In this issue:
	Our question of the quarter: The Economy and Your Portfolio Retirement Planning Update Are You Confident About Your Investment Skills? Upcoming Speaking Engagements

The Economy and Your Portfolio

We have started out the year with a few bumps in the road, but all our clients experienced portfolio growth in the months of January and February, and March has brought us stabilized investment values. How does this compare to the broad markets? With the week ending March 19, the year-to-date numbers were as follows: Dow was down 2.6% , NASDAQ down 3.1%, S&P 500 down 0.2% and Russell 2000 up 2.5%. What direction lies ahead? There are several areas dragging the market down, the bombing in Madrid, continued unrest in the Middle East, but we are in an election year. The current administration will continue to support the economy. Treasury rates should remain steady with only a slight increase. Perhaps a small move up of 25 to 50 basis points. Increases in the rate hike trend would suggest reducing exposure to intermediate and long-term bonds. Money is also moving out of this country and into the international markets. Future emphasis needs to be placed on increasing your portfolios' stake in these markets via mutual funds and ADR's. Many of you who have already come in for your year-end portfolio reviews have started to observe the shift into this sector as part of your 2004 asset rebalancing. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Retirement Planning Update

Workers are worried about outliving their retirement funds. In a recent MetLife survey, 48% of employees expressed a great concern over outliving their retirement nest egg. Many felt they would be forced to work on a full or part-time basis after retirement. If this is a concern of yours, take steps to solidify your retirement portfolio. If your company offers matching 401(k) or 403(b) dollars, take full advantage of all corporate contributions. Try to maximize all plan contributions. Catch-up provisions are available for 2003 and 2004 for all defined-contribution plans and IRA's. The rule states that if you have attained age 50 before the end of the taxable year, you can put an additional $1,000 in 401(k) plans and $500 into IRA's. Contribution levels for 2004 increase to $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. Only 38% of all households currently have an employee that is covered by a pension plan. If you participate in a company pension plan, be aware that most do not have a cost of living adjustment, which leaves the client unable to absorb the effects of inflation on future spending. Save early, consistently, and rebalance your retirement dollars on a regular basis. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Are You Confident About Your Investment Skills?

The confidence factor is stronger with men than women. Only 57% of women surveyed felt their investments were on the right track compared to 73% of the men polled. In the same study, 47% of women worried that they would have to postpone retirement as opposed to a 32% response from men. One reason that would contribute to women's retirement concerns is the lost time in the workforce. Many women take time away from the jobs to raise their children, resulting in less time to contribute to retirement plans. This pattern repeats itself when in comes time to care for their elderly parents. Again, time away from work will reduce dollars contributed to their retirement funding. Lastly, confidence is not an indicator of success. Another study highlighted the difference in investing styles between sexes. Women experienced improved returns by 1.2%, on a risk adjusted basis for their portfolios over time, attributed to a greater buy and hold discipline and less dramatic reactions to moving in and out of market trends. Moral of the story, hire a female portfolio manager, because as we know - slow and steady wins the race. _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Angela Thomson will be speaking at the Center for Women & Enterprise on Friday, May 14th at 9:00 a.m. This educational session will cover the establishment of retirement plans for your business, as well as personal retirement goal funding. We will focus on which plans are appropriate for your business as well as working out projections for individual retirement needs. Advanced registration is required. Call CWE at 401-277-0800 to register. Your planner in the news. Angela was quoted in January's Wall Street Journal. The piece was on consumers searching for fee-only planners in an effort to get away for the conflicts of interest that are inherent in commissioned based products and services. It looks at the trend in clients to seek out objective advice from qualified planners. Angela Thomson was recently elected President of the Financial Planning Association of Rhode Island and is coordinating several consumer-focused activities throughout the year. Please visit their website at www.fpari.org for a overview of this years' planned events starting with a joint effort with RI Treasurer Tavares in designating April as "Savings and Investing" Month.