LETTER TO STAKEHOLDERS (12-07-2020)

Jason Howell |
Categories
Impact Investing

Monday, December 6th, 12:33pm EST. Wow was that just a month? It seems like more than four months have gone by in as many weeks since we last drafted this monthly letter. In short:

  • We had some resolution to the U.S. Presidential election
  • We have about four (4) vaccine candidates announce 90%+ effectiveness
  • We have seen the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) hit 30,000+
  • We are hearing about 2,000+ people dying per day due to complications with COVID-19
  • We have another critical election – two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia – to navigate

We are all overwhelmed. It used to be we could ignore being inundated with unimportant information. Now even though we are tired, we feel a need to pay attention. We are the eyes and ears of our friends, families and co-workers. It is a difficult but clarifying time that highlights just how important each one of us is to our communities. We have long been promised freedom but as we look past the twilight of 2020, we are reminded that with freedom comes responsibility.

Letter to Stakeholders vs. Economic Commentary

Going forward, we will reframe some of our economic communications to include what our firm is really about: empowering the community, one family at a time.

Our work with your families as owners of Jason Howell Company is only part of our investment in the multi-state communities we serve. Both Doug and I spend a significant amount of our time volunteering. Through our conversations, we know you do as well. In 2021 and beyond we will shift the focus of this document to enhance and highlight the impact we all make as stewards and stakeholders of our families and our communities. We want to hear more about the causes you support and with your permission, share details about those efforts here.

Family of Clients

While sitting for a rare quiet moment on Sunday, I started wondering how to make a consistent impact on my brothers and sisters (who are not clients). Even as financial advisers, Doug and I have family members who do not fit our business model; but we take the responsibility of being family role models. We imagine that many of you do as well.

Upon “signing up” with Jason Howell Company each of you received an email welcoming you to our “family of clients.” We saw and see each of you not just as the couples or individuals we engage – now on Zoom – but as the representatives of an extended family clan that goes back and will go forward for generations. We want to serve your entire clan. One way to improve our communities, is to start with each of our families (and family members).

Sharing Financial “Tips”

It came to mind that our firm could share our insights more frequently (in bite-size morsels). We could present financial “tips” in this letter that are both easy to understand and easy to share. For example, December’s “Financial Tips” could highlight the benefits of refinancing to lower mortgage rates (and payments). And that making a donation in 2020 up to $300 is now deductible on your tax returns even if you take the “standard deduction.” Please share these two (easy?) “tips” with your friends and family. We will have more next month.

Empowering the Community

2020 accelerated many things, including our awakening of why we are in business. We treasure every new client including our five (5) new clients this month (welcome to the family). Our commitment to community investing and philanthropy will continue to grow in 2021. Our firm serves about 50 families in 10 states. Including your household and the extended family members who look up to you, we estimate at least 10 living family members per family are affected by our work. Knowing that approximately 500 lives across the country are improved by our service is what makes our vocation exciting. Thank you for being the catalyst for that excitement.

 

Merry Holidays,

 

 

 

Jason J. Howell, CFP®

President

 

Jason Howell Company is an independent, family wealth management firm run by two owners who consider it their family business. Jason J. Howell, CFP® and Douglas W. Tees, MBA, CFP® are both married to patient wives and are dedicated to their kids.

The firm owners believe that serving families through a process that supports family harmony, preserves family history and nurtures family values is the key to true wealth. It begins with a sustainable Investment Strategy and by equipping clients with three (3) tools for creating sustainable wealth. They call this process Family Governance. It goes beyond traditional financial planning by adding the "values management" and family history component. The firm stands for empowering communities, one family at a time.

For more information about our strategies, just book an introductory call: Introductory Call