2010 Christmas Letter

 Christmas 2010

 
 
 
My Dear Friends,
 
It’s a Saturday morning a few days before Christmas. I have managed to keep my thirty five year record of waiting until the last minute to write this letter intact. It’s a beautiful, sparkling day with sunlight streaming through the living room windows. Redd is lying on the couch beside me asleep with his head on my lap. Nice!! Redd is growing into a magnificent dog. There is still enough puppy in him to make us laugh but more and more we see the “older and wiser” Reddington emerging. No surprise to find that he has a lot of soul.
 
Most of you know how Reddington came into our lives early last year after we lost Bromley, our beloved fourteen year old Portuguese Water Dog. Bromley was one in a million and completely irreplaceable. Reddy didn’t take his place; he simply created his own unique space in our home and in our hearts. Redd is a cool little dog. Actually he now weighs about 63 very sturdy pounds. Not so little anymore. Reddy was enough, or so we thought until…
 
Annabelle.
 
I can hear you laughing all the way over here. Here is what happened. Redd’s mother had her final litter of puppies last spring. She had five of the sweetest, cutest puppies you have ever seen.   Each day, as she did when Redd was born, Martha would go to Barbara’s house to check on the puppies while Barbara was at work. And, of course, I would hear each night about how special Mr. Blue was. Or Rainbow. Or Miss Pinkie. The puppies were called by the color of the ribbon they received at birth. Martha and I both agreed that we were not in the market for a second puppy no matter how cute or cuddly. Reddy was our boy. End of story.
 
Almost. I must be honest and say that there was one particular puppy that we were drawn to. She was spirited and agile. Very smart. Very loving. And… very unavailable. Rainbow flew Delta to a family in Washington, DC. End of story… almost.  
 
Barbara received a telephone call one evening three weeks later saying that a family member was severely allergic to Rainbow and they needed to send her back. They had tried everything to make it work but it was getting worse each day.  They were heartbroken. The sad part is that PWDs do not shed and are considered to be hypo-allergenic. 
 
Barbara called us immediately. “Guess what,” she said. It was our wedding anniversary. And it was déjà vu all over again. Fifteen years ago Bromley was returned to the breeder when his first owner found herself in the emergency room with an asthma attack. The chances of this happening twice were slim to none. But… two days later I happily drove 200 miles to a Ramada Inn parking lot in New Jersey while another man sadly drove 200 miles northward to the same parking lot.  Rainbow had a new home. She was on her way to meet Reddington, her new playmate. And she had a new name, “Annabelle.”  Obviously not the “end” of the story. More like the beginning.
 
I’m still not sure if we are the ones who provide love and care to our animals or if it is our animals who provide such deep love and care for us. Perhaps it’s both. I do know that there is something about the relationship that makes me a better, more human person. I also know that many, many of you feel the same way. I love seeing the pictures of your “best friends” and showing you the pictures of mine. One of the great things about the new generation of cell phones is the quality of the pictures they take and store.
 
This is the time of year when the future, past and present seem entwined in some mysterious manner. We had our office Christmas Party a few nights ago at the Cooked Goose in Avondale. I love the Cooked Goose!! During the evening we started reminiscing and everyone on staff stood and said the number of years they had been with PPG. I was amazed to realize that our average tenure is between 15 and 20 years. That truly doesn’t seem possible. Mike: 25 years. LeeAnn: 20 years.  Don: 22 years.  Kathy: 13 years. Jennifer: 15 years. Eileen:  14 years.  Elisha: 12 years. I’m sure you get the idea. It seems like just a few weeks ago it was just Catherine Algiere and me in Room 202 at the Washington Trust Building trying to create something out of nothing. My dear friend, Elly Heyder was in the office for her annual review this week and she reminded me that she was my second client going all the way back to the very beginning. She thanked me for helping her prepare for her retirement which took place on January 2, 1991. (She is now making plans to spend a month on board a ship exploring the Antarctic for her second time.) I’m sure Elly has no idea how much I thank her for trusting a young man who was just starting out. She, like so many of you, is not just a client. You are an important part of my life. You are a part of what makes me feel proud and grateful.  Barron’s recently named Professional Planning Group, for the third year in a row, the number one wealth management firm in RI based on assets under management and certain other criteria. We have been truly blessed over the years. I hope that each of you understands how much I appreciate the opportunity you give me to work with you and your family. Neither I, nor anyone else in our office, take this for granted. 
 
