Terrible Decade for Stocks – Great Decade for Our Investors

Not since the 1930’s have stocks had a losing decade. Many investors have suffered setbacks to their retirement plans and have seen their lifestyles erode between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009. The S&P 500 and DOW lost 24% and 9% respectively, during this period.

Not so for our investors. We have thrived in this difficult period. Our strategies allowed us to largely miss both of the crashes this decade….Assets under management have increased more than three-fold since January 1, 2000. In the last year alone, they rose 40% from $40 million to $56 million. We thank you for the confidence you have placed in us in times when many investors folded their tents. Your loyalty has been rewarded.

Heading into the next decade, we are very conservatively positioned. We are concerned that the U.S. economy is far from “out of the woods” but stock prices have already presumed a recovery. However, we believe we can grind out a fair return for you by using our call options on dividend-paying stocks and looking for underpriced opportunities. We are continuing to hold our positions in gold as it has a low correlation to other asset classes, and its options provide above-average premiums.

With the new year, take a few minutes to visit our updated website, www.Cantlonfinancial.com, in order to refresh your understanding of our respective roles and to maximize the benefit you receive from our relationship.

If you are a tax client, it’s time to start accumulating your documents for submission in February.

If you have an IRA, liberalized provisions permit the conversion to a Roth IRA in 2010. Call us to discuss.

Very truly yours,

Michael F. Cantlon

Thomas E. Guyett