1. Volume 6, Number 2
Quarterly Newsletter April 2012
Quarter in Review stocks posted a 12.44% gain. Look-
ing abroad, the MSCI EAFE Index, Asset Class Performance Q1 2012:
By: Jon P. Yankee, MBA, CFP®
which tracks global stock markets in
the developed nations, rose 9.97% for
Hear the Markets Roar
the first quarter of 2012, and interna-
tional small company stocks increased U.S. Fixed Income 0.30%
Who could possibly have guessed? (Barclay Capital Aggregate Bond Index)
11.54% for the quarter. Commercial
After all the discussion in the press
real estate also posted gains just above International Fixed Income 1.19%
about the long economic slowdown,
10%. (JP Morgan GBI ex-US (Hedged) Index)
last year’s downgrade of American
sovereign debt, talk of double-dip U.S. Equities, Large 12.59%
There is little change in the interest
recessions and looming crises in (S&P 500 Index)
rate scene over the past quarter;
Europe and China, the U.S. investment
investors are still getting record-low U.S. Equities, Small 12.44%
markets turned around and, in the first
yields from Treasuries. The yield on (Russell 2000 Index)
three months of this year, posted the
12-month Treasury bonds is 0.17%,
best first-quarter returns in 14 years. International Equities, Large 9.97%
rising to 0.33% for two year maturities, (MSCI EAFE Index)
Global markets followed suit, albeit
and 0.5% for three-year issues. At the
more modestly, and investors received International Equities, Small 11.54%
10-year maturity level, rates started the
double-digit returns from real estate as (S&P/Citigroup EPAC Ext. Mkt. Index)
quarter at 1.87% and rose to 2.21%
well.
by the end of March. Investors have Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) 10.49%
been willing to buy U.S. government (NAREIT Equity Index)
Large cap stocks in the U.S. provided
debt as a safer alternative to Eurozone
positive returns in the first quarter, Commodities/Natural Resources 0.89%
bonds;
with the widely-publicized S&P 500 (DJ UBS Commodities Index)
index gaining 12.59%. Small cap
Continued Pg. 4
Albi At a Glance while working full time. Upon graduation,
I began working towards my Master of
By: Albi Kacani
Science Degree in Personal Financial Plan-
ning at Texas Tech. This year I have had the
I am very thankful for the opportunity to be a summer associate
opportunity to volunteer for VITA, providing
with Fox, Joss & Yankee. FJY is committed to helping future financial
free income tax preparation assistance to
planners gain experience in all areas of financial planning, which
low-income, elderly, disabled, and limited
explains why their internship program is one of the best in the
English speaking people. I am a member of
country.
the Personal Financial Planning Association
at Texas Tech and a member of the Financial
My family and I moved to the United States, from Albania when I
Planning Association of Dallas. I believe that
was 15 years old. My parents did not have a college fund for their
my education, the experience I will gain this
children so at a very young age I had to learn the value of budget-
summer, and my involvement in financial planning associations will
ing and planning for the future. I have held a job since I was 16
help me succeed as a financial planner in the future.
years old because I loved the feeling of independence that it gave
me. My desire to work with people and help them achieve their
I am looking forward to joining Fox, Joss & Yankee for the summer
goals in life is what first attracted me to financial planning.
of 2012. I consider myself very fortunate to have landed such a
position. I will be able to learn more about the financial planning
I attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX where I earned
industry by working side-by-side with some of the best practitio-
a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting
ners in the business.
Quick Planning Question:
Have you set up online access to your accounts at Schwab and/or Fidelity?

2. Top 10 Estate Planning Mistakes - Part 2
By: Burton Mitchell and Jill Henderson
This article was first published as a two-part series by the Elite Advisor Forum, a publication of CEG Worldwide and SourceMedia, and is reprinted with permission.
When we review estate plans, there are some common mistakes we come across. You may think some of these are obvious, but we have seen them
enough to assure you that they are not. Please review the January 2012 newsletter for Part 1 of the top 10 Estate Planning Mistakes.
5. Too many seats at the table. A fairly common approach to dividing assets among different groups of beneficiaries is to give the separate groups
a percentage. This creates a number of problems by giving that beneficiary a seat at the table, so to speak. A beneficiary that is entitled to a percent-
age of the estate will be concerned with any and all issues that effect the value of the estate, such as valuation issues and costs of administration,
because each of these will impact the amount ultimately received by that beneficiary. On the other hand, a beneficiary that receives a specific dollar
amount need not be concerned with issues, since it does not change his or her distribution. Where possible, encourage clients to stay away from
percentages or formulas that can back fire. Instead, select a dollar amount that they are comfortable with and review it periodically.
6. Giving one child control over another. A typical response from clients about the question of who should be trustee is often followed with “can
my responsible child be the trustee?” This is appealing, because it keeps the burden off other family members or friends and it avoids the trustee fee
that would be paid to a financial institution. While we have no doubt that there are many situations where the child is perfectly capable of handling
the job of trustee, we advise against giving one child control to the exclusion of another child. Our experience is that it can be a costly mistake that
causes disputes that could have been avoided.
