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21 Waysto Spot Trust & Investment Management Prospects© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
2© 2023 M.A. Co. All rights reserved.Managing InvestmentsChasing income ........................................... 9Highly skilled .............................................14Home alone ...............................................11Real estate investors ....................................... 6Retirement rollover ........................................ 9Using TrustsEducation first ............................................11 Money manager ...........................................14Selling a business ......................................... 4The special child ..........................................10“What if something happens to me?” .........................6Estate PlanningAmateur executor ..........................................4Estate planning ...........................................13Family business ...........................................10Celebrity Estate PlansMichael Crichton .......................................... 5Paul Newman .............................................8Whitney Houston ...........................................7Mickey Rooney ............................................12Quick QuestionsWhat’s better, a lump sum or periodic payments?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5What’s better, growth or value? ...............................7What do these Presidents have in common? ..................8How many Americans are 100 years old or older? ..............13QUICK INDEX© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
Every bank employee has two jobs. e explicit job is providing customers with banking services; the implicit job is staying alert to each customer’s needs so as to make referrals to other parts of the bank for additional services. Our trust, investment, and wealth management division is one of those “other parts.”e reason that referrals are so important isn’t just that we want more new business, though we do. e larger reason is that the more nancial needs that we can satisfy for each customer, the better o that customer will be. You don’t need an in-depth knowledge of trusts and investments before making a referral. Rather, you need to watch for clues indicating an unmet nancial need. Very oen this will take the form of a major change in the customer’s life—a birth or death in the family, a major career move, or retirement, for example. en you may develop rapport with the customer, before transitioning to making the referral.e “21 Ways” to spot trust and investment prospects in this booklet include:• vignettes of prospects and bankerinteractions;• “quick questions” that may be useful inyour conversations with prospects; and• true celebrity estate planning stories,which also might t into a prospectconversation.ank you for your help. We look forward to working with you in providing exceptional service to our customers. Questions or suggestions on referrals? Just give us a call.All names used in the vignettes in this booklet are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.3Be a hero to your customers!© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
4Amateur executor or personal representativeClues: Significant estate, opens a fiduciary checking account.A very likely prospect for our trust and investment services is someone who opens a new duciary checking account. You see, in many cases, that individual has been appointed the executor or personal representative for an estate. Quite oen, this will be the rst time that the person ever has served as executor or personal representative.Such is certainly the case with Everett Lincoln. Everett was named in that capacity in the will of his late father, who was tragically killed in a terrorist attack while on a business trip to Europe. Everett thought that the job would be fairly straightforward and not too demanding because Everett’s mother was the main beneciary. How wrong he was! Everett has discovered that settling an estate is much more complicated than he expected. ere are intricacies involved that must be mastered and traps that must be avoided. In fact, many books have been written about such diculties.We can help Everett more than those books can. One of our trust and estate specialists can serve as his agent, letting him delegate just those decisions and responsibilities that he wishes to shed. We settle estates regularly, so we know every step involved in that process. We can get the job done with alacrity and accuracy, whether it involves asset inventories, probate court filings, tax returns or other matters. Elizabeth Barnes had a air for clothing design that she decided to turn into a business more than 30 years ago. She started out selling just to local boutiques, but her designs caught on. Over the years, as a result of her long hours and hard work, more and more outlets came to carry her products. Now she is quite prosperous and is ready to retire.Elizabeth has struck a deal to sell her business for several million dollars. e sale will go through soon. When it does, Elizabeth would like to see that her children and grandchildren get a substantial portion of the proceeds. She also would like to establish a fund for scholarships at the private school that both she and her late husband attended. Elizabeth is, however, concerned that some of her prospective heirs don’t have sucient experience dealing with wealth to be able to handle wisely the bounty that she plans to bestow upon them. What should she do at this important turning point in her life?Elizabeth should be encouraged to meet with our trust and investment professionals. Those professionals can explain how trusts can meet her concerns about providing for heirs and establishing a scholarship fund. We can offer effective management of her funds and make distributions to heirs in accordance with instructions that she puts into a trust. We can also show Elizabeth how she can manage and protect her remaining assets by use of a living trust.Selling a businessClues: Sold business, wants to transfer assets.© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
