Recently, we conducted our first Client Audit and I’m writing to provide you with a summary of the results. 73 surveys were sent and 54 were returned. The percentage of clients that responded was 73% (average for client audits is 39-40%). The goal of the survey was to gain a better understanding of your needs and interests to ensure that the service that we provide meets or exceeds your expectations. We are pleased and honored that our clients gave us and overall satisfaction rating of 4.9 out of a possible 5 points! We have worked very hard to deliver that service and those results are extremely gratifying.

Below is a summary of the results:

For most questions, the choices were Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Neutral, Somewhat Disagree, Strongly Disagree and I don’t know.

The ratings below are on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest).

• Overall Satisfaction. 4.9%
• My advisor adds value above and beyond investment performance. 4.9 %
• My advisor takes a proactive approach to managing our relationship. 4.9%
• I receive good value for the fees I pay my advisor. 4.8%
• My advisor takes the time to understand my financial needs and concerns. 5.0%
• My advisor puts the needs of me and my family first when making recommendations regarding our plan or portfolio. 4.9%
• I am confident in the skills of my advisor’s team/assistant. 4.9%
• My calls and e-mails are returned promptly 4.9%
• The written communications I receive are valuable. 4.7%
• The account is handled with few errors. 5.0%
• Many problems I encounter are resolved quickly. 5.0%
• Do you feel it is important for your advisor to provide you with educational opportunities about the markets, investments and insurance, such as newsletters or workshops? Yes (58%), No (28%), I don’t know (13%).
• Please rate the following communications that you receive from your advisor in terms of their value to you. 1 to 4 (4 being the highest). Face to face meetings 3.6% Telephone review meetings 3.6% Performance meetings 3.8% Client View Life 3.4%
• Your advisor is considering offering clients the following communication or event in the next 12 months. Please rate each in terms of its value to you. 1 to 4 (4 being the highest). Market commentary 3.2% Newsletter focused on financial planning topics 3.1%
• In a 12 month period, how often do you expect to meet (either face-to-face or by telephone), to discuss your portfolio of financial plan? 3.7 reviews per year
• Are you comfortable discussing the administrative details of your portfolio or financial plan with someone on your financial advisor’s support team. Yes (91%) No (2%) I don’t know (7%)
• I would recommend the services of my financial advisor to family, friends and colleagues. 4.9%

I will use the results of the survey to further improve my services to you all. We are pleased to see that most of you see value in the way our meetings and communications are delivered. The frequency of client meetings is based on the following schedule:

• Clients who have $500,000 and above in assets under management have 4 review meetings per year.
• Clients who have $300,000 to $499,000 in assets under management have 3 review meetings per year.
• Clients who have under $300,000 in assets under management have 2 review meetings per year.
• Our minimum account size for new clients is $500,000.

Recently, we began sending a monthly financial planning newsletter as well as a quarterly market commentary via email. In the future, I would like to hear your feedback on how useful these are to you. I will connect with each of you during our next meeting to insure that we are clear on what you are expecting to accomplish over the year and tailor future meetings accordingly. Our average client tenure is 12.73 years. We are pleased to hear that 38% of you have referred us to family, friends and colleagues. Thank you to those who have referred us. It is truly one of the greatest complements that we could receive. We strive to bring peace of mind to the people we work with, and appreciate your confidence in putting your friends, families and colleagues in our hands. Thank you.

The winner of the drawing for $500.00 was Alan Seale. Congratulations Alan!

Sincerely,

Timothy Watters, CFP