October 2020 Newsletter to Clients

Enjoy this month’s edition that features the new Moneywatch app, an overview of a new bond fund and an update on the TD Ameritrade sale.

40^th Anniversary Tech Announcement

Some of you may remember the Moneywatch Advisors 3-ring binder that clients were given to hold their monthly reports and, of course, Bob’s newsletter. It had a nice cover with the firm’s logo on it and subdividers for different kinds of reports. Some of you may have even completed the financial planning questionnaire back then so Bob Rahenkamp could develop your customized plan – by hand! Now, 40 years later, we’re still embracing leading-edge technology.

**Today we announce the Moneywatch Advisors app!** Yes, a phone application where you can access your personal Moneywatch portal with the click of a button. The app will show you the current value of each account you own, the asset allocation of your portfolio, the investments you hold within each account as well as provide access to TD Ameritrade statements and other information. Think of it as the Moneywatch 3-ring binder you can fit into your pocket.

Lee Chapman will email all clients the last week of October with a link and instructions on how to access your personalized app. Of course, if you aren’t interested, simply do nothing.

New bond fund:

As we’ve discussed here before, we continuously monitor the performance of the mutual funds we choose for our clients and all use – including us – to make sure they are fulfilling their intended role within clients’ portfolios. For instance, we expect our bond mutual funds to not only provide regular income but also remain stable in price when the stock market may be gyrating. As the Federal Reserve has indicated they intend to keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future, we believe clients will be best served with a shift to a new bond mutual fund, Dodge & Cox Income (DODIX).

Although the fund will be new to many of us, the fund originated in 1989 and has performed at a high level with steady management almost as long as Moneywatch has. The fund invests primarily in Investment Grade corporate bonds that we agree should provide better stability as the world economy emerges from the pandemic.

DODIX will replace either partially or altogether some of the other bond funds we have deployed such as BlackRock Floating Rate Income Trust (BGT), Loomis Sayles Bond Fund (LSBDX) and Lord Abbett Bond Debenture Fund (LBYNX).

TD Ameritrade sale to Schwab:

On October 6 the sale of TD Ameritrade Institutional to Schwab Advisor Services was completed. What does this mean for clients? Nothing, at least for now. All account numbers on your IRAs, Roth IRAs, Joint accounts, etc. remain the same and statements will still come from TD. Furthermore, the account conversion from TD to Schwab will take 18-36 months and require no action by clients. We will let you know if there is something you need to know as the merger of the two companies progresses.

Thank you for your continuing confidence.