Now… about that rumor. It seems like once a day, and often more than that, someone says something like, “Mal, I heard that you are going to retire soon.” Or, “You have retired.”  Or, “You are only going to work part-time.” Or something similar. Let me be as clear as I can be. 
I have no plans to retire. Not this year. Not next year. Not the year after that. I have no plans to retire. I love what I do. I often jokingly quip, “Why would I want to retire now. I feel like I’m finally getting good at this. What I do is meaningful. It has real value. It’s important.”
 
About four years ago, we divided all of our clients into one of three groups with one of my sons, Chris, Dan or Peter being the Relationship Manager of each. That means that you have one additional person besides me who is watching out for you and monitoring your portfolio on an on-going basis. I should tell you as well that Chris, Dan and Peter have over fifty years of wealth management experience between them. I’ve tried to spend more time in Florida in the winter months in recent years. I’ve also managed to hit a few more golf balls than I did way back when. This allows me to do that knowing that you are in the best of hands when I am not physically at 9 Granite Street. I will typically work in my office in Florida in the morning and play golf or have a second cup of coffee with Martha and the puppies in the afternoon.  The technology these days is phenomenal and continues to get better. I can still be fully engaged as I am now without having to retire, slow down, sell the firm or merge with another office. One of the greatest challenges that my peers around the country have as they grow older is continuing to provide the highest level of service and support to their clients. I am blessed to be able to report to you that we have solved that problem. Our relationship with Raymond James Financial Services is a key part of that. RJFS has become an invaluable partner with our office.  So… squash the rumor. I’m not retiring just yet.
 
One of the questions that I hear with great frequency is, “Mal, what do you think?” 
 
I think that the world and our world economy are getting better. I think that the United States economy is getting better. Two years ago, we sat at the edge, looked deeply into the abyss… and decided not to jump. So many institutions, so many companies, so many people that we trusted had let us down. Frankly, I was horrified. I’m a believer. I believe in God. I believe in the inherent goodness of man. I believe. And what I saw was a trail of deceit, avarice and denial. But in late 2008, I think President Bush got it right. And in very early 2009, I think that President Obama and Secretary Geithner followed, and got it right. Things got very political after that. Since this letter may be read by both women and children, I will not express my opinions about either Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid. I will simply say that I was bitterly disappointed. It was like watching the lifeguard flex his muscles from the top of the lifeguard stand in front of a crowd of cheering admirers while a swimmer, screaming and drowning, goes under for the last time. 
 
We have enormous problems before us. Unemployment is too high. The real estate markets are a mess. Our nation is head over heels in debt. BUT… there is a keen recognition in Washington that enough is enough. We see the problems clearly before us. And, if we can see them and acknowledge them, I believe we can solve them. Partisan politics aside, it is time to heal our nation.  As we enter the new year of 2011, I am optimistic and hopeful. My glass is not half-empty. It is half-full.  And the economy continues to improve. 
 
So… as we come to the close of one year and the beginning of another, please allow me to simply say, “Thank you.” Thank you for the privilege of working with you and your families. Thank you for allowing us to be a meaningful part of your lives. Thank you for being a meaningful part of each of ours. All of us at Professional Planning Group; Kathy, Eileen, Lee-Ann, Jennifer, Elisha, Diane, Melissa, Margaret, Don, Mike, Chris, Peter, Dan, our families, my wife Martha and, of course, Reddington and Annabelle join me in wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays and joy, peace, health and prosperity in the coming year.
 
May God continue to bless each of us. May God bless America and protect our troops wherever they may be. And may God keep hope alive in our hearts.
 
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah
 
 
Mal
 
 

The financial opinions expressed are Mal Makin’s and not necessarily those of Raymond James.