Quarterly Newsletter – September 2001

We hope this letter finds you, your family and friends safe. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones. There is little one can say in the face of the horror of what just happened.

This is a very difficult time to think of things other than the victims and their families, but of course there is concern about the market response to the crisis.

It is impossible to know what the economic and market reactions to this event will be. Reactions will take place over time, and they will change. One reaction will prevail for a time, only to be replaced by another, as events unfold or opinions shift. It would be the height of foolishness to attempt to predict them, or to invest based on such predictions.

Your portfolio is very diversified. Diversification means that different components of the portfolio react in different ways to the same event. As circumstances change, markets will move, and some components of the portfolio will rise while others fall. Diversification and our rebalancing methodology are well suited to volatile markets. We will respond and deal with this volatility using the long-term investment principles we espouse, not with predictions, or emotions.

If you have questions or concerns about the markets or your portfolio, please call.

In lieu of our annual required offer to send you our ADV, our registration form with the SEC, it is included with this letter.

Jim & Dean