Dear Friend:
As many of our long-time readers will note, we turn over the keys (in this case the keyboard) to the Quarterly Newsletter to Nico from time to time. In this issue he takes us through the last 18 months as our recent plan for the future coalesced.
Take it away Nico!
In our July 2017 Newsletter we shared with you the Noesis vision; our value statement; and our mission “to be the most trusted advisor providing financial peace of mind.” We mentioned Noesis’ bold goal to introduce the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) model to the world. This is something we have been discussing for a few years now, both in conversation and in our newsletter. The RIA model is the foundation of our business – the three legs of the stool we discussed are the independent third party custodian, keeping your assets safe and secure; the role of the fiduciary at the base of everything we do for you (putting your interests first, before ours); and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Chartered Financial Analyst® ethos.
In June of this year we held our annual Noesis Summit. The group flew in from China, Latin America, Europe, California and Alabama to join Our colleagues here in Boca Raton. We spent the better part of the week together discussing how the Noesis team can improve in all facets of our business, and specifically how we can better service you, our friends/partners/clients. We will periodically update you on our progress as we execute our action plan from the Summit and continue to create and implement new ideas focused on you, our client.
You have seen our slogan “Noesis, a global perspective focused on You.”
The world is getting smaller and more complex. This creates opportunities if we understand the challenges.
Everyone at Noesis travels to visit you and to attend conferences worldwide.
I had the opportunity to attend a few multi-day conferences earlier this year:
Campden Wealth conference “The Americas Families in Business”
My son Gordon joined me this year. The attendees were from international family businesses that are at least two generations old and some as many as 100+ years old. There is so much we can learn from family businesses such as their values to family, employees and the communities they operate in. Their business decisions are typically ethical, sustainable and long term, not focusing on the daily noise in the news media. The economic news hardly covers these privately owned companies that are responsible for a majority share of (GDP) economies and employment growth all over the world.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. conference “Advantage 2018”
Schwab’s Jon Beatty, Senior Vice President, Advisor Services, stated that “Investors appreciate your (RIA) independent model for so many reasons, and they continue to trust you with more and more areas of their lives.” This speaks so clearly to our ultimate goal of providing solutions in many aspects of your lives.
Barron’s conference “Top Independent Advisors Summit”
It is a privilege to spend a few days with the top minds in our industry and to listen to keynote speakers that know their subject and help educate us instead of selling product.
“Atlantic & Pacific Exchange Program”
I was invited to give a presentation in Florida to a group of senior executives from the financial industry (banks, real-estate and mortgages) from the Netherlands. They visited Miami to learn more about aspects of the financial industry in the USA. I explained the difference between the bank/broker dealer model versus the independent fiduciary advisor model that we have had in the USA for the past 20 years. It was no surprise to me that those highly qualified managers, that know the USA well, had not heard of the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) model.
Charles Groenhuijsen, the moderator, is well known in the Netherlands as the expert on the USA. He lived in Washington DC and writes about politics and economy. I wish his books were published in English; his latest book (translated) is “Optimists own the world.” He displays lots of data showing that the news media sells fear and sex. The financial news media prefers to write about everything that may go wrong. Investment mistakes are made by investors because of this incomplete information. As investors, our focus should be on the economy, consumers, valuations and your life long investment goals.
Speaking of which, Noesis has a presentation on our investment philosophy, please ask Shihfang or Christian to explain or forward it to you.
The word Noesis stands for the process of understanding, learning. We constantly work to educate ourselves, and learn how we should be positioned for the future. Our goal is to become a 100+ years old business, and to do that we have to listen and learn from you and we have to train smart, motivated, young people that understand our value system and culture.
The picture above demonstrates our commitment to the next generation Noesis. We range in age from 23 to 76, are split evenly in gender and are multi-cultural.
Why do we think that this is important to you and your family?
We want you to know that we are here for you, your spouse and your loved ones. It is not just portfolio management that you request from us; it is a partnership in life goal investing, legacy planning and ongoing execution of your plan. We would like you to know at least several members of your team, people that are involved in your financial wellbeing. Many of our clients describe this experience as that of a traditional Family Office and this is what we strive for.
More and more of our clients are international professional managers in (family) businesses, their global expertise and knowledge supports us in making better long term investment decisions.
Out-of-towners/foreign clients please visit us! Boca Raton, Florida is a good place to visit during the winter months. Let’s spend time together in and out of the office. Speaking of our office, we just extended our office lease through 2023, and because of that the building is providing new carpet and paint this summer. We also invite you to join us for world-class Polo at the International Polo Club in Palm Beach, were we have a hospitality tent during the January – April 2019 season.
I want to finish this letter by wishing you and your family a good summer (winter in the southern hemisphere) and thank you very much for your trust, friendship and the many, many referrals.
Sincerely,
Nico
CEO
Thank you Nico – we would like to finish up this edition with some words on a recent hot topic:
Cybersecurity
Many well-known companies in our industry have failed to protect their customers’ information. At Noesis, although our resources are not as bountiful as bigger organizations, we have put in place the best practices to protect our clients’ data. Important communication with clients are secured by encrypted emails and attachments. All data is secured and backed up by the most recognized cloud vendors in our industry who have better security technologies than we can implement in house. However, half the protection effort must come from the clients’ side to create a secured loop. These are the guidelines to create a secure environment:
1. Don’t be so curious. Don’t open emails or popup messages coming from unknown sources. Most computer issues are a result of opening spam or installing malware by clicking on a popup message.
2. Follow these rules
- Label Junk/Spam emails properly and frequently so only important and valid emails are displayed on the main list
- Change passwords frequently and don’t use the same password everywhere. The most important password is the email password because it is used to reset other passwords of other accounts and websites
- Use encryptions whenever necessary. Ask us for a secured upload link if you need to send us important information
- Secure mobile devices with a PIN or fingerprints
3. Update systems and applications regularly. Most of the updates are for fixing security holes in the programs.
- Operating systems on computers and mobile devices
- Security programs for antivirus, antispyware, and internet security
- Latest versions of other applications – for example, Java, Microsoft Office, Adobe, Quicken, etc
Form ADV is available upon request