Contents

Investment Security

Identity Theft Checklist

About SC&H Financial Advisors, Inc.

Personal Financial Planning is not a one-time event—it is a critical, ongoing process that, if managed well, leads to financial freedom.

At SC&H, we develop complete and flexible plans that are designed to meet your ongoing needs. They are complete, because you need a fully integrated and comprehensive financial strategy that incorporates all of the most important wealth care issues. They are flexible, because milestones in your life such as a marriage, a career change, the birth of a child, a divorce, or a death in the family will require adjustments to your overall financial plan.

To learn more about these services, visit www.scandh.com/fa.

Welcome

A common theme we've heard from our clients over the past year is concern over security of their assets. We've seen banks close their doors, companies file for bankruptcy and plenty of corruption. It's no wonder people are worried about the safety of their assets. This issue of Financial Perspectives focuses on security. We provide some questions to ask your advisor about the security of your money and we also provide some tips to avoid identity theft. We hope this information will be useful to you.

As always, feel free to give any of us a call with questions. We are happy to help.

Regards,

Greg Horning
President, SC&H Financial Advisors, Inc.
(410) 403-1512
GHorning@SCandH.com

Investment Security

As the Bernard Madoff situation continues to make headlines across all forms of media, many investors are thinking twice about who they trust with their money. Do not let the media's stories about Madoff and the effects of his deceit cause you to worry about the security of your wealth. Whether you invest with SC&H Financial Advisors or with another advisor, it is important to understand how your accounts are managed. If you don't know or understand how the following items are handled with your advisor, it is well within your rights to ask.

1. Investment transparency. You should have a clear understanding of what you own with your investments. You should receive monthly and/or quarterly statements from the third-party independent custodian of your investments, in addition to any reporting from your advisor. In meetings with your advisor, you should review these statements and go over any questions or concerns you may have about your holdings. In addition, you can independently monitor the growth of your publicly traded investments through the Internet or daily newspaper, if you wish.
2. Diversification. Diversification is an essential part of an overall investment plan. This is typically implemented by allocating assets across multiple strategies and not with a single company or in one stock. In addition, your assets should be diversified within each asset class and often within a particular investment, as in the case of a mutual fund. While diversification of your overall investment portfolio does not assure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market, each of these separate diversification strategies allows minimal exposure to any single entity or investment.
3. Your advisor solely provides investment advice, and does not take possession of your money or securities. Unlike individuals aligned with Madoff, an independent custodian should be used to manage the core of your wealth. All checks associated with your investments should be made out to a third party, either the custodian of your assets, or the sponsor of your investment. Know who that custodian is.
4. Asset Protection. Your broker-dealer and the independent custodian should be a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). This organization protects securities held by customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $100,000 for cash claims). Explanatory brochures are available upon request or at www.sipc.org.

At SC&H Financial, we have done our due diligence to ensure our clients' assets are protected. If you have any questions about the security of your investments with us, please contact us today.

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Identity Theft Checklist

Protect yourself from identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that each year 9 million Americans are victims of identity theft. The following precautions may help you avoid becoming a statistic.

Guard your personal information and documents:

• Cross-shred all mail and any other information containing personal identification and account numbers (especially the "pre-approved credit" offers).
• Only carry the credit cards and identification you need. Keep other personal documents in a secure place.
• Monitor bills and credit card activity carefully each month.
• Check your credit report at least once a year. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call the three credit reporting agencies listed below:
• Equifax – To order report, call: 1-800-685-1111
• Experian – To order report, call: 1-888-397-3742
• TransUnion – To order report, call: 1-800-888-4213
• Use caution when at ATM machines, both for personal safety and for password surfers who may be trying to see your password.
• Select intricate passwords. Avoid using easily obtainable information, such as your mother's maiden name, your phone number or your birthday. Use a strong password whenever possible – a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols, especially on laptops.
• Never give out personal information over the phone unless you initiate the call.
• Take receipts with you after your purchase (ie. Gas, ATMs).
• Make sure there are no identifying numbers or personal information on receipts and make sure only the last four numbers of your credit card appear on any credit card receipt.

Mail tips:

• Reduce the number of pre-approved credit offers you receive by calling the national credit bureaus' opt-out line at 1-888-5-OPT-OUT.
• Further reduce the amount of mail by writing to the following address:

  Mail Preference Service
  Direct Marketing Association
  P.O. Box 282
  Carmel, NY 10512

• Do not put outgoing mail in your mailbox, and don't use the red flag to alert crooks to the fact that mail is available for the taking in that box.
• Thieves use change of address cards to divert mail to another location – get to know your mail carrier.

Tips while traveling:

• Do not have identifying markers on your vehicle like a license plate holder that says "John and Mary Smith, Boulder, CO." When you are in a campground in Florida, thieves will know you are not home in Boulder.
• Make sure travel agencies are not using your Social Security number to identify you – use a personal identification number.
• Check your credit card bill thoroughly after your trip – credit information is stolen frequently when people travel.
• Use caution when giving your credit card to a waiter or merchant.

Computer tips:

• Deal with locked/encrypted sites only (https) (look for the padlock) when transacting business on the computer.
• Educate your children so they aren't giving any personal information in chat rooms.
• Update your virus protection software regularly.
• Avoid using an automatic log-in feature which would allow easy access to any personal information stored on a computer.
• Read web-site privacy policies to learn about the access to and control of personal information.
• To opt-out of receiving unsolicited commercial e-mails use the Direct Marketing Association's on-line form. This request will be effective for one-year.
• Destroy old computers – physically hammer the hard drive and any disks containing financial information before recycling them or throwing them away. If you are giving your computer away, use a "wipe" utility program to overwrite the hard drive. 
• Do not respond to, or open, any emails which are not familiar.
• Don't fill out surveys – the fine print may hold a surprise obligation, subscription, or exemption from no-call lists, etc.

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