IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
The following presentation by New England Capital Financial Advisors, LLC (“NECFA”) is intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from NECFA or any other investment professional of your choosing. Please see additional important disclosure at the end of this penetration. A copy of NECFA’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at www.newenglandcapital.com.
Happy Holidays from New England Capital
All of us in New England Capital would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very warm holiday season and a very healthy safe and prosperous new year. It is one of our greatest pleasures to exchange greetings and thank those whose friendship and goodwill are so highly valued.
One person I’d like to single out for special appreciation is Deborah McConnell. After many years in our industry, including the last 12 years with New England Capital, Deb will be retiring at the end of the year. She has been a conscientious coworker, always willing to go the extra mile for me, and for you. Please join me and everyone at New England Capital in wishing our friend Deb a wonderful, well-deserved journey in her next exciting chapter.
At this time of year, a time of giving and receiving, I typically think of those less fortunate. I know most of us get solicitations from charities and other worthy organizations.
In this busy holiday season, there may be a better way to support those causes other than writing a quick check, then dashing off to the next holiday party or the mall or online shopping or any other of the million things that must be scratched off our to-do list prior to Christmas.
The new tax law caused me to rethink how I give. Personally, I’ve opened a donor advised fund (DAF) to maximize my family’s charitable impact now and in the future.
A donor advise fund or DAF is a charitable investment account for supporting charitable organizations you care about.
How does it work? First you make a tax-deductible donation to your DAF either by cash, appreciated stocks or mutual funds or property. Your DAF can grow tax-free before you make a donation to your favorite charity. Call the office for more details on how to open a DAF, about fees and how it can benefit you, the charitable organizations, and society in general.
While it is the season of giving and receiving it is also the season of taking. Although scammers are always around, they seem to be more active this time of year.
I remember several years ago when I got a strange call from my mother. She asked if my son Michael was still at college. She had supposedly gotten a call from him from Mexico, asking her to wire money because he got into trouble and he pleaded for her not to tell me. My mother didn’t fall for the scam, but she was concerned enough to check with me. We have heard that this scam and others like it are making the rounds again this season.
Today with artificial intelligence and voice cloning advances. I’m going to suggest a way to beat this scam with a simple technique that was recommended by the FBI.
When the family is together over the holidays, create a phrase or a secret family password, so that if someone calls claiming to be a family member in distress and needing money or personal information, the person receiving the call can calmly ask for the password.
This one idea changes an emotional crisis into a logical checkpoint and could save thousands and thousands of dollars.
Don’t use the name of your pets or former pets or your high school mascot, or anything that scammers would know from looking at Facebook or other social media posts. Think of a random, bizarre word or phrase as your family password.
This 3 - 5-minute exercise could save your family thousands of dollars or even more if you give them sensitive account information.
Unfortunately, now voice cloning can sound exactly like your kid or grandkids so that voice recognition is not enough to verify who’s on the other line. So please be patient and understanding with our team at New England Capital as we ask you some additional verifying questions when you call the office for distributions from your account. It’s for your safety.
Have a safe happy and joyful holiday season from all of us at New England Capital.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
Please remember that past performance is no guarantee 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 (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by New England Capital Financial Advisors, LLC [“NECFA”]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, 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 blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from NECFA. 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. NECFA is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the NECFA’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request or at www.newenglandcapital.com. Please Note: NECFA does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to NECFA’s web site or blog or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Please Remember: If you are a NECFA client, please contact NECFA, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services. Unless, and until, you notify us, in writing, to the contrary, we shall continue to provide services as we do currently. Please Also Remember to advise us if you have not been receiving account statements (at least quarterly) from the account custodian.