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Deleveraging is a fancy financial word used to explain that people, business, or even the government is in the mode of paying off debt.  They are making more money than they are spending.  The extra cash flow is used for both savings and debt repayment.  In the long run, this is a healthy thing.

I recently traveled to Los Angeles to attend the American Funds Institutional Advisor Forum. It was a privilege to be able to attend as only 150 advisors across the United States were invited. American Funds is the largest mutual fund company in the world and has some of the best and brightest people available managing money.

This is a remarkable time of year - the spirit of Christmas is in the air. Putting the hustle and bustle aside, we find our thoughts drifting to holiday celebrations and the comfort of traditions. We try to count all of our blessings.

As we consider these blessings, we cannot forget to acknowledge the cherished relationships we have with our clients. Your loyalty, trust and kind words are at the heart of our business. We treasure the work we do together.

I have been receiving two to three calls a week from investors concerned that the market is going to crash. This seems a bit strange, because typically in a rising market investors tend to jump on the bandwagon rather than off of it.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Clients and Friends:

Happy Thanksgiving!   It is very easy to utter the words “Thank You for your business”. And, as Thanksgiving approaches, we hope that through our actions all year, you are aware of how much we do appreciate your business, and allowing us to be the steward of your financial objectives.

As many of you know I have promoted a debt free life style. Recently, one of my clients and good friends reached a major milestone along their journey to a successful retirement.  I wanted to share this with all of you.

Dear XX:

I just wanted to take a moment and celebrate with you. The fact that you paid off your home completely is really exciting news.  Even more impressive is that you have paid off your home, your business, your cars, everything - That’s remarkable!

With the recent financial crisis gold is getting a lot of attention.  I’m starting to hear a lot more radio ads promoting the tremendous benefits to gold. These ads will cherry pick a favorable period of time to show how much more gold has made than stocks. 

I recently traveled to San Diego for Schwab’s annual conference. The time and expense to go were beneficial because I felt it was important to understand the direction and nature of our new economy.

I am pleased to announce that recently Dickinson Investment Advisors won the annual Daily Nonpareil’s 2009 Readers Choice Award as the community’s favorite financial planning company.  I am also pleased to announce that Dickinson & Clark CPAs won the Readers Choice award, for the second year, as the community’s favorite CPA firm.

As the owner of Dickinson Investment Advisors and a co-owner of  Dickinson & Clark, CPAs it gives me a great deal of pride and satisfaction to have our dedication to outstanding customer service recognized.

The Wall Street Journal reported on August 12, 2009 that the national average yield on six month Certificates of Deposits (CD’s) was ¾ of 1% and the yield on two year CD’s was 1.48%.

Here are a few of the reasons I have uncovered for these dismal rates of return:

•    With the banking crisis of 2008, the insurance rates that banks pay to the FDIC have skyrocketed (up to ten fold).