Let Sound Advice Inspire Peace of Mind

For a select group of financialprofessionals, investing is aspeculative venture in whichrisks are weighed against the potentialfor financial reward. Fortunescan be made or lost in a matter ofdays, or even hours. This is not thecase for most investors, though. Forthe majority of us, our investmentsare a means to a very personal end.

BIG-PICTURE PERSPECTIVE

This end includes a number oflong-term goals. Planning for a ful-filling retirement by contributing to a401(k) or IRA, saving to be able toafford the rising cost of your children'scollege educations, or helpingto offset the costs of long-term carefor aging parents are just a few of theobjectives that a well-planned investmentportfolio can help achieve.

With the worldwide economyslowing, unemployment rising, consumerconfidence declining, and theuncertainty and fear triggered by terrorismcontinuing, it can be somewhateasy to lose track of our ownfinancial big picture.

It's important to remember thatsmart investing should not only helpyou reach future objectives, but itshould also serve a more simple yetimportant need, especially now:peace of mind.

INVESTING POINTERS

Here are just a few investmentideas that, even in a volatile investmentclimate, may help you achieveyour investing goals as well as areassuring peace of mind:

Remember:

•Add variety to your portfolio.Asset allocation is a timelessstrategy that, unfortunately, wasn'treintroduced to many investorsuntil after the market's downturnlast year. Spreading investmentsover different sectors and differentsecurities can help keep a marketdownturn, or other unforeseen events,from jeopardizing an entire portfolio.Asset allocation isgood advice in any market.

•Don't forget about retirement.The Economic Growth andTax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001significantly raised maximum contributionlimits for both traditional andRoth IRA accounts. Americans arenow able to set aside more money fortheir retirement. What could be morecomforting in a tough economic climatethan investing tax-deferred dollarstoward a secure retirement? Formore information on contributionlimits, visit www.irs.gov.

•Look on the bright side.Despite the challenges our nation hasfaced, we still have much to be thankfulfor, including family, friends, andhealth. Ours is a resilient nation, andwe will continue to respond heroicallyto any future challenges we mayface. In the meantime, if you haven'talready done so, it's not a bad idea toreconsider your investments. Makesure they are helping you reach yourfuture goals, and most importantly,are helping you sleep at night.

Scott J. Kleimanis an independent

advisor with Linsco/Private

Ledger, located in Elkins

Park, Pa. All securities offered

through Linsco/Private Ledger,

member SIPC. Past performance

is no guarantee of future results.The

information presented is the opinion of

Scott Kleiman and not that of Linsco/Private

Ledger. He welcomes questions or comments

at 800-242-1760 or scott.kleiman@lpl.com.