You might be like my wife, Nancy, and I: You planned a dream trip, then COVID-19 took it away. As a result, you may have found more time to do things around the home, like starting that garden, painting that room, or cleaning the garage. You may have finally got that honey-do list done!
Of course, this year has been full of things many of us hadn’t planned for. Just like 9/11, our world has changed. Remember how not long after 9/11, just a single person hid bomb material in their shoes and now, nearly 20 years later, nearly everyone has to take their shoes off before boarding a plane? We’ll be seeing changes much like that for years to come.
In the wake of the pandemic, what does this mean for your future and the future of your family? What does it mean in terms of your safety?
These days, the slogan “Make America Great Again” has taken on a new meaning. We’ve seen the economic damage from the second quarter. As a nation, we learned that we can never close everything again. Many people are asking, “What’s next?”
As I drive around my community, city, and state, I see the toll this crisis has had. But, whenever possible, and through my mask, I try to say hello to every person I encounter. We can’t lose sight of what really matters. The pandemic made us take a hard look at our own homes and families. It’s reminded us just how blessed we are that we have a home to go to and a family to be with us.
We’re also blessed at the office. Before the pandemic hit, we were planning on increasing our processing personnel. As we saw what was on the horizon, we accelerated that plan and brought our new team members in March, increasing our staff by 100%. We were fortunate that we were able to find good candidates to fill those roles.
The pandemic threatened to bring a serious challenge to our ability to react in a timely fashion for our clients. I want to extend a thank you to our processing team for putting in those long hours — sometimes 14–16 hours a day for several days straight — to ensure our clients were taken care of.
We’re all committed to every client portfolio. We continued to conduct reviews, make changes, or reallocate based on what each client needed as market conditions fluctuated. And, on that note, I can tell you with 100% certainty that market fluctuations and volatility are here to stay. I still believe the U.S. markets are the strongest in the world. No matter what comes our way, we’ll be ready to take it on.
With that said, in the coming weeks, you’ll be formally introduced to our new platform: eMoney. It’s a tool that gives you even more control over your future and your family’s future, especially when it comes to your finances. As you may know, eMoney is a long time coming. It allows you to see your entire financial world in a timely manner — no matter where you are in the world!
You can jet down to Belize, kick back on the beach, and, when you find that perfect condo, just log in to eMoney and put in the numbers. We’ll be able to put together a computer model to show you all the information you could possibly need or want as it relates to that purchase. You’ll be able to make an informed decision like never before.
When you get your eMoney email, we invite you to log in and take a look. We can show you how to see and control an incredible amount of information right at your fingertips. At the same time, we’ll be able to make sure your assets are allowing you to maintain a stress-free retirement not just today and not just tomorrow, but through the rest of your life.
We feel so blessed to have each of you as our clients. As Michigan and the United States open back up, we look forward to once again hosting events and spending more time with you. And you can be sure we’ll be hosting the new James Bond movie at one of our client events later this year!
In the meantime, be sure to check out our updated website. Take a tour and see all the new information we’ve added. Talk to you again when school is in session!
-Gary Mattson