What’s better, a lump sum or periodic payments?Whenever the Powerball reaches one of its peak payouts, a debate erupts over which is the better prize, the periodic payments or a lump sum that is about a third less than the sum of the payments. Taking a lump sum also requires paying income taxes in full, all at once, which amounts to a double haircut on the prize. On the other hand, the periodic payments can lead to estate tax nightmares if the lottery winner dies in the middle of the payment stream.Although lottery winners are welcome as trust prospects, we do not expect to get many of them.On the other hand, a great many of your best customers may face the lump sum versus periodic payment question when they retire. Many corporate pension promises come with an option to convert from the pension annuity to a lump sum distribution at retirement. In fact, according to press reports, more and more companies are encouraging employees to take the lump sum, as they prefer to reduce the corporate exposure to the risks of retirees living far beyond their actuarial lives.Retirees who accept that bargain need to roll their lump sum distribution into an IRA to preserve the tax preferences on their retirement money. That’s where we come in.We help retirees to plan and manage their retirement income. We may provide investment advice, or we may provide full financial management with a revocable living trust. If you are aware that any of your customers will be receiving a lump sum distribution, please refer them to us promptly.QUICK QUESTION5Michael Crichton created a zone of financial privacyRemember when “hidden treasure” residedin chests buried by pirates? Today’s precious assets may be invisible to the naked eye until retrieved from a hard drive.Case in point, Pirate Latitudes, an adventure yarn set in Jamaica in the 1600s, found in computer les le by author Michael Crichton. en Dragon Teeth was published in 2017.Although Crichton is best remembered for Jurassic Park and other techno-thrillers, in 1975 he wrote another historical adventure, e Great Train Robbery. Crichton died of throat cancer. Five times married, he le a prenup, a living trust . . . and a potential estate melodrama. Here is what is known about the John Michael Crichton Trust:It was a revocable living trust created in May 1998.It was amended three times.at’s all.We have no indication of the size of the trust or who the beneciaries were.Crichton’s will was led with the probate court, but one lawyer observed: “e main signicance of this probate is really to nominate who’s going to be in charge. ere are really no assets in this estate; it’s all in the trust.”Among the many reasons for having a living trust, nancial privacy is likely the one most important for celebrities such as Crichton. It may be important to your best customers as well.© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
Clues: Advanced age, concerned about being alone.Sarah Standish has been in good health most of her life, loving to hike and hunt and go mountain climbing with her spouse, Pat. Her physical strength was matched by the psychological strength that allowed her to continue living a full life despite the deep grief that she felt when Pat died aer a long illness. Her experience during Pat’s illness made her very, very aware of the fact that when sickness strikes, it strikes nances as well as the body. And the blow to nances can come in more ways than one. Recently, while visiting the bank to renew a jumbo CD, Sarah shared with us some concerns that have been preying upon her mind. When a friend of hers became Real estate investorsClues: Selling high-value property, wants a diversified investment portfolio.Owners of commercial real estate are an important group of prospects for our trust services. Be on the alert to make recommendations to them. ese folks can also benet from our investment management services, particularly when they have one or more of their properties up for sale. Dave Benson has had almost a love aair with owning commercial real estate over several decades. His portfolio of small shopping centers and oce buildings has given him great satisfaction. Recently, though, Dave has started selling o his properties in order to move from real estate into a more conventional portfolio of securities. Dave has undertaken this action with a certain degree of sadness. You see, there is no one coming up in his family with the same interest in real estate that Dave has. So Dave has concluded that, going forward, he and his family will be more likely to obtain greater nancial security with less risk by means of a traditional investment portfolio.Dave doesn’t have expertise in the stock and bond markets, and he knows it. So he is quite willing to turn to us for help in handling the proceeds from the sale of his properties. “What if something happens to me?”temporarily incapacitated, a distant relative of the friend managed through legal maneuvering to get control of the woman’s nances and considerably depleted them before Sarah’s friend recovered and regained control. Sarah is determined that nothing like that should happen to her if she ever needs help caring for her nances when she is ill or disabled. Could we help her with these concerns?Yes, we can. Our trust and investment professionals have the needed expertise and are completely worthy of Sarah’s confidence. They can work with her to establish a standby trust. With this arrangement, we serve as trustee and will provide Sarah with continuing financial management if at any time she should become unable to handle her own affairs.6© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
