Fairhaven Journal: Spring/Summer

FAIRHAVEN

JOURNAL

WINTER/SPRING 2019

Master Your Emotions to

Become a Better Investor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Note from Marc Horner ..........................................................................................................3

Control the Controllable .........................................................................................................4

Team Member Spotlight,

Heidi Orth .......................................................................................8

Meet the Fairhaven Team, .....................................................................................................11

Elevated Childhood Treat,

Asian Caramel Crisps ..................................................................12

Medicare Enrollment,

Making the Process Simpler ...............................................................16

Conservation and Advocacy at the Shedd,

Protecting Our Oceans ....................................... 19

A Bicontinental Success,

Client Prole. .................................................................................20

Aspen Wine

Perfectly Paired with a Good Cause

.....................................................................24

Fairhaven in the Media .........................................................................................................28

This material has been prepared for informational and educational purposes for our clients and friends. Please consult your Fairhaven Wealth Management professional to discuss how this may

impact your own ﬁnancial plan and/or investment portfolio. This material is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for accounting, legal or tax advice or any other purposes. Neither

Fairhaven Wealth Management nor its subsidiaries or afﬁliates provide accounting, legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor and/or attorney for such guidance. Advisory services offered

through Fairhaven Wealth Management, an SEC registered investment advisor. Securities offered through Triad Advisors, member FINRA/SIPC. Fairhaven Wealth Management and Triad Advisors

are not afﬁliated. For a copy of Fairhaven Wealth Management’s ADV Part 2 disclosure document please direct your inquiry to admin@fairhaven.com.

NOTE FROM MARC HORNER

Welcome to Journal issue #3! As some of us emerge from the Polar Vortex hitting Chicago and other parts of

the country, you may want to skip directly to the Fairhaven Team prole of Heidi Orth. One of her favorite

places is Hawaii…need we say more? Aer you’ve had a mental warm-up, skip over to a recap of topics we

discussed at the annual Year Ahead event last month, the role emotions play when investing. Also, you might

enjoy the proles of two classic American success stories; one involving the partnership between a French

immigrant and a high school teacher, and the other a family that is turning their passion for wine into a cash

generating machine to help people with disabilities. Of course, we also continue with our foundational topics

around food, philanthropy and healthcare.

Speaking of healthcare, we also have an exciting announcement! Jim Sullivan, the healthcare expert on

whom we have relied for perspectives on a range of healthcare issues, has accepted our oer to ocially join

the Fairhaven Team as our resident expert on all things healthcare, including evaluating decisions around

Medicare and Social Security. Jim spent 20 years with Arthur Anderson guiding clients through compensation

and benets decisions and he continues to serve the accounting industry as an educational resource for the

AICPA (American Institute of Certied Public Accountants).

While Fairhaven is surely not the only rm out there providing a dedicated healthcare resource to its clients,

I am condent in saying we are in the extreme minority. I am personally thrilled to have Jim join an already

strong team (said with all humility) in providing our clients access to a range of resources beyond just

investments.

Please join me in welcoming Jim to the team and, more importantly, do not hesitate to lean on his expertise.

Sincerely,

Marc Horner

Wealth Advisor

Founder

CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLE

Becoming a better investor by mastering your emotions.

he end of 2018 provided a reminder that

investment markets can be volatile. While a

relatively normal part of the investment

experience, dramatic market moves can sometimes

produce understandable feelings of anxiety.

Rather than hear about someone’s predictions about

what the Fed might do with interest rates or taris or

who is going to win the Super Bowl (none of which is

accurately predictable), we thought it might be more

interesting to get some perspective on things within our

control.

At this year’s Annual Outlook, our guest speaker was

Ken Haman, Managing Director of AllianceBernstein.

With more than 20 years of experience in psychology

and human behavior, Ken provides a unique perspec-

tive on developing the skills of being a successful

investor. In his work you will not nd references to

mathematical terms like Sharpe Ratio, Beta or Dura-

tion. Instead of spreadsheet processes, Ken tries to help

us elevate our awareness of our emotional processes.