Even in the best family situations, the child that is left out of the decision making process will most likely not be pleased. There are important deci-
sions that need to be made in the trust administration process, such as whether to sell certain assets, valuation issues and when to make distribu-
tions. Giving one child control over these economic decisions to the exclusion of another creates an unpleasant dynamic even when everyone has
good intentions. It is generally a better practice to name a financial institution, if practical, given the size of the estate, or a trusted and responsible
family member or friend (other than a beneficiary), or even naming all children as co-trustees, rather than giving one child control over another.
7. Ignoring the personal effects. The personal effects can be the most difficult asset to divide and distribute. Beneficiaries can have strong person-
al feelings about what items of the personal effects they want and they can disagree about the value of certain items. It is important to have a system
in place in the estate plan to resolve these disputes. There may also be special circumstances resulting from the structure of the estate plan that
require consideration. For example, if a residence is left in trust for use by a beneficiary such as a second spouse, with the residence to ultimately
pass to children, then the contents of that residence should be specifically addressed. Otherwise, you may have an unpleasant situation where the
beneficiary of the residence has the contents immediately removed by the beneficiaries of the personal effects. If there are any items with a large
value, they should be addressed specifically.
8. Not following through on title to assets. A fully funded living trust is the desired goal in any estate plan. An hour of time now can save thou-
sands of dollars later. In California, if the client signed a Will and a general assignment of assets to a living trust, we often can petition the Court for
confirmation that an asset is owned by the living trust, but this process takes months and is not guaranteed. The professional advisors should help the
clients with completing this process. It is tedious to the clients and they may not understand the significance or the ultimate cost for failing to follow-
through, so this is an area where the assistance of professional advisors is critical.
9. Letting the client avoid the Advance Health Care Directive. The process of thinking about and completing an Advance Health Care Directive
can be unpleasant. The client has to consider health issues and topics such as life support and organ and tissue donation. The health care power is
a critical part of everyone’s estate plan. When the health care power is needed it is invaluable. If the client resists completing the health care power
or wants to think it over, encourage them to complete one now and change it whenever they want. It is generally better to have something in place,
rather than nothing.
10. Not doing an estate plan at all. If your client is going to live forever and will never be disabled, then skip the estate plan. For everyone else,
make sure your estate plan is in order to protect your family.
An estate plan is essential to the long-term well-being of your family and heirs. Because your family’s needs change and the legal and regulatory envi-
ronment continues to evolve, your estate plan should be reviewed and amended periodically.
Burton A. Mitchell is the chairman of the Taxation, Trusts & Estates Department at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP and a prominent tax and estate planning attorney in Los Angeles.
Contact Burton at 310.201.3562 or BAM@jmbm.com

3. Gifts and Giving, Part 2
By: Daniel D. Joss, MBA, CFP®, RLP®
Appreciated stock is the best gift for tax purposes. Because you give
Last year, Gifts and Giving, Part 1, outlined various ways of gifting to
away appreciated securities, you also give away the potential capital
family members. Please review that as you consider transferring wealth
gains tax. Because the charitable organization isn’t liable for capital gains
to other generations. Gifts to family members are never deductible for
taxes, those taxes are avoided altogether. In essence, you are partner-
tax purposes. This article will focus on tax deductible gifts to qualified
ing with the government to give to the charity of your choice. The
charitable organizations. I will define gift and charitable contributions,
government wants us to be charitable and therefore, provides an incen-
tell you how you can gift, explain how we facilitate gift transactions, and
tive to give appreciated securities. When we gift appreciated securities,
discuss the tax implications of gifting.
you must sign the custodian’s transfer form using information provided
by the charitable organization. Securities are then electronically sent
American Heritage Dictionary defines a gift as something that is be-
from your account to the organization’s account. We follow up with the
stowed voluntarily and without compensation. This article focuses
charity to ensure donations are properly annotated and recognition, if
more specifically on the transfer of property, money or assets from one
asked for, is given to the donor/giver in whatever way you request.
person to another while receiving nothing (or less than fair market value)
in return.
As with any good intention, problems can arise. Sometimes funds get
temporarily lost or misdirected. Sometimes, brokerage accounts are
As you might expect, the IRS does not make it easy to find a definition
changed and it can take time to correct the issue. So, if you have the
of a charitable contribution as there are so many factors involved. It
intention of gifting to a charitable organization with funds from your
does, however, make the 24 page IRS Pub 526 available to address
portfolio, please allow us and your custodian ample time to complete
any questions you may have about them. Investopedia.com defines a
the requested transactions. Each custodian has their own rules about
charitable contribution as a gift made by an individual or an organiza-
timelines and gifts. Do not delay gifting until the fourth quarter of the
tion to a nonprofit organization, charity, or private foundation. Charitable
year. Think of this from your charity’s point of view: sooner is always
donations are commonly in the form of cash, but can also take the form
better.
of real estate, motor vehicles, appreciated securities, clothing, and other
assets or services. There are various and complicated deduction rules
As of April 2012, Qualified Charitable Contributions (contributions made
for your charitable contributions that come into play if your contribu-
from your IRA in lieu of your Required Minimum Distribution (RMDs)) that
tions exceed 20% of your AGI.
were possible in previous tax years are not allowed. Of course, Con-
gress can always change the rules. The government may decide not to
We help many of our clients with their contributions by discussing their
make this incentive available or limit the deductibility of charitable con-
charitable intentions, planning for their annual giving, and, as part of the
tributions. We and your tax preparer will keep you informed of changes
estate planning process, making their final bequests.
with regards to your charitable contributions.
