February 2021 Newsletter to Clients

Enjoy this month’s edition that features an update on two new mutual funds and some important email security tips.

Fund change update: In the May, 2020 newsletter we described how we were switching two of our recommended mutual funds to what we thought were more suitable funds. Each fund we recommend serves a specific purpose within our clients’, and our own, portfolios. We continually monitor each fund’s performance relative to its benchmark to make sure it continues to fill the role it needs to. These decisions are made after much research, discussion with the fund companies themselves and evaluation of performance over a long period of time. We believed then, and now, these changes would serve us all well.

Here is an update on the two switches:

• We switched T. Rowe Price Real Estate (TRREX) to Cohen & Steers Realty (CSRSX) primarily because we believed the management of TRREX was stubbornly ignoring a fast-growing segment of the real estate investment trust space – data centers. An article in the New York Times’ business section in December, 2020 had this to say about data centers. “The growing reliance on cloud-based technology – and the big, blocky buildings that house its hardware – has created greater opportunities for developers and investors as businesses and consumers gobble up more data in a world that has become increasingly connected.” 9% of the CSRSX portfolio of investments is in data centers and TRREX holds nothing in that space. While the pandemic was a significant drag on real estate earnings last year, CSRSX only lost 2.88% while the benchmark lost 5.12% and TRREX lost 11.38%.
• We also switched out of Oakmark Fund (OAKMX) and into T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth (TRBCX). While OAKMX served its purpose for many years, we believed a change was necessary to achieve the growth necessary from the large companies within the U.S. stock market. Last year TRBCX earned a total return of 34.73% while OAKMX earned 12.90%.

Protect yourself against email scams: During tax season we may see an increased amount of scam and phishing attempts. Many email providers will do their best to block these emails from arriving in your inboxes but there will inevitably be some that slip through various filters and rules. Below are some security tips for those emails that do:

• Ensure you recognize and trust the sender;
• Pay attention to the spelling and grammar in the email. Mistakes and strange sentence structures are common in illegitimate emails;
• Do not open any attachments or links in an email if the sender is unknown;
• Do not sign in to any websites with your company/personal login information if linked in a suspicious email;
• Exercise caution even with trusted senders if the email seems strange or out of the ordinary. Confirm with the sender that the email you received is legitimate if you have doubts.

If at any point you believe your own email may be compromised or that your password has been found out you should immediately change your password.

Thank you for your continuing confidence.