The stock market gave way to recession fears and declined during the quarter with the S&P 500 declining by 3.3%. Our equity-only composite increased by 15.2% for the year compared to 5.5% for the S&P 500. Furthermore our balanced portfolios outperformed their benchmark indexes during quarter as well as over the last four quarters.

* * Lipper Analytical Services, Inc .is an independent mutual fund ranking service. The funds in their sample target a 60% stock / 40% bond asset mix, but invariably have different allocations. All figures are computed after fees and commissions have been deducted. Separate account performance may vary due to individual allocations dictated by client risk parameters.

Balanced Portfolios are composed of stocks, bonds and exchange traded funds. Our sample is selected from those portfolios which are targeted for a 60%-70% equity exposure and thus does not include all balanced portfolios. These accounts seek capital appreciation and income while offering protection from volatility in any one asset category. By altering portfolio composition at key valuation and sentiment junctures, we attempt to reduce risk and improve return. Because our sample has been less volatile than the mutual fund averages, future performance and volatility may differ significantly from this index. Our performance is calculated in accordance with the standards of the CFA Institute.

Fixed Income Portfolios are composed of taxable government, corporate bonds, reverse convertibles and preferred stocks and are actively managed to capture appreciation and well as income. We manage risk by altering the average maturity (duration) and quality of bonds in the portfolio. Our sample contains only fixed income and cash equivalents.

Managing investments for Bay Area families and institutions
for over twenty years.