‘ SafeKeeping & Custody ’ Category

The link to Mary O’Grady’s article about Argentina’s Statists taking over the Central Bank is worth the read as it can be the premonition for the USA. Inflation of 10 – 20 percent means prices double every 3 to 7 years . . . The actual inference is VALUE declines by half every 3-7 years. My first experience with this was in the Seventies when writing my senior thesis at Berkeley. All the USA banks were bailed out of their South American debt which is quite a preference paid by taxpayers. The article explains what happens as the teeter totter’s equilibrium point is disrupted by preferences. As a counterpoint consider Chile’s Monetary Policy solution created by the Chicago Boys.

Central Bankers & Inflation

The Tompkins family selected their corporate trustee in the hopes it would support the family’s legacy fulfillment. One important relationship was a Private Banking capability and its social recognition of competent financial and investment decision making. Unfortunately, after more than 50 years, the relationship went awry when the Chevy Chase Bank was sold to CapitalOne and now the parties are at logger heads. The Chevy Chase Trust enjoys defending itself with trust assets while the family members contest using their private funds.

“The 10 Tompkins grandchildren want to fire the trust company because they are unhappy with the financial performance of their inheritance, which yielded an annualized rate of return on investment of less than 2% over the past six years, according to lawsuit. Three other grandchildren aren’t part of the lawsuit, nor are the other generations who are beneficiaries of the trust, though the suit contends that “most of the remaining beneficiaries of the trusts also have no confidence” in Chevy Chase’s performance as trustee.” Follow the link below to read the full Wall Street Journal story.

Core values matter in the management of family business operations and investment. There are taboo topics, such as money – untimely death, especially our own — sex and religion. All matter because these topics generally describe how we choose to live. Core Values are the guideposts that keep us on the path and not hurtling off the cliff. Follow the link to a Wall Street Journal OpEd on Paul Ryan’s budget proposal — it is replete with taboo topics; however, the values regarding prudence, good stewardship and protecting one another’s interests will prevent our legacy becoming the headline, “Thelma & Louise Drive Off Cliff in Wild Adventure”. Ryan’s Budget

This link is to Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer’s description of anticipated medical practices that discourages independent thinking and the use of intuitive knowledge that were the hallmarks of the Hippocratic Oath/Ethic which has produced our current experience of the practice of good medicine stewardship.

Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam was found guilty of fraud today. His Galleon Group was a once revered hedge fund group. He joins the ranks of Madoff, Stanford and others who skimmed for lack of proper oversight protection of client assets entrusted to their care.

One adage used during my days in the beverage business as admonishment to my colleagues was, “it takes sales of 4 cases to make up the loss from one broken case.” The same is true for investment portfolios if the risks are not properly assessed.

FUTR Family Management pre-empts “broken” investments through its relationship with Comerica Bank NA’s Fiduciary Services Group. Neither FUTR nor its Portfolio Sub-Advisors have custody of your assets during a family’s relationship with the firm. Our Custodial Services Agreement with Comerica is unique in the business because it permits transparency for all parties . . . transparent sub-advisory relationships and transparent fees. Comerica’s Fiduciary Services Group safekeeps all the assets delivered to its care.

Before you make your selection of an investment management relationship be sure to understand all the relationships . . . investment management and securities and mutual funds used in your particular solution . . . transaction costs, turnover rates, indirect tax costs and portfolio management fees.

Please learn more about FUTR’s dynamic wealth preservation strategies to prevent your legacy from becoming another marker for the adage, “shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations.”

Union Tribune Article 02/08/2011
California Budget 2011

Ca Hospital Assn said hospitals in the state lost $4.8B which represents annual cash flow from an invested endowment of $96.0B. Thus, our Community requires $96.0B in accumulated savings (endowment) to sustain current healthcare spending by the State of California.

Health Savings Accounts, either owned by business or by individuals, permits the accumulation of wealth required to sustain current healthcare spending within the State. It permits health insurance companies to focus on underwriting catastrophic risks as the Health Savings Accounts take care of current regular doctor visits that monitor the qualifty of healthcare fulfillment for the patient.

Enjoy good health and humor this day.

Thomas Jefferson, in The Declaration of Independence, wrote of an individual’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Consequently, investment markets are based on an indivdiual’s Property Rights and his ability to pursue that which makes him happy.