What is the better investment objective, growth or value?When buying stocks, should one seek growth or value? For the uninitiated, the question may seem nonsensical— everyone wants both growth and value, and large portions, please! But these terms have a specific meaning to professional investors. The terms imply dramatically different risk profiles and expectations for rates of return on investments.The traditional “value” investor seeks to invest in companies at relatively low valuation levels. These bargain hunters of the investment world typically search for low ratios of stock price to earnings (the price-earnings ratio, or P/E) or the book value (price-to-book value ratio, or P/B). They are hoping to discover investment opportunities “overlooked” by other investors, by the market as a whole. Very oten these companies are out of favor on Wall Street and may be undergoing a restructuring or other transformation expected to “unlock” great future value. Patience is an attribute most oten associated with value investors. Their patience may be rewarded with higher dividend yields and lower risk of disappointment.Growth investors, residing at the other end of the spectrum, generally pursue explosive growth of sales and earnings with little regard to price. The companies in which they invest typically sport high P/Es, P/Bs and multiples of sales because their superior past records are well established. These Wall Street favorites can offer excitement and above-market rates of return, and they tend to be younger firms in the fields of technology, communications, and pharmaceuticals. However, these characteristics tend to be accompanied by greater price volatility and risk of loss, especially when earnings soten.Value investors are generally thought to be more conservative, accepting lower returns in exchange for more stable prices. Growth investors, in taking greater risks in search of superior rewards over a shorter time frame, are thought to be more aggressive. Whatever the risk/reward profile presented by your customers, we can crat an investment management plan for them that matches their objectives and resources.Singer Whitney Houston le her entire estate in trust for her daughter, Bobbi Kristina.Trust principal was to be distributed over a period of nine years—10% when Bobbi Kristina reached age 21, 30% at age 25, and the balance upon reaching age 30. is pattern of sequential trust distributions is a common one. It avoids overwhelming the heir with too much, too soon.Unfortunately, Bobbi Kristina died at just 22 years of age, so she had received only 10% of the trust assets. e size of the trust is unknown, but press speculation puts it at about $200 million. Planning a child’s inheritance always involves trade-os. Typically, the child wants full and immediate access to assets, while the parent prefers to limit access until nancial maturity is reached. In fact, a good argument can be made for having a trust for a child’s inheritance last for a lifetime, to provide permanent creditor protection. Phased distributions, as chosen by Whitney Houston, provide a compromise solution.Whitney Houston and trust planning7QUICK QUESTION© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
8“Newman’s Own” will and estate planThe cornerstone of Paul Newman’s estate plan, mentioned in his will, is the “Amended and Restated Living Trust Number One,” executed before the will. e terms of that trust were not published, nor what assets it held. We do know that the living trust was the residuary beneciary of Newman’s estate; that is, any property not identied and transferred specically by the will passed to the trust. We know from a provision in the will that the living trust provided for Newman’s descendants, and that for descendants less than 35 years old when Newman died, separate trusts were to be created. Finally, we can tell from the will that a marital deduction trust was carved out of the living trust for the benet of Newman’s surviving spouse, Joanne Woodward. e will provided that the marital trust would be funded with Newman’s interests in production companies and the royalties and residuals due Newman from his acting career.Newman’s will also mentions that he may provide a memorandum to his executors. e memorandum would suggest various gis but would not be binding on the executors, nor would it be published, securing an additional zone of privacy.Somewhat more detail was provided regarding the legacy to Newman’s Own Foundation, which has continued his philanthropic work. e Foundation acquired all “Publicity and Intellectual Property Rights” of the Newman estate. He urged vigilance upon his executors in protecting his image aer his death, hoping that his likeness would never be used in ways that he did not approve of during his life, nor to sell food products inferior to the current Newman’s Own line.Key takeaways: An estate plan can support philanthropy as well as private beneciaries. A living trust is a great mechanism for managing wealth that will stay in the family.What do these Presidents have in common?Abraham LincolnAndrew JohnsonUlysses GrantJames GarfieldEach man died without a will.If you die without a will, the state has a plan —the law of intestacy—for the division of your worldly possessions. The details vary from state