As you may know, I have spent over 25 years working on Wall Street. They were some of the best years of my life! I learned more than I ever could have imagined, had the opportunity to meet with CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, attended conferences in glamorous places and managed significantly large sums of money. What I hope to do in this newsletter is begin pointing out to you some of the smoke and mirrors that go on behind the scenes that clients never really find out about when they sign up for “products”. This is one of the greatest gifts I can give to my family, friends and clients, a window to the inner workings of Wall Street! In the last newsletter I gave you a broad overview of the F.A.C.T.S., a guideline to selecting an investment professional.

This week we take a look at the issue of Accessibility and your portfolio. In light of recent headlines spotlighting the freeze on investor withdrawals imposed by some renowned hedge funds, it’s vital that readers understand the importance of accessibility when it comes to their investments.

For those of you with questions, feel free to call me at 203.966.2712. Also please visit my website at www.catherineaveryinvest.com

and take a look at the Free Portfolio Evaluation!

Please pass along this newsletter to friends and family to spread the word!

Warm regards,

Signature

Catherine Maniscalco Avery

CAIM specializes in creating and managing

customized and fully diversified investment portfolios

for private investors.

203.966.2712 p

203.966.5697 f

www.catherineaveryinvest.com

Accessibility and Your Portfolio

“Fund Manager will go to well amid upheaval,” blares the headline in an April issue of The Wall Street Journal. The article goes on to describe how clients of the D.B. Zwirn & Co. hedge fund aren’t likely to see the $2 billion they’ve asked to pull this decade, as their fund manager, Daniel Zwirn, faces investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for charges that include improper accounting.

“Hedge funds are still reeling after banks unexpectedly pulled credit lines and demanded more security against loans, forcing firesales and heavy losses,”

says FT.com, Financial Times on-line. The article explains that hedge funds now face a new threat with investors abandoning them. This in turn raises the risk that the funds will have to sell assets at any price to raise the cash to meet withdrawals.

And finally, in an April 1, 2008 on-line article, Money.com notes that New York activist hedge fund Pardus Capital Management LP is halting investor redemptions indefinitely, at a time when many of its holdings are plummeting in value.

REMEMBER: the A in FACTS stands for ACCESSIBILITY

How does this affect me you might ask? I don’t have any money invested in hedge funds. The answer is; this can also happen with mutual funds, which are more universally used. Some mutual funds are back-end loaded. This means that while you’re not charged up front when buying the fund, you will be charged when it comes time to pull your money out. And it’s not just mutual funds you need to watch out for. Other red flags in regards to accessibility involve annuities, often sold by banks and insurance companies. Also limited partnerships or anything that might be titled as a trust that doesn’t trade on an exchange. Finally be careful of closed end funds for liquidity reasons i.e. you may want to sell but not get the price you want.

It’s always important to do your homework and ask the important questions, like:

If I need to take money out, how soon can I get it?

If I take out my money, will I incur any fees?

Does that change based on the amount of time the money hasbeen in there?

Accessibility is everything at CAIM

At CAIM it’s all ‘plain vanilla.’ That’s because we believe that your life should be exciting, and your investments boring. Our ‘plain vanilla’ type of investments, trading on an organized exchange, are always ACCESSIBLE TO YOU. Plus all CAIM accounts are individually managed, not co-mingled.