At its root, investing is about addressing the emotional

challenges that come from being vulnerable in a big and

oen frightening world. We worry: “Am I going to be

okay?”, “Is my family going to be okay?”, “What steps do

I need to take to protect myself?”

ousands of years ago, humans answered that last

question by gathering into groups, developing tools and

weapons, cultivating elds, breeding livestock, building

villages, and surrounding villages with walls. ese

advancements were driven by the desires to increase

security and reduce risk.

Although civilization has advanced dramatically over

the past 50,000 years, despite our achievements, our

brain, central nervous system and survival instincts

essentially remain as they were back in the prehistoric

era. e result is an odd contradiction in how we

experience money and investing: our rational, educated

and modern brain thinks one way while our emotional,

instinctive and primitive brain can react very dierently.

A BRAIN IN TWO PARTS: INVESTING IS MORE

COMPLICATED THAN YOU MIGHT THINK

Over the millennia, the human brain evolves. e

oldest, most primitive part is the brain stem, the

structure that controls our instinctive ght-or-ight

reaction. Its primary function revolves around survival.

A newer section, the neo-cortex, has evolved to cope

with more complex issues; rational thought, language,

long-term planning and the ability to process a variety

of information needed to understand a complex world.

is insight—the idea of “two brains”—is central to the

challenge of investing. Investors perceive information

and then, based on their personal experiences and

interpretation, begin to react. If the information is

benign or pleasurable, the central nervous system may

decide there’s no need to take strong emotional action.

However, when the information is negative or threaten-

ing, it can be a dierent story. Emotions can interrupt

our ability to think rationally. Fortunately, science has

revealed a way to become aware of these instinctive

patterns.

HEURISTICS: AUTOMATIC WAYS OUR

BRAIN TRIES TO MAKE DECISIONS EASIER

For all human beings, the dynamics of language,

thoughts and emotions are deeply connected. Research

has shown that sometimes the brain uses automat-

ic-thinking mechanisms or shortcuts to process and

react to information. ese are called heuristics, and

the study of how heuristics inuence nancial deci-

sion-making is the focus of the discipline known as

behavioral nance.

Dr. Daniel Kahneman was among the rst scientists to

uncover patterns of thinking, many of which signi-

cantly inuence how we make investment decisions.

Most of these patterns result in decisions that feel

natural and correct but cause us to make investment

mistakes. One classic example is how we naturally

distinguish between pain and pleasure. Kahneman

discovered that we are more than twice as motivated to

avoid pain as we are to seek pleasure. is means we

feel pain from an investment loss signicantly more

than we get pleasure from a gain. Even though mathe-

matically it would make more sense to see losses and

gains as similar measurements, it feels to us like they

are not. Kahneman called this heuristic loss aversion.

SOLVING THE OLDEST PROBLEMS:

HEURISTICS STARTED OUT AS SURVIVAL TOOLS

Heuristics such as loss aversion originally worked very

well. Because they are built-in patterns that get activat-

ed automatically, they enabled primitive humans to

survive and prosper. Unfortunately, while they may

work well enough in some situations, they typically

work very poorly when applied to investment decisions.

When a leading economic indicator drops, it causes a

similar feeling as the howl of a wolf. A short-term

correction in an asset class is like the snarl of a sa-

ber-toothed tiger. e drop of a few basis points in a

bond fund’s valuation seems like the movement of a

crocodile on the edge of a riverbank. e problem isn’t

so much that changes stimulate reactions; in many

cases, we should react to changes in our environment.

e real problem is the way we react. Our brains tend

to respond to changes we experience today the way they

did 50,000 years ago and use mental shortcuts that

might not t the current situation.

One of the shortcuts the human brain uses to cope with

a complex environment is to simplify challenges. For a

survival-oriented brain, keeping things simple is very

important. Unfortunately, when it comes to investing,

it’s possible to make things too simple.

Because the primitive part of our brain likes to keep

things simple, we sometimes lose track of our purpose

when investing. We can ght this inclination by setting

FEELING

THOUGHT

BRAIN STEM

NEO-CORTEX

Anxiety/

Urgency

Heuristics

Too Much

Information

Avoid Pain

Seek Pleasure

specic goals attached to a concrete vision of the

future. Detailed mental images allow your brain to

make rational sense of the investing process and keep

emotions under control. With clear goals and a

rational understanding, you can look at an investment

that has lost money in the short term and say, “I’m still

on track and I’m doing okay!”

is brings us full circle to the ultimate question: “Am

I going to be okay?” is big question cannot be

simplied to a single number or one simple indicator.