to state, but in general, your children all will be treated the same. According to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), that’s the path chosen by about 40% of those over 50 who have children and who have not yet executed a will.The study participants were contacted every two years to see if they had changed their testamentary plans. With a reminder every two years, one might have expected more people to attend to their will planning!Beyond accepting the state’s default plan for asset distribution, failing to have a will makes life more complicated for one’s heirs. A will normally nominates an executor to supervise the settlement of an estate. In the absence of a will, the probate court will appoint someone to the job, someone who may or may not be the first choice of the family. Wills typically also include an inventory of the deceased’s property interests. That gives the person who will settle the estate a running start on the job.We don’t write wills, and we give only informal advice when it comes to estate planning—that job is reserved for licensed attorneys. Nevertheless, we do tell our customers, with no hesitation, that they should have a will and they should revisit it from time to time to keep it current. It’s a talking point that very oten can lead to a trust referral. QUICK QUESTION© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
Retirement rolloverClues: Substantial retirement funds, needs planning and investment help.Hank Andrews started working for a military history publishing company as soon as he le the Marines. Hank liked his job, and he liked the 401(k) account that the company oered. inking ahead helped Hank when he was in the military and led him in his work life to contribute the maximum that he could to his 401(k), including the catch-up contributions when he became eligible at age 50. His account has grown steadily and is now over $500,000. Hank is ready to retire and relax without having to meet publishing deadlines. But something is bothering him: Who is going to manage the retirement money? While he was working, Hank’s goal was clear: Put away as much as possible and invest it according to an asset allocation model based on his age. Now, though, Hank knows that he needs more help than that.Hank should be referred to our trust and investment professionals. They can help him transfer the funds from his 401(k) to an IRA at our bank. Such a transfer will preserve the valuable tax deferment that can enhance his retirement capital. Then we will develop an investment plan that meets Hank’s needs for income and minimizes the taxes that he must pay. We will provide professional management of retirement assets, handling all the details so that Hank will have more time to enjoy his well-earned retirement. 9Chasing incomeClues: Substantial deposit, looking for better yield than on CDs. Stephanie Gray comes into the bank several times a month and likes to chat with us when she does. Stephanie is a cheerful person, but she does have some complaints, which she doesn’t hesitate to share. One of them is about her cat, which sheds too much. Another is about various irritating things that her daughter-in-law has done. Another is about the rate of return on her jumbo CDs. However, she is aware of—and concerned about—the fact that more aggressive investment options would put her money at greater risk.If you listen to Stephanie carefully, you can pick up on the fact that the CDs are not her only investment. She has some stocks and bonds and also accounts at other banks. You might suggest to Stephanie that she meet with one of our trust and investment officers. The officer can show her ways by which she might increase the yield on her money without taking on more risk than necessary.© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
The special childCLUES: “Our daughter will need assistance for the rest of her life.”We oen see Ed and Susan Whitman in the bank. ey are very good customers. On many occasions they have had their young daughter, Jessica, with them. Jessica is developmentally disabled, and the Whitmans have mentioned that her prognosis is not encouraging. It looks as if Jessica never will be fully capable of living independently as an adult. e Whitmans are devoted to Jessica and are well-o enough to support her nicely now. But what about her future if something should happen to them? She may not be able to get or hold a job. Where should Ed and Susan go for advice about the management of Jessica’s nancial aairs when they are gone?They should go to our trust professionals. These professionals will help Ed and Susan prepare for their daughter’s future. They can work with the Whitmans’ attorney to develop a trust that will fit Jessica’s particular circumstances. They can manage that trust and distribute funds as needed. This effective management will help Jessica’s loving parents attain peace of mind regarding the future of their very special child. Family businessCLUES: Business owners, nearing retirement.Stu Stone and his wife, Michelle, have owned a small movie theatre with several screens for many years. Stu and Michelle both worked in their theatre themselves and were joined by their daughters, Esther and Janet, when the girls became teenagers. e family loved working together to bring entertainment to the community in a more personal atmosphere than that of the chain multiplexes. Now, though, Esther is preparing to go away to medical school, and Janet is uncertain as to whether she should apply to law school now or stay with the theatre for a few more years. As for Stu and Michelle themselves, they are approaching 60 and really want to travel in a way that they could not do in earlier years. It so happens that an entrepreneur is interested in buying the theatre in order to show lms in the languages of recent immigrants to the area. e Stones have many questions as to when and how to manage a transition from business ownership to retirement. Who can help them answer those questions?We can. The Stones have used our commercial banking services for many years, and now they can be helped by meeting with our trust and investment professionals. Those professionals have much experience helping business owners plan satisfying transitions. They also can help the Stones wisely invest the proceeds from a sale of their business so that Stu and Michelle will have the financial resources to enjoy their retirement in the way that they would like.10© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
