Thoughts on preparation and planning A letter from SYM’s President

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SPRING 2020

Amidst the current challenges and uncertainty of our world, it is a true privilege to be able to work every day and take some of my time to write to you. Every SYMian has a deep empathy for our friends and neighbors who do not enjoy these same privileges, for those who have been personally impacted by the illness, have a relative or friend who was severely ill, or worse. We have genuine compassion for those whose lives and businesses have been materially disrupted.

The past month, while poignant, has been a blur. It’s also brought back memories of my days in the U.S. Navy when we would perform night landings on an aircraft carrier. As aviators, we were prepared. We had spent the time learning to anticipate the unknown factors that could occur. We knew the dangers, and we knew what to do. Some nights were worse than others, with high winds and heavy seas. We might be stacked up in the clouds waiting our turn to approach. The only aviators whose knees weren’t shaking were the newbies; but over time, their knees would shake too. Eventually we landed, and our heart rates slowed. As we left the flight deck in the black of night, we found our balance, and the world was familiar again.

This memory might keep coming back to me because, like my fellow aviators, the SYM team has been practicing for a moment - though we couldn’t define exactly what moment we were practicing for. It turns out, it was a global pandemic.

Being in the wealth management business, which faces less disruption than say, the retail or service industries, still does not assure an easy path. We are fortunate that SYM’s normal business practices help us anticipate disruption with plans to keep our business running in times like these. All teammates have laptop

computers and our security protocols facilitate safely working from a distance. We long ago shifted, as much as possible, to a paperless office. Sometimes, to test our abilities and find weaknesses, we send an entire office to work from home for a day. These drills make us better prepared for the days and weeks when working from home is the best or only business decision.

When we find ourselves in circumstances like these, with important work to be done and the unknown ahead, we already know how we’re going to do what needs to be done.

And then there are the markets. Of course, all stressors are amplified when a major disruption also sends markets spiraling downward. Though SYM cannot control the fate of the market, we can and do control our response to it. We prepare with clients in so many ways to fortify for down times and when we can, to make lemons into lemonade. We pay ongoing close attention to each portfolio allocation to ensure enough assets are held outside of equity markets to support several years’ worth of withdrawals.

In recent weeks, proactive efforts have taken many forms. Very specifically, with markets down, for most clients we were able to sell a defensive fund that had performed well and move to a U.S. Total Market Fund at a low point – in other words, we bought it on sale. For clients with both stock and bond holdings in their portfolios, we were invariably overweight bonds after stocks tumbled. Our prudent action required trimming from the bonds to plus up the stock allocation, taking advantage of low pricing while the markets are down.

SYM’s trading team has generated tens of thousands of trades to both rebalance and also, in the proper circumstances, to lock in tax losses to allow clients to be more tax efficient in the short run. We can’t choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we respond. We can’t keep the unknown from occurring, but when challenges arise, we do our best to turn them into opportunities.

As tomorrow’s reality emerges, we will continue our sole pursuit to serve you, our clients, uncommonly well. Whatever comes our way, we will prepare, anticipate, adapt and overcome.

My father introduced me to one of my favorite poems, and I have shared it with SYMians at times over the years. This seems like a worthwhile time to share excerpts with you.

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs, and blaming it on you…

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same; …

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.

-Rudyard Kipling

Thank you for allowing SYM the opportunity to serve you and your families. We will continue to prepare for challenges while sharing your hope for a brighter tomorrow. As always, feel welcome to reach out to me, your advisor, or anyone at SYM to share your concerns or curiosities.

Rod Coleman, CFP ®, MBA

President

Financial Plans Help Us Stay the CourseThe tail wagging the dog describes a situation in which the thing that should be driven by circumstances

instead is the thing driving the circumstances; a role-reversal. (1870s idiom)

Imagine you’re out for a walk with your Financial Management Dog – Dolla. The body of your dog represents your thoughtfully-constructed, long-term financial plan. Dolla’s tail represents your investment portfolio (a component of the plan). It’s a beautiful spring day and the sun is shining. Life is as it should be, and your dog is wagging her tail.