On a periodic basis, we can work charitable gifting intentions into the
Please consult with your tax preparer regarding specific rules and tax im-
long-term financial planning process to see the implications of those
plications of your planned gifting. IRS Pub 526 has a wealth of informa-
gifts. Identifying the long term implications of gifting and planning for
tion regarding charitable contributions, if you want to do a little research
near term implementation of gifting is important. If needed, we make
on your own.
cash or appreciated securities available for the annual gifting process
during our periodic rebalancing efforts. Planning for gifting as part of an
As I always say, “give early, give often.” Your charitable contributions are
overall investment strategy will reduce transaction fees and maximize tax
greatly appreciated, especially during times of economic trouble.
benefits.
Cash, as they say, “is as good as money.” Giving cash is the easiest
form of gifting. There are no transaction fees and you can control the
transaction by writing checks when you are ready to give. For cash gifts
we can either move money to a checking account or use a custodian’s
check form to make the gift payable directly to the charitable organi-
zation. We prefer to send the cash to your bank account so you can
control the timing.

4. Abigail At a Glance
By: Abigail Reisenfeld
1925 Isaac Newton Square While attending the Schwab IMPACT conference in 2011, I learned of the
Suite 400 summer associate position offered at Fox, Joss, & Yankee. The firm offers an
Reston, Virginia 20190 incredibly sought-after opportunity for professional and educational devel-
opment and I look forward to working with them this summer.
1.703.889.1111 phone
1.877.395.7795 toll free Growing up in a military family has allowed me to experience many different
1.866.366.9233 fax places throughout my life. However, we settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia in
1998 and have lived there since. I am the third of five children, the second
to attend Virginia Tech, and I plan to graduate in December 2012 with a
www.fjyfinancial.com Bachelor of Business Administration Degree. At Virginia Tech, I am a student in the CFP® Certifica-
tion Education track in the undergraduate Finance Program. I participate in the student chapter of
the Financial Planning Association and volunteer with Junior Achievement to teach financial skills
to high school students in the local community. Being involved in these activities has provided
exposure to professional advice and rewarding hands-on experience.
Coming from a large family and working through school has given me a great perspective on the
opportunities and difficulties that finances can bring to any situation. My work at a wealth man-
agement firm last summer enabled me to see the positive effect advisors can have in their clients’
lives. I am excited to be working with FJY this summer and to have the opportunity to learn from
their team and clients.
FJY Advisors
& Staff
Quarter in Review: cont
however, a recent article published by Reuters notes that the tentative resolution of the Greek debt crisis
might send investors back across the Atlantic. If that does happen, the result is likely to be higher Treasury
bond rates, and losses for existing holders of Treasury securities. Marjorie L. Fox
Sr. Financial Advisor
It goes without saying that the strong stock returns were a pleasant surprise, and might be an indication Daniel D. Joss
that investors believe the economy is turning the corner at last. Since early March 2009, the S&P 500 index Sr. Financial Advisor
of stocks has more than doubled in value, from 683 to over 1,400 (1,408 at market close at the end of the
quarter), making all the peaks and valleys and twists and turns seem like background noise. Since a swoon Jon P Yankee
.
last summer, the index is up nearly 30 percent. Sr. Financial Advisor
Laurie A. Belew
The important lesson for investors is that returns can not be predicted in advance, and that has proven es- Sr. Financial Advisor
pecially true of these lengthy – albeit choppy – market updrafts that have restored much of the wealth that
was lost in the Great Recession. Of course, after a roaring first quarter, the lesson should also be viewed in Tess L. Downing
reverse. We do not know what the markets will give us for the rest of the year, and there will almost certain-
Financial Advisor
ly be some more downswings as the roller coaster moves from here to December. But those downswings Lisa J. Crafford
will mean that stocks are (at least temporarily) being sold at a discount to current prices. Even that can be Office Manager
good news to investors who are putting money into the markets to meet their financial goals.
Sally M. Yankee
Administrative Assistant
Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future
performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product made reference to directly or indirectly in this newsletter, will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated
historical performance level(s), or be suitable for your portfolio. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions
or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this newsletter serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment
advice from Fox, Joss & Yankee, LLC. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/
she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. A copy of our current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available for
review upon request.
Historical performance results for investment indices and/or categories have been provided for general comparison purposes only, and generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction
and/or custodial charges, the deduction of an investment management fee, nor the impact of taxes, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance
results. It should not be assumed that your account holdings correspond directly to any comparative indices.