Compass Financial's quarterly newsletter The Navigator

1. Summer 2006
The NavigaTor Financial Advice for the Adventures of Life
L
Transitions
ate summer brings the concept of life’s transitions
to the front of our minds. This year is no excep-
tion for me personally. We have taken our oldest
daughter to the University and dropped her off to face the Kurtis Pearson, C.F.P.
kurtis.pearson@lpl.com
world. The emotions ran high and the reality of the mo-
ment is something I will not soon forget. The pride and
excitement are all wrapped up in the moment as well.
New beginnings are full of hope, but the sad goodbyes
are full of pain.
These transitions in life are fraught with emotion and Steve Conard
create a pressure point in time. When you mix in some Financial Consultant
significant financial decisions, you have a recipe for steve.conard@lpl.com
trouble. It is impossible to separate the emotions from
the event, not to mention the deadlines related to invest-
ments, estate planning and all the other categories of fi-
nancial choices.
In a perfect world, there should be a good method to work Michele Bjorkgren
through the grief in a 10 step process. Every transition Director of Client Services
michele.bjorkgren@lpl.com
has some level of grief attached to it. Processing grief
is an intensely personal journey. The path is unpredict-
able and does not march to a time frame. This makes the
financial decision process very difficult.
As a financial advisor, it’s very important to acknowl-
edge the grief and encourage financial decisions within Nancy Economos
Compliance Adminisrator
the pace of a client’s journey. Making the financial de- nancy.economos@lpl.com
cisions can easily be part of the healing process after a
loss.
My personal experience is a good reminder to be a very
good listener to those in major life transitions. Whatever
the loss, grief is real and needs our attention. One of the
Julie Greer
ironies of life is that grief will lead to joy and new hope. Sales Assistant
August 18th was the day we took my daughter to the julie.greer@lpl.com
University. We are all adjusting to this new phase of our
COMPASS
life....but she’ll always be my little girl!
FINANCIAL SERVICES

2. Upcoming Events:
September 28
Canoe float down the Des Moines River
(more details forthcoming).
November 2
Biaggi’s client dinner (By Invitation only)
November 16
Biaggi’s client dinner (By invitation only)
December 7
Don’t miss Kurtis Pearson on
Holiday Open House at Compass
KCCI Channel 8 News the first
West Des Moines
Thursday of each month at 6:40 a.m!
December 14
Holiday Open House at Compass Adel
Planning Tip Referral Corner:
We work by referral at Compass. We want
Plan now for tax time to thank the following clients for their recent
referrals:
A significant piece to your fi- • Lori Dillard
nancial plan is the tax bite we • Nancy Economos
face each year. Life does not • Steve Shindler
stand still and with financial • Bryan Witherwax
movement there are usually is- • Ron and Jan Steenhoek
sues. We have all had the expe- • Bob Wigger
rience of negative surprises at tax time in April. A • Judy Valentine
sense of confidence during tax season comes by
preparing in the fall of each year. Contact Compass Financial
Compass Financial’s office hours are
Steve Baker, the CPA in our office, is prepared 7:30am-5:00pm or by appointment. Usually
to run a hypothetical tax return showing the im- there will be someone in the office during
pact of your 2006 changes to your financial situ- these office hours. On occasion, due to off
ation. Steve would need to meet with you for a site training or unforeseen circumstances we
few minutes, and he would need your 2005 tax may have to leave a note with an approxi-
return and a projection of your 2006 income and mate time we will return.
deductions.
It is our goal to answer every phone call.
Those who have experienced a job change, inher- Obviously there are times that we aren’t able
itance, divorce, bonus compensation (including to meet that objective. Please leave messages
stock options) would definitely benefit from this and we will return your call as soon as pos-
service. sible. We do check our email daily. Email is a
great way to communicate information that is
Baker Financial Services, PLC is located in our not time sensitive. We cannot accept specific
office and Steve can be reached at 515-285-5546. trade instructions via voice mail or email.

3. Ice Cream Social a success!
Our ice cream social was sweet with 96
attendees. Clients enjoyed the playful at-
mosphere at Sports Scoops. Some even had
the courage to entertain the crowd with their
personal renditions of songs played by the
Karaoke machine. I even had a client recom-
mend that I keep my day job! Thanks for the
advice Marjorie. Your participation was ap-
preciated, it’s our best attended event ever!
Compass clients socialize while enjoying their
ice cream treats!
Jessie Maurer and her grand-
daughter Mary entertain the
audience with a duet.
The Economos Boys, Alex and Evan (Nancy’s sons) pose for
the camera...check out those big brown eyes!
Judy Valentine spends time with her daughter-in-law
Leanne and grandsons, Jacob & Cole
Got email?
Linda Montet enjoys her sweet treat with her sweetie
Call us with any changes to their email
Bruce Balentine!
address! Or, if you are currently receiving
hard copy mail from us and would prefer
receiving things electronically, call us with
your new email address.