It requires looking at how we cope with our built-in

vulnerabilities: the concept of ecacy.

e Oxford English Dictionary denes ecacy as “the

ability to produce a desired or intended result.” While

the denition is short, the importance of ecacy

cannot be underestimated. Each of us enters the world

as a small, fragile and completely dependent creature.

We spend years learning how our bodies work, how to

interact with others and how to cope with challenges.

As soon as we’ve mastered the basic skills for navigat-

ing the world, we become aware of our weaknesses

and vulnerabilities.

As we age, life becomes more complicated and the

consequences of failure become more serious. Ecacy

is found in people who feel they can overcome

adversity, protect themselves from dangers and

produce their desired results; they’re condent they

will be okay in the future.

Conversely, someone who lacks a self-concept of

eectiveness or has little condence sees the future as

uncertain and frightening. e human without

ecacy cannot condently answer the question “Am I

going to be okay?”. is has direct and signicant

implications for investing.

THE WEAKNESS OF 20/20 HINDSIGHT

Our brain tends to confuse looking back in time with

being able to predict the future. erefore, we oen say

“I should have known better” aer we make a mistake.

With the benet of hindsight, the negative results

now appear to be obvious and inevitable. In his book

inking, Fast and Slow, Daniel

Past Future

One of the shortcuts the human brain uses

to cope with a complex environment

is to simplify challenges.

continued on page 27

erformer Bruno Mars once said, “Hawaii is para-

dise. It might sound cheesy, but there is music in

the air.”

Bruno, who grew up in Honolulu, would certainly con-

cur with Fairhaven administrative assistant Heidi Orth,

whose favorite vacation destination is Hawaii. “What

makes Hawaii so wonderful? Where do I start? e

picturesque landscape, unique foliage, wonderful ocean

breezes, the beaches, the marine life, the rainbows, and

all of the unique history and traditions…how’s that for

a list!” Heidi says.

Elaborating on her family trips to the Pacic, “We’ve

been blessed to be able to visit Maui and Kauai, and it’s

hard to pick which is better.ey are both beautiful in

their own way,” Heidi adds.

One recent trip to Maui brought Heidi face-to-face

with several awesome creatures of the deep. “I had been

hoping to see a whale. While on a boat trip over to the

island of Lanai, the captain was sharing with us various

points of interest and stories of “Old Hawaii”. Suddenly,

a humpback whale breached in the distance directly be-

hind the captain. It was just like those pictures you see,

but it was real! It was an awesome sight! Toward the end

of our cruise, a large school of spinner dolphins (there

had to be more than 100!) swam alongside the boat

leaping out of the water. It was so much fun to watch!”

A resident of Downers Grove, IL, Heidi spends her

beach vacations with her husband of 25 years, Dan, a

soware engineer. On these water-centric journeys,

Heidi enjoys a variety of outdoor activities. “I love

walking along the shoreline, especially uninterrupted

stretches of beach which seem to go on for miles.Shell-

ing, searching for sand dollars and unique rocks and

pieces of driwood all make the shore come alive.

Kayaking and snorkeling are fun, and who doesn’t love

a good boogie board ride? Of course, sunsets are also a

must,” Heidi says.

TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Administrative Assistant

Heidi Orth

“We have a great group of people who

genuinely care about taking care

of our clients and each other”

Heidi’s family includes three sons. Her eldest, Ryan, is

enrolled in post-graduate psychology studies in Mary-

land. Conor is a recent computer science graduate. And

Nolan is a rst-year student at North Central College in

Naperville, IL.

Having been part of the team at Fairhaven Wealth

Management since its founding, Heidi cites the culture

as her favorite aspect of the job. “We have a great group

of people who genuinely care about taking care of our

clients and each other. Smiles tend to come easy around

the oce and that level of comfort with one another

cannot help but create a positive work environment.

It might not be the same as a walk on the beach, but I

really enjoy being a part of the company,” Heidi says.