11Home aloneCLUES: Recent widow, lacks investment expertise.Clare Lee lost her husband, Sam, when he lost his brave battle with cancer about a year ago. During that long struggle against the disease, the couple arranged their assets in such a way so as to allow Clare to live comfortably once Sam was gone. ose assets include savings accounts at our bank, a portfolio of investments of various kinds, several retirement accounts, and the proceeds of some life insurance policies. But because Sam had been the one taking care of the couple’s nances, Clare is starting to feel overwhelmed now about how to manage money matters. She hasn’t made any investment decisions since Sam’s death but is constantly bombarded by mail, e-mail, and telephone oersof “investment opportunities.”Clare is determined to ensurethat her nest egg will continueto support her expenses. elast thing that she wants to dois become a nancial burdenon her children, who havemany expenses of their own.She knows that she needs helpto achieve her goal.Clare wants to talk with someone trustworthy and believes that such a person can be found at our bank. She is right! Our trust and investment professionals can explain investment options in the unbiased manner that Clare needs in order to make the decisions that will be best for her situation. Education firstCLUES: Substantial account balances, looking to set money aside for grand-children’s future education expenses.Jackson Vaughan taught philosophy at a small college for many years. For a time, he was a dean at the school. Jackson’s wife recently passed away. Shortly aer that, Jackson retired, but he plans to continue living in the college town so that he can be near his son and daughter, who reside not far away with their own families. Jackson was a careful saver and investor and prepared well for retirement. In fact, the value of his accounts is now over $750,000. Jackson likes to quote the Greek philosopher Socrates, who said: “e unexamined life is not worth living.” For Jackson, a good education oers a great opportunity to conduct that “examination.” Jackson wants to be sure that his grandchildren will be able to climb as far up the education ladder as they want, despite the daunting expenses involved. What’s a good way to help them climb?In the bank one day, Jackson inquires about adding additional names to his accounts, with the thought of transferring funds later on. He likes the simplicity of this approach but worries that it might not be exible enough.Please let Jackson know that our trust and investment professionals can help in a number of ways. They can take over management of his money, developing a strategy for investing that will provide safe, steady growth, based in part on when the funds will be needed. Our professionals also can work with Jackson and his attorney to set up a trust for “education money,” with the grandchildren as beneficiaries. In short, we can help Jackson help his grandchildren live those lives that are “worth living.” © 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
12The sad case of Mickey RooneyIf you thought that being a legendary Hollywood movie star would protect you from being taken advantage of, Mickey Rooney wanted you to know that you are wrong. Before he died, Rooney went before Congress to plead for stronger laws to protect the elderly from abuse. In his own words:“Elder abuse comes in many dierent forms—physical abuse, emotional abuse, or nancial abuse. Each one is devastating in its own right. Many times, sadly, as with my situation, the elder abuse involves a family member. When that happens, you feel scared, disappointed, angry, and you can’t believe this is happening to you. You feel overwhelmed. e strength you need to ght it is complicated. You’re afraid, but you’re also thinking about your other family members. You’re thinking about the potential criticism of your family and friends. ey may not want to accept the dysfunction that you need to share. Because you love your family and for other reasons, you might feel hesitant to come forward. You might not be able to make rational decisions. What other people see as generosity may, in reality, be the exploitation, manipulation, and sadly, emotional blackmail of older, more vulnerable members of the American public.Rooney closed with, “I know, because it happened to me.”The incidence of elder abuse may be on the rise. According to a report by the Department of Justice at least 10% of adults age 65 and older will experience some form of elder abuse in a given year, with some older adults simultaneously experiencing more than one type of abuse. That would be shocking enough but officials suggest that much of the actual abuse goes unreported. One alternative to putting the burden of investment and nancial management on the shoulders of a family member is to employ a living trust managed by a corporate duciary, such as us. Interposing a neutral, nonfamily professional into the situation may be a good way to defuse tensions and resolve discord.ere are no easy answers as America ages and the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease climbs. © 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
