risk) that goes hand-in-hand with stock ownership, the returns associated with stocks would diminish, and so would the attendant wealth.

There are many positive things that we can learn from a look at investing history, including the crashes. Here are just two: First, there is ALWAYS a recovery, and second, the highest historical returns follow a crash. In fact, the single largest recovery followed the single largest crash! What happened to the investors who decided to “put their money under the mattress?” Right. They lost.

Remember the photograph story? My daughter sent it to me for a laugh. She was astounded that a snowfall that would hardly merit a passing comment in Wisconsin managed to shut down the entire city of Norfolk, VA. The picture hangs on the office wall to remind me of a very important fact: IT IS ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE.

If you would like to learn what else history’s market crashes have taught us, Jeremy or I would be glad to talk with you about your investments.  If you are out of the area, we still may be able to set up a meeting, or perhaps we can connect on Skype. 

Just give us a call at 920-893-5262. 

Understanding Your Financial Statement

Does your investing statement make your eyes glaze over?

We understand--and we can help you make sense of theose pie charts and graphs and numbers.  You might be surprised what your financial statement reveals! 

If you are in the Plymouth area, join us this evening at 5:30 at Mill Street Grill (506 East Mill Street) for a complimentary dinner and the lastest Investor Education class!  Just call 920-893-5262 to let us know you can join us!

Learning More About Money

Do you know all you need to know about money, financial managment, and wise investing?

In 2010, Veritas will continue to offer our Investor Education classes. Here is the schedule for next quarter:

Tuesday, January 19 -- Examining Your Expectations

Thursday, March 18 -- Myths and Truths of Investing

Tuesday, April 20 -- Defeating Your Financial Demons

Each of these classes is offered at THREE different times so that more of you can take advantage of these opportunities to increase your financial/investing know-how.

They are held at 506 E. Mill St., Plymouth, Wisconsin, Suite 101.

Veritas Financial Services also offers a wide array of financial workshops for your church group, workplace, etc. Find out more at our main website.

Last fall Margaret and Jeremy taught a seried of seven financial classes to Sheboygan County employees, and we are excited to be able to do this again soon. We will post details when the class schedule is finalized.

Jeremy also recently completed his first semester of teaching Economics at Fox Valley Techinal College in Appleton, Wisconsin. Some of the comments he received included:

"I learned a lot in your class."

"Thanks for everything you taught me, and I really enjoyed your class."

"Thank you for a wonderful class."

Good job, Jeremy! He will be teaching again next semester, so look for him if you are a student at Fox Valley Tech.

We are committed to your financial wisdom!