A Message From Andy Berg

Andy-Berg

03/22/20

While the markets and all of us take a deep breath after another week full of constant news updates and market swings, I wanted to take a moment to offer a few personal thoughts to you. First, I hope and pray you and your families are healthy. We are all hopeful that progress continues on treatments for this virus and that our healthcare system successfully treats all who are sick in the weeks ahead.

We have been working day and night across our entire firm to monitor the markets, develop and implement our investments and planning recommendations, and communicate with you often as the situation continues to evolve. Our investment committee is meeting daily via conference call and our entire firm is “all hands on deck” to serve you. Investments that we made in software and technology in order to be able to operate remotely are obviously needed now and proving to be very successful. We have sent out multiple emails to you to keep you updated on our views, and will continue to do so. We are gathering common questions from our client service teams and will cover those in a future communication. As always, we encourage you to reach out to me or your team if you have any concerns or questions that you would like addressed.

As I said in a recent audio message to clients, I have seen many crisis moments in the markets during my career. Every time the reasons are different, and every time it is hard for some investors to stay calm in the middle of the chaos. This is the time where we shine as advisors, both because we have built a financial plan with you that has an allocation that should be able to weather tough times, and because we are here for you to advise you and keep you on track during the intensity of the unsettling news and big market moves. Also, these kinds of crisis moments can be some of the best times to buy stocks, and this is why we sent our recent communication about our client trading activity including rebalancing back to your stock targets, harvesting tax losses, and setting targets for future additions to stocks if prices keep getting cheaper. Our role as your advisor is to stay calm and keep focused on the opportunities.

There will likely be more tough days in the markets, but I remain consistently optimistic that we will recover and thrive on the other side of this virus battle. We will continue to work hard for you and look forward to brighter days ahead.

Disclosures: The information reflects Homrich Berg’s views, opinions and analyses as of March 22, 2020. The information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment product. The information does not represent legal, tax, accounting or investment advice; recipients should consult their respective advisors regarding such matters. Certain of the information herein is based on third party sources believed to be reliable but which have not been independently verified. Past performance is not a guarantee or indicator of future results; inherent in any investment is the risk of loss.

Homrich Berg is a national independent wealth management firm that provides fiduciary, fee-only investment management and financial planning services, serving as the leader of the financial team for our clients.