Families are learning that a good picture of that happiness is important to making investment decisions. This Family Vision clarifies what causes the family’s success and how to acquire more . . . it also identifies “enough” which seems to be the opposite of acquisition.

In 2011, invest your time in creating your family’s vision and core values for decision making. Investment decisions are better made when family wants and costs are considered. It becomes easier to identify what is real, how to make fair asset allocations that meet the family’s risk profile and how to create benefits and goodwill to promote relationships within the family.

May each of you pursue that which makes you happy . . . FUTR is dedicated to helping families maintain their lifestyle resources today and developing plans to “sell assets to the next first generation” of family members.

Here I am sitting in the San Diego Court House awaiting a call to participate on a Jury of Peers. Never thought much about peerage until just now . . . wow!  It is a bit dull and somnific.  My hope is to complete my service for a year at 5:00 p.m. otherwise it may be 3 to 7 business days of service.   My support of Jury Duty is unwavering after three young men did not receive justice because the District Attorney did not believe that 12 people could shift through evidence that would prove their attackers’ crime of bashing them in the head with two by fours.  One of these young men had two brain surgeries.  The defendents received plea bargains which were bargains since they did not invest any of their time in the penitentury.

Since the fruits of a family’s investment portfolio supports a nice life-style, one of the costs is public service to protect the corpus of financial wealth; and cash flow.  Without a viable and impartial judicial system, accumulated wealth would be decimated and fractured by thuggery pirates.  The United States is blessed by “e pluribus unum”, out of many one since it is that value that permits the tranquil assemblage of individuals for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  The peerage of 12 citizens into one jury produces justice through the pursuit of truth about the case before them.

Tranquily ensues in society.  It promotes the pursuit of happiness by those citizens who are confident their property and life are safe from those who wish to take it.   Wealth is increased.

FUTR Family Management is dedicated to conservatively managing family wealth and uniting family members in the pursuit of their dreams for generations to come.  Please call or email your requests for information about FUTR’s capabilities and how they can be put to work for your family.

One motivating factor for creating FUTR Family Management is transparency, truthful disclosure underlying all activities.  Several name plate, national trust comanies, with whom I have personal experience,  do not (and will not) disclose the nominal and actual total fee paid for management of relationship assets in either dollars or percentage rates.  Today is Friday, August 13th . . . it turns out to be quite lucky and satisfying . . . FUTR’s first client’s billing went out after double checking and reconciliation.  The billing rate was 2.05 percent on the assets under management . . . it ended up slightly less than 1.75 percent.  This reduction occurred naturally, proactively and transparently . . .  a 15% reduction is easily understood because FUTR’s clients only pay for service fulfillment!

All FUTR’s fees are billed in arrears and payable monthly.  Our relationships gain a protective benefit from a custodial bank with trust powers in all 50 states of the United States.  They benefit from security selection criteria based upon Benjamin Graham’s precepts of “margin of safety”, “intrinsic value” and “special situations” or market anomalies.  “Fundamentals . . . fundamentals . . . fundamentals” is just like successful real estate investing based upon “location, location, location”.

FUTR Family Management is dedicated to preserving multi-generational wealth through superior organizational and financial advice to families, protecting their legacy and encouraging family member participation in the process . . . which is fully transparent.

Each generation is presented challenges to CONVENTIONAL WISDOM — our grandparents by The Great Depression, our parents by Woodstock & People’s Park and now the confluence of Social Security-Medicare-Housing Finance bubble bursts.  There is Value in Returning to Fundamentals.  When was the last time that you considered the following:

The Declaration of Independence

The Constitution of the United States of America

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

FUTR Family Management employs all three in its governance, investing discipline and client care.  Families will enjoy the benefits of “three branches” monitoring the activities of the other — Custody, Portfolio Management, & Family — to better focus on the fulfillment of the family’s goals.  Portfolio Management is characterized by security selection having  margin of safety and intrinsic value with constraints of the defensive, enterprising and special situation criteria.  All this is accomplished by the inalienable Rights created and identified in The Declaration of Independence to establish the divine right of the Individual versus Ruler, to establish property rights and the pursuit of that which makes us happy.  Three important fundamentals: Life, Liberty, Happiness (Aristotle’s reflection of credit on the individual).

FUTR Family Management is dedicated to preserving multi-generational wealth through superior organizational and financial advice to families, protecting their legacy and encouraging family member participation in the process . . . which is fully transparent.