Gerald King

Wealth Advisor

Trent Warren

Wealth Advisor

Susan Kostecki

Administrative Assistant

Blair Fuchs

Wealth Advisor

Marc Horner

Wealth Advisor and Founder

Heidi Orth

Administrative Assistant

Michael Kronk

Emeritus

Amy Christenson

Media Consultant

Gina Hornbogen

Executive Assistant

Denise Jahns

Administrative Assistant

Barb Schrage

Administrative Assistant

Kurt Anderson

Wealth Advisor

David Edstrom

Senior Relationship Manager

Joseph Guest

Head of Operations

MEET THE FAIRHAVEN TEAM

e best people, carefully chosen, for service and results.

Paul Mardoian

Wealth Advisor

Dave Wilson

Social Media Manager

his was a childhood favorite treat that I used

to help my grandmother make. e original

recipe was a blending of chocolate and

butterscotch morsels slowly melted and combined

over a double-boiler. While certainly delicious “as-is”,

we’ve tried to use our culinary knowledge to take

these tasty treats to another level of richness by using

a combination of white and bittersweet chocolate

chips along with some cream.

e cookie gets additional crunchiness from a mix of

fried lo ‘mein noodles, toasted sesame seeds and that

professional chef secret weapon…Special K cereal! e

cookies make a wonderful gi whether on Valentine’s

Day or any other day of the year you want to put a smile

on the face of your sweetheart. ey are also excellent

crumbled up as an ice cream topper.. Bon appetit! >

A CHILDHOOD TREAT...ELEVATED

Chef Owners, Academe Brasserie

Shanna and Brian O’Hea

Shanna and Brian O’Hea are the Chef-Owners of Academe Brasserie and e Kennebunk Inn in Kennebunk, Maine. is 1799 property

with 23 guest rooms and a 100-seat restaurant, anchors Main Street in one of Maine’s most popular tourist destinations.

e O’Heas have gained international recognition by participating in cooking programs around the world including: e Walt Disney

World Epcot International Food and Wine Festival and Holland America Cruise Line. Shanna has appeared on Food Network’s “Chopped,”

“Beat Bobby Flay” and winner of “Rewrapped.” Brian and Shanna will both appear on a new Food Network show in the spring of 2018 called

“Best in Seafood.”

Academe’s signature Lobster Pot Pie has been featured in Oprah Magazine as one of Gayle King’s favorites, on Food Network’s “e Best

ing I Ever Ate,” Travel Channel’s “Food Paradise,” and 2014 Travel and Leisure Holiday Gi Guide. eir Lobster White True Pizza

has appeared on the “O List” in Oprah Magazine and was also featured on Travel Channel’s “Food Paradise.” Both products are available

on MaineLobsterPotPie.com, a website the O’Heas developed to ship fresh Maine seafood overnight across the United States.

½ Cup Sugar

1 Teaspoon Corn Syrup

2 Tablespoons Water

1 Cup Cream

2 Ounces White Chocolate Chips

6 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

1 Cup Fried Lo ‘Mein Noodles

2 Cups Special K Cereal

1 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Seeds

1 Teaspoon Sea-Salt

METHOD

• Bring cream to simmer in separate pot, reserve

• Place sugar, water and corn syrup in quart size pot

over high heat

• e sugar will dissolve and begin to boil, let boil

for 4-5 minutes

• e sugar will begin to caramelize, remove o heat

when the color reaches a deep amber

• Slowly pour warm cream into caramel o the heat,

it will boil rapidly and raise but will subside once

all the cream has been incorporated

• Mix caramel sauce into the white and bittersweet

chocolate in a heat safe bowl with a rubber spatula

• Once all the chocolate is melted and the caramel

sauce has been fully incorporated to achieve a

smooth ganache , mix in the fried lo’mein noodles

and special K cereal with rubber spatula so

everything is nicely coated begin to boil, let

boil for 4-5 minutes

• Using two tablespoons scoop bite size pieces onto

Asian spoons or waxed paper sheet tray

• Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and sprinkle of

sea-salt and refrigerate until set

• Asian Caramel Crisps will last up to four days

under refrigeration

ASIAN CARAMEL CRISPS

nrolling in Medicare was never supposed to be

this confusing.Years ago, the process was simpler.

And less confusing. So, what has changed?

