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The heading of this email is the masthead for a new client newsletter for investment managers who believe in an active approach to managing client assets. You can use the newsletter as a printed mailer, an email newsletter such as this, or purchase reprint rights to articles in the newsletter for use in your own in-house newsletter, on your web site, or as a basis for a news release or financial column. We would like to encourage you to use The Thoughtful Investor in your marketing program and to find out more about how Financial Communications Associates can assist with your marketing programs.
The Thoughtful Investor newsletter is designed for communicating with clients and prospects on a quarterly basis. Each issue includes articles that support the concept of active management as well as general financial advice. For pricing and samples of the prior Thoughtful Investor newsletters, just click the appropriate link.
| Marketing Support for the Active Investment Manager |
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Linda Ferentchak, founder of Financial Communications Associates, has worked with market timers and active investment managers for more than 12 years, resulting in a unique insight into active management styles and the mindset of your clients. Many of the publications and marketing materials we create undergo NASD review and we know that they will also have to pass the SEC's reviewers when they visit your firm. a firm.
In addition to the Thoughtful Investor newsletter featured here, additional services available to active investment managers from Financial Communications Associates include:
(1) Web site development
(2) Public relations
(3) Client communications
(4) Marketing brochures and materials
(5) PowerPoint presentations
(6) Market research.
When it comes to web sites, we assist companies in creating content, developing the visual look of the site, and coding, updating and uploading individual pages for the site. Our approach to the web site is to consider it your primary marketing tool. Everything in your corporate brochure and more should appear on your web site. The site is also a great opportunity to provide information and required forms while passing on the printing costs to the viewers.
Visibility in the media helps build credibility for your firm. Financial Communications assists you in building a media list, developing appropriate news releases to announce new products, performance, market outlook and other newsworthy topics and distributing those releases to the media.
Do you need to send a letter to your clients advising them of a change in policy, a new custodian or new product? Our focus is on writing conversational, to-the-point letters that help sell your business.
For years, you've seen a small portion of our work in the form of the SAAFTI conference brochures. We also produce a wide range of corporate marketing materials from brochures and product inserts to special events, direct marketing programs and more.
Do your presentation materials make the right impact? We help clients refine their messages and create customized presentation backgrounds and clear easy-to-understand slides.
Understanding your client and market helps you create more effective marketing collaterol. Here, we can assist you with client satisfaction surveys, customer service studies, focus groups on potential products and services, demographic or market research and more.
More about Financial Communications... »
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| Avoid Email Harvesting |
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One source of email spam results from "harvesting" email addresses from web pages. To make your email address invisible to harvesting programs, save your email address as a graphic or jpg file and post the graphic to your web site in the place of an html-coded text email address.
If you want visitors to be able to click on your email address to open an email message to you, but don't want to reveal the address in the underlying html code, you can encode the address. Hiveware Enkoder (www.hivewarecom/enkoder_form.php) is a free encoding service that allows you to enter the address in JavaScript code, which 90% of browsers have no trouble interpreting but is unreadable to harvesting programs.
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| Ideas for Sprucing Up Your Emails |
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One way to differentiate your emails from spam and the competition is to add some color and style to your message's layout. This particular email was created using a service called Constant Contact, which not only provides message formats but also manages your email list and reports on reactions to your emails.
A simpler approach is to add a masthead image or footer logo to your messages that visually tells readers who is sending the message. If you have a web page header or a digital image from a marketing brochure that does a nice job depicting your company, consider inserting it in your email.
Most email programs allow you to insert graphic images into your message. But before you add a graphic, make certain it doesn't consume excessive memory by presetting the size and resolution of the image (72 dpi works well for emails).
Another fun touch is to use an animated image, such as the one appearing with this message. If you use Microsoft programs, you will find a number of animations available at Microsoft's Clips on line site. Ask us about other on-line animation sources for graphics such as the one accompnying this article.
Don't be afraid to use colors for text and to try the different font sizes and styles available through your email program. But, keep it simple. Try not to use more than three colors or three type styles. different type looks in an email and standardize those styles for all your emails.
And last of all, test your new email look before you send it out by sending a message to yourself. You don't want to find out after the fact that graphics are received quite differently than you thought you sent. You might also want to turn off your browser's ability to read html coding and see what happens to your message. While the number is falling rapidly, some 10% of email recipients cannot read html coding.
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| Upcoming Thoughtful Investor Articles |
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The Third Quarter Thoughtful Investor newsletter includes articles on:
Will the Election Year Cycle Play Out Once Again?- 319 words.
While the fourth year of the Presidential cycle - the election year - is typically an up year, it often starts on an uncertain note and the rally doesn't really get underway until mid-year. A chart with the article shows how the Dow Jones Industrial Average has performed in the average election year from 1897 to the present.
To Accumulate Wealth, Pay Yourself First- 313 words
All too often, people put off saving with the idea that it will be easier to set aside money for retirement in a few years when their salaries are higher or perhaps expenses are lower with the offspring off on their own. When later arrives, however, a variation of Parkinson's Law has typically taken place: "Expenses rise to meet income." This article encourages investors to pay themselves first by setting aside funds for investing.
Don't Take the Phisher's Bait - 234 words.
One of the biggest Internet scams is a tactic termed "phishing" (fishing) - redirection scams which use realistic-looking emails to trick recipients into disclosing sensitive information. In addition to warning clients against being deceived by phishers, this piece tells individuals to call first before revealing any information in response to an email that looks as if it has come from the investment advisor.
When Variable Annuities Make Sense - 907 words.
This article explains the advantages and costs of variable annuities, using information from the SEC and NASD web sites on proper annuity disclosure.
Taxes Are Only One Consideration When it Comes to Investing Lump-Sum Distributions - 621 words.
One of your goals as an investment advisor should be to have clients come to you first when receiving a lump sum distribution. This article talks about the decisions that need to be made when receiving such a distribution and the importance of talking with the investor's financial advisor.
For the full text of these articles, please call (303) 989-5656 or email fcai@effectivewords.com.
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