Suddenly, the weather turns dark. Hail falls from the clouds. You see a twister in the distance. You and Dolla decide to turn tail and run toward the safety of home.

(You know where we’re going with this.) The dog needs to find her way home, and she will certainly struggle if she lets her tail take the lead. Similarly, the body of the dog, a financial plan, must take the lead when the market’s sky appears to be falling.

Incongruously, our instinct is to overlook or even discard our careful financial planning in rough economic times. We second-guess ourselves, and the desire to “save” the portfolio takes precedence over following the plan. But giving in to the desire to abruptly overhaul your investment portfolio during turbulent market periods is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.

As financial advisors we are frequently challenged to remind clients not to give up on their financial plans. This is the tool that was devised to weather bear markets with success and still maintain a strategy to achieve long-term goals and plans.

Remember, your investment account balance is one support mechanism – albeit a significant one - that helps the plan work. Investment return works over time, together with a sound savings strategy, effective tax planning, goal setting and savvy spending. Trust the plan!

Five ways to use your financial plan right now:

1. Reassurance : Let the math tell you the true, objective impact the current market downturn will have on your long-term retirement plans. The plan will remind you that retirement is not the finish line, it is merely a transition into the non-working decades of your life.

2. Tax Planning: Use the plan to find opportunities that weren’t previously available. Sell low cost-basis holdings, harvest tax losses. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) have been suspended for 2020, which could reduce taxable income. Lower values of the holdings within IRAs can be converted in-kind to Roth with lower tax liability.

3. Debt Management: Student loan interest is currently suspended, which means continuing payments as-is puts all the money to the bottom line principal balance. In addition, auto manufacturers are offering exceptional offers on new vehicle loans.

4. Consider Appropriate Adjustments: Perhaps the pandemic has had a significant impact on your income and you do want to make changes. Use the plan to determine which adjustments are most impactful to your short-term and least impactful to the long-term goals you’ve set. Perhaps you’ll find you don’t need to change a thing. Perhaps you refinance mortgage debt or delay a large purchase until next year.

5. Prevent decisions based on fear: A common knee jerk reaction to a market downturn is to get out – go to cash. Your financial plan proves to you why this is a bad idea. Even when inflation is low, it costs more than the return you earn sitting in cash. Your plan is based on assumed rates of return and takes into account corrections and underperformance. Accept your anxiety, but stick with the plan.

We know that plans work because we’ve walked thousands of clients through their careers, and then through decades of living in retirement. This is the dog that wags its tail, not the other way around.

UNCOMMON RELATIONSHIPS. UNCOMMON RESULTS.

Winona Lake, IN

574-267-2300

Fort Wayne, IN

260-387-6822

Midland, MI

989-631-0244

Carmel, IN

317-848-2180

Mishawaka, IN

574-287-0035

DISCLOSURE: Past performance is not indicative of future results. The opinions expressed herein are those of SYM Financial Corporation (“SYM”) and are subject to change without notice. This material is not financial advice or an offer to sell any product. SYM is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about SYM including our investment strategies, fees, and objectives can be found in our ADV Part 2, which is available upon request. SYM-20-55

Celebrating George Wolfson

On behalf of SYM and our clients, we would like to thank George for his tireless efforts to serve SYM’s clients and teammates.

Over his 20 years with SYM, he has been a key Advisor, Leader, and member of SYM’s Investment Committee and Board of Directors.

Through regular discussions, we were able to chart a course to groom successors for George’s various roles and responsibilities over the past 2 years.

SYM has the right professionals in place to allow George to easily pass the baton. As he prepares for his next chapter, we wish Colette and George the very best life has to offer, complete

with family and friends and new experiences.

We will miss him dearly but we feel confident there are wonderful things yet to come! Congratulations on a plan well executed and a job well done, George!

Best,

Jerry Yeager, JD, Chief Executive Officer

Rod Coleman, CFP®, MBA, President