And what can you do to simplify the process?

We’ll consider each of those questions in turn.

WHAT CHANGED?

ere are six factors that have made the Medicare

decision more complex.

e Normal Retirement Age (NRA) for Social Secu-

rity benets and the eligibility age for Medicare used

to be the same – 65. Enrolling in Social Security

and Medicare went hand in hand. You only had to

keep one date in mind. e date you reached 65. In

1983, however, Congress changed the law gradually

increasing the NRA from 65 to 67. e eligibility

age for Medicare remained 65. With this change,

enrolling in Social Security and Medicare was no

longer a “one and done” deal. If you wanted an unre-

duced Social Security benet you held o enrolling

until your NRA. Your NRA now comes aer your

Medicare eligibility. is means at 65 Medicare

enrollment is not automatic. You may go on line

(www.medicare.gov) and enroll or go to your local

Social Security oce to enroll in Medicare.

More of us are retiring aer 65. Years ago, most

people (including your parents and grandparents

most likely) retired at 65. And why not? Social

Security and Medicare kicked in at 65. So, did

most company pensions. Many of us have now

begun working beyond 65. is has created

confusion about staying on the employer’s group

health plan versus enrolling in Medicare.

e worker’s spouse, if over 65, faces the same

question. Stay in the spouse’s employer group

health plan or move to Medicare.

Many employers have ended retiree health care

plans. But many plans still exist. Employer retiree

plans combine with Medicare to provide coverage.

CPA and Financial Planner

James Sullivan , MS, CPA, PFS

MEDICARE ENROLLMENT

Making the process simpler

Should you enroll in your employer’s retiree

health plan?

4. Add into the mix COBRA coverage, Medicaid eli-

gibility and Obamacare plan coverage. Don’t forget

Medicare eligibility before 65 because of disability.

Your current health coverage will impact your

Medicare enrollment decision.

5. e introduction of Medicare Part D (prescription

drug coverage) over ten years ago has added anoth-

er set of decisions. Finding the plan that best meets

your prescription drug needs at an aordable price

should be done annually during the Open Enroll-

ment Period that runs from October 15 through

December 7.

6. Finally, the rise in popularity of Medicare Advan-

tage (MA) plans. ese plans come with or without

prescription drug coverage (MAPD plans). Ap-

proximately one-third of all Medicare beneciaries

opt for a MA or MAPD plan. ese plans can oer

signicant benets. e dierent features make it

important to consider each plan available in your

area carefully. Recent legislation has broadened the

benets a MA or MAPD may provide beneciaries.

It also made making changes to coverage more ex-

ible with the addition of the Medicare Advantage

Open Enrollment Period which will run annually

from January 1 through March 31. e rst such

open enrollment period kicked o in 2019. More

options, more confusion!

If you make the wrong decision regarding when to en-

roll in Medicare, you may face late enrollment penalties

(that can be imposed for the rest of your life). Your

enrollment dates may also be restricted. is may leave

you with no health insurance of any kind for a period!

SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS

As you’ve probably gured out by now there is not a

“cookie cutter” approach. Individual circumstances

matter. Here is what you can do to make the process

simpler.

First, begin thinking about your Medicare enrollment

well before your Initial Enrollment Period (IEP). Your

IEP lasts seven months. It begins three full months

before the month in which you turn age 65. It includes

the month you turn age 65. It continues for the three

full months aer the month you turn age 65. You can

also delay enrollment until aer your IEP but that must

be done with care. Note there are special rules for those

born on the rst of the month. eir Medicare eligibili-

ty begins the month before their birth month.

Second, at least six months before your IEP begins

do a “Medicare enrollment inventory” answering the

following questions.

1. Have you already started taking Social Security

benets before 65 or plan to do so before your IEP?

2. Will you continue working aer 65? Will you have

access to an employer provided group health plan?

Does the plan include prescription drug coverage?

3. Will your spouse continue working aer you turn

65? If his or her employer oers a group health plan

are you eligible?

4. When you retire, does your employer (or union)

oer a retiree group health plan? Is your spouse

eligible for coverage?

5. Do you have any of the following types of health

care coverage: COBRA or an individual or family

health plan (e.g., such as an Obamacare plan). Did

you become eligible for Medicare before age 65

due to a disability? Are you eligible for Medicaid?