13How many Americans are 100 years old or older?According to the 2021 Profile of Older Americans, published by the federal Administration on Aging, there were 104,819 persons age 100 and older in 2021. Some facts about centenarians from the New England Centenarian study:• 85% of centenarians arewomen.• When the study beganin 1994, the prevalence of centenarians was 1 in 10,000. By 2010, the prevalence had reached 1 in 6,000, making centenarians one of the fastest-growing populationsegments.• Many centenarian womenhad children ater age 35,even 40, suggesting thegenerally slow aging of theirreproductive systems andtheir bodies.• Exceptional longevity runsin families.• Few centenarians are obeseor smokers.As life expectancy grows, the financial needs for retirement grow as well. How can one make retirement resources last? For many, the answer is financial management with a living trust. Not every very old person is a candidate for our trust services—but they all wish that they were!Estate planningClues: Receiving a large sum of money, want to safeguard their children’s inheritance.Sam and Mary Avila have been great customers of our bank. We have handled their business and personal accounts and provided them with commercial loan services. e Avilas are very successful businesspeople. ey grew a small restaurant into a statewide chain of eateries.Now Sam and Mary want to retire. ey’ve had good oers to buy their business, and they’ve met with attorneys and accountants about those oers. But they still have an issue to address: How should they handle the money that they will get from a sale? Sam and Mary feel that it is more money than they ever will need for themselves. If they distribute some of the money to their children now instead of leaving it to them as an inheritance, their accountant says that there could be some signicant tax savings later on.Sam and Mary want to minimize taxes but worry about what could happen if their children get a large amount of money without any controls in place. ey’ve seen other young people destroyed by “too much, too soon.” ey don’t want that to happen to their loved ones. Together with the Avilas’ attorney, we can create a trust to safeguard assets while providing funds for the children on terms that Sam and Mary establish. For example, the money could be distributed over a set number of years, thus increasing the likelihood that the children will handle the money in a mature way. QUICK QUESTION© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com
Highly skilled, but not in investingClues: Sold a business, lacks time for investing.“Way back when, they used to tell me that girls don’t go into high-tech. But I told them that I wasn’t just a girl, I was a geek.” Marilyn Howe laughs as she recalls those days. “Now,” she says, “they don’t call me either a girl or a geek. ey call me a visionary of the digital revolution.” Marilyn laughs again, then says, “But they ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Marilyn recently sold her original business for a sum that, a friend jokes, “would reach the moon if stacked in one-dollar bills.” And reaching the moon—or somewhere in space—might actually be what Marilyn plans to do. She’s involved in a new enterprise but is very secretive as to what it is. All she will say is, “Look to the skies!” She says that with a smile, but those who know her don’t sco at the possibility. Her brilliance, determination, hard work, and long hours have paid o before. Her focus on her new enterprise is so intense that she doesn’t even have time for managing the money received from the sale of her rst business.Here’s where we come in. We can assure Marilyn that our experienced team of professionals, using the latest technology, will look ater her money very well indeed, consistent, of course, with an investment risk/reward profile that satisfies her. Please refer Marilyn to us so that our professionals can have a laserlike focus on reviewing her existing portfolio and developing an investment plan worthy of this busy and creative entrepreneur.14Money managerClues: Manages investments for a nonprofit organization or charity.Malcolm West is a successful businessman who, out of a desire to “give back to the community,” became the treasurer of a local charitable foundation and handles the nonprot’s endowment fund. Right now, Malcolm is faced with a dilemma. Over the past year or so, contributions to the foundation have dropped, but its expenses have continued to rise. e foundation’s board is pressing Malcolm to do something to increase the endowment’s investment earnings so as to close the gap between contributions and expenses. But Malcolm denitely doesn’t want to take on investments that may be too risky, even if they do hold out the promise of bigger returns than the ones that are currently in the fund. Malcolm is starting to feel irritated by the fact that some of the foundation’s board members think that he isn’t maximizing the endowment fund’s investment earnings. It looks as if Malcolm could use some assistance from our trust and investment professionals. Our investment managers have the experience to know what investment options offer solid, low-risk returns. These managers can work effectively with Malcolm to develop an appropriate investment strategy—one that will meet the concerns of the foundation’s board and take some of the pressure off Malcolm.© 2023 Merrill Anderson Company • Visit merrillanderson.com