[lookout123]

the following is a letter I sent out today. i'm not sure if it is irritating or upsetting, but i know it doesn't make me feel good.


Dear Mr and Mrs __________,

Thank you for responding to my follow up call. I really do appreciate the compliments that you paid me in speaking about the investments that we selected for you when we first began working together. I also appreciate how much you trust and value my advice and credit it with keeping you secure in these tumultuous times.

There are some issues that I feel I must address to ensure we're all on the same page. While I'm glad you're satisfied with the quality of the investments we chose together I feel it necessary to remind you that choosing those investments was only meant to be step one of an ongoing shift in your portfolio. Immediately following the purchase of _______, we had agreed to liquidate _______ and place the proceeds in a more secure income producing investment, ________ specifically. You chose not to do that even though I advised you to do so on twelve separate dates in the last 36 months.

The result of only putting one part of the plan into action was an imbalanced portfolio not prepared for the economic downturn I spoke to you about in the spring and summer of 2007. On _________, 2007 I called an urgent meeting with you in which I outlined the dangers we were facing and asked you to take immediate action. Specifically I asked you to __________________ and ________________. You said you would think about it and get back to me. I reiterated my concerns in a letter dated __________.

2008 has been a brutal year for all investors but you have been hit especially hard due to your portfolio imbalance. When you contacted me last week concerned with your losses I cleared my calendar so we could meet. The plan I previously created no longer works because your losses have been too great. I did, however, present a new plan that does address the known issues and prepares us for the unknown events of the the next several years. When you left my office, I felt confident we were finally on the same page and prepared to move forward with a sensible approach for your portfolio and estate.

I must confess your phone call today caught me completely offguard. While I appreciate the confidence you've placed in me I must admit I'm baffled. If you trust my judgement why have you chosen to ignore every single change I've asked you to make? I'm glad you are happy with the investments I purchased for you when we first began working together, but ignoring my advice about them now reminds me of the man who took his car to the mechanic. He told the mechanic his car wouldn't stop when he pressed the brake pedal. The mechanic inspected the car and declared the solution was to replace the brake pads. The man smiled and thanked the mechanic for his help but announced he still had faith in the previous set of brakepads the mechanic had sold him and drove away. Surely you understand my point in this silly story.

I genuinely value you as a client and enjoy the time we have worked together, but if you insist on ignoring all that I say I see no point in continuing our business relationship. You are paying me for advice you don't follow. The choice is simple: either follow my recommendations or quit paying me.

Please call me immediately to discuss your decision. If I do not hear from you within thirty days from the date of this letter, let this be notice that I will no longer be servicing your account and will not be morally or legally responsible for the performance of your investments.


Sincerely,


Lookout