Medicaid is a health insurance program provided

by the federal and state governments. It is open to

individual with income and assets below certain

thresholds.

In subsequent articles we will review the impact of

these individual circumstances on your Medicare

enrollment decisions.

Jim is a CPA and nancial planner. Jim’s practice focuses on helping

his clients think about and plan for the costs of health care in

retirement. He has written over 100 articles on health care costs

in retirement and a book on Medicare for the American Institute

of Certied Public Accountants (the AICPA). He is currently

writing a book for the AICPA on the impact of chronic and ter

minal illness on retirement plans. He lives in Glen Ellyn with his

wife, 3 children and 2 Beagles. Jim can be reached at jsullivan@

Fairhavenw.com

eyond the aquarium and across the globe, Shedd sta are

working every day to protect and advocate for aquatic wildlife

and their habitats. Just this past year, Shedd engaged in several

conservation eorts that had far-reaching results for the aquatic

animal world.

One important eort that Shedd hosted in 2017 throughout the ma-

jority of 2018 was the Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea traveling

exhibit created by artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, which showcased 19

larger-than-life sculptures of aquatic animals, created entirely from

plastic beach trash. Since the project began, 10,000 volunteers have

removed more than 38,000 pounds of plastic trash from over 300

miles of beaches. e exhibit helped spark conversations with Shedd

guests about plastic pollution and the aquarium’s own plastic reduc-

tion eorts like Great Lakes Action Days and Shedd the Straw.

Shedd also initiated the #SheddeStraw campaign, aimed at raising

awareness for and reducing the use of single-use plastic. Scientists

estimate approximately 8 million tons of plastic trash end up in the

ocean annually, and plastic straws account for much of this harmful

waste. Partnering with several local organizations, including the

Chicago White Sox, Shedd has helped raise awareness for decreasing

the use of plastic straws. Overall, Shedd has cut its own plastic use by

70% since 2013. Click here to view a quick video on this program.

Abroad, Shedd sent veterinarian Dr. O’Connor to Madagascar to

help provide care to over 10,000 critically endangered radiated

tortoises who were held captive as part of a poaching scheme. In

Quebec, Shedd sta assisted in the rst rescue and relocation of a

stranded beluga calf in 2017. And Dr. Steve Kessel, Director of Ma-

rine Research, continues leading important research and conserva-

tion eorts to collect shark biodiversity data and collaborate with the

Bahamian government to preserve essential shark sanctuaries. Closer

to home, Shedd continues vital conservation work in Lake Michigan.

Looking for ways to get involved with Shedd? Visit Shedd’s website at

www.sheddaquarium.org or contact John Kinzer at jkinzer@shed-

daquarium.org to learn about the impact an Aquarium Council

membership has on Shedd’s global mission, as well as how it can

enhance your own experience.

CONSERVATION AND ADVOCACY AT SHEDD

Protecting our oceans

Lush gardens surrounding the Moreau’s meticulously

restored 250-year-old French manor house.

n Dec. 26, 1976, Philippe Moreau was ying

back to Paris aer visiting family in the United

States. A native of France, Philippe spoke little

English – but across the plane aisle sat Diane, a foreign

language teacher based in central Illinois. She was es

corting a group of students abroad for the Christmas and

New Year’s holidays. During that ight, romance took o

and in June of 1978, Philippe and Diane married.

Before they were married, Philippe was working as an

assistant city engineer for a medium-sized city in the

Normandy region of France and Diane was continuing

her education career. Relocating to the United States,

Philippe was hired at an engineering consulting rm in

the western suburbs of Chicago. Diane also changed

her careers and transitioned from education to assisting

non-English speaking patients at a local hospital as a

medical interpreter and patient advocate.

Each of their careers continued to progress. Starting as

an entry-level eld staer, Philippe performed construc-

tion inspections and conducted surveys as he learned

the process of designing and building roads, sewers and

large waste water treatment plants. He also continued

his professional education via night school becoming

a professional land surveyor and engineer licensed in

both Illinois and Wisconsin, all the while improving his

prociency in the English language.

Diane went on to be promoted to Director of Patient

Support Services, managing the operations of the hos-

pital interpreting sta coordinating the more than 300

volunteers who regularly participated in the hospital

volunteer program. If that was not enough, she also

managed the hospital gi shop operations.

Over the years, the owners of the engineering consulting

rm couldn’t help but notice Philippe’s work ethic. Di-

ane shares that feeling: “He worked hard and spent long

days, learning, listening, taking assignments and proving

himself to be loyal, responsible and reliable.” e owners

oered Philippe the opportunity to buy the company. It

was not an easy decision, but they decided to take the

plunge and in 1996 Philippe became the owner of the

rm he started at as a French immigrant – a classic, up-

by-the-bootstraps, American success story!

Philippe & Diane Moreau

A BICONTINENTAL SUCCESS

A chance meeting, hard work, passionate commitment, and careful planning

Transitioning from employee to owner was not all

croissants and champagne (French puns intended).

Ownership included both risks and new responsibilities

but under Philippe’s leadership the company contin-

ued to grow via a mix of entrepreneurial ingenuity

and engineering acumen. “Philippe recognized growth

opportunities in the environmental and electrical/con-

trol engineering elds and enlarged the company by

creating two additional consulting engineering rms to

capitalize on these opportunities”.

Philippe and Diane started working with Marc Horner

Fairhaven a few years aer buying the company. “Marc

helped us think about the business as another part of

our investment portfolio. While maybe not the same as

shares of IBM or Apple, our investment in the business

represented equity risk. As the business grew and the

acquisition debt was reduced, we reallocated periodic

distributions in more conservative, income-producing

investments to both systematically “de-risk” our overall

investment portfolio and build a source of income for

our eventual retirement”, observes Philippe. “Tax-e-

ciency has always been an important goal and we appre-

ciate the proactivity of Marc and the team at Fairhaven

in communicating thoroughly with both our tax and

legal advisors.”

roughout their relationship, a connection with

France has continued to be important to both Philippe

and Diane as they frequently visit family and friends.

In 2006, they re-established ocial French roots when

they purchased a dilapidated, 250-year-old manor and

adjacent centuries old forest located in the Brittany

region of northwestern France.

“Completing the restoration took over six years! We

could write a book about turning an old, cold, granite

structure into a comfortable, warm, modern residence

with its beautiful garden and hilly landscape,” reminisc-

es Diane.

Coming full circle, in 2014 Philippe sold the engineer-

ing rm to the next generation of sta members and

just recently Diane retired from the hospital celebrating

40 years of service. e couple now split their time be-

tween Brittany, France and their home in the Chicago-

land area.

While in Britany, Philippe loves to work outdoors in

the forest surrounding their house and maintain their

farm equipment. “e property has enough grain pro-

ducing acreage that we are ocially “French Farmers”.

Had Philippe told me the game plan was to retire and

become farmers, I may have thought twice about that”,

laughs Diane.

Diane loves to visit the local farmer’s markets, which are

colorful and animated. “Although we live in the coun-

tryside, we can easily enjoy the beautiful coast of Brit-

tany, spending time hiking the trails, picking mussels

from the rocky ocean, enjoying walks on the beach and

the beautiful rugged clis. We also like to take day trips

to the various islands found in Brittany, and we love

to visit the old towns nearby with their cobblestoned

streets and beautiful architecture.”

While residing in the land of Lincoln, Philippe has

several vintage car restoration projects going, including

a 1947 Lincoln Continental Coupe and a 1948 Lincoln

convertible. Diane keeps busy with tness classes and

volunteering in the community. “We like to discover

new restaurants and go to the movies. We also love to

visit our National Parks, which are America’s treasures,”

Diane says.

More than 40 years aer meeting on a plane to Paris,

much has been accomplished by Philippe and Diane

both personally and professionally. e common thread

running through their experiences can be summed up

with one word…together.

(Facing, clockwise from top) Restored garden as seen from of the Moreau’s back terrace; Massive egg-crate style grille of Philippe’s

1947 Lincoln Continental; Brittany’s distinctively delicate yet meaty mussels; 17th century Chapelle de Saint-ey, Pointe du Van;

Medieval cobblestoned streets of northwestern France; e dramatic unspoiled beauty of Brittany ‘s coastline.

“Transitioning from employee to owner

was not all croissants and champagne...”

PERFECTLY PAIRED WITH A GOOD CAUSE

he story of the Aspen Lane Wine Company

begins with Bob and Sonya Evanosky and their

three sons: identical twins John and Christopher

and their younger brother, Jack. Each of the boys were

diagnosed in 2005 with a fatal genetic disease known as

metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD).

Inspired to make a dierence and give back to the many

organizations who support families like theirs, in 2010

Bob and Sonya together decided Bob would leave a

successful career in aviation to form Aspen Lane. And

though Aspen Lane has only been around for a few years,

it already boasts 10 high-quality wines and has created

a variety of private labels for nearly 100 companies and

individuals, including one of Chicago’s billionaire philan-

thropists.

An accomplished home winemaker, Bob had the idea to

combine his passion for wine with a for-prot business

that would provide recurring income to select not-for-

prot organizations that serve both children and adults

with disabilities. In developing the Aspen Lane busi-

ness plan, Sonya and Bob met with the Paul Newman

Foundation, which has given away over $400 million to

charities through sales of the actor’s salad dressing and

learned that there were about 20 other businesses in the

U.S. using a similar business model…but none of them

dealt with wine.

e rst step in executing on this plan was, of course,

making good wine. Sourcing grapes from top wine pro-

ducing regions like the state of Washington, Aspen Lane

produces high-quality wines with remarkable avor and

reliable drinkability. Producing a wide range of varietals

has expanded the appeal of Aspen Lane whether you are

a fan of reds or whites. Both the diversity and consisten-

cy of their wines has contributed to a loyal and growing

following extending beyond the Chicagoland home of

the winery.

“We work hard to create consistent taste proles from

year-to-year, so if you like one vintage, you will enjoy

the following year’s vintage just as much or maybe

even more.”, smiles Bob.

Unlike a typical fund-raiser or one-time donation, the

execution of their business plan has created a cash ow

engine that generates a repeatable source of income for

the various not-for- prot partners of Aspen Lane. Aer

costs, 100% percent of the money from every bottle goes

to their partner charities such as Marklund, MidAmerica

Service Dogs, Indian Prairie Educational Foundation,

Fox Valley Special Recreation Association, DayOne

PACT, the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry and

the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council.

“Seeing our vision to use wine as a catalyst for change

actually become a reality is remarkably rewarding”,

observes Bob. “While our small-batch winery will likely

never become a Mondavi or a Kendall-Jackson, we have

a lot of fun making great wine and seeing the prots

support organizations that do so much for people with

disabilities.” Cheers!

To learn more and to purchase Aspen Lane wine,

visit: www.aspenlanewinecompany.com

And for more information about MLD,

visit: www.evanoskyfoundation.org

True North’s spectacular fairways are lined with towering strands of hardwoods and

pines. FACING PAGE: Beautifully designed cottages that complement the serene

setting of the northern woods are available for those who choose to play and stay.

Kahneman provides guidance

about 20/20 hindsight: “Hindsight bias has pernicious

eects on the evaluations of decision makers. It leads

observers to assess the quality of a decision not by

whether the process was sound but by whether its

outcome was good or bad.…is outcome bias makes it

almost impossible to evaluate a decision properly—in

terms of the beliefs that were reasonable when the

decision was made.”

A successful investment is especially tricky to think

about; if it performs well, most investors are seduced by

the thought that they made the right selection. Nassim

Taleb confronts this idea directly in his book Fooled by

Randomness: “Clearly, the quality of a decision cannot

be solely judged based on its outcome, but such a point

seems to be voiced only by people who fail (those who

succeed attribute their success to the quality of their

decision).” e great investor is humble in the face of the

conditions of uncertainty, complexity and urgency that

dene the challenge of

investing.

SOCIAL PROOF IS “FOLLOW

THE LEADER” FOR ADULTS

As we explore dierent types of heuristics, it becomes

clear there are many ways for our brain to answer the

wrong question. For thousands of years, decision-mak-

ing oen boiled down to asking, “What are other people

doing?” If everyone was running away, it was probably

smart to join them. If everyone was shing or harvest-

ing, that probably meant it was a good idea to do the

same.

Social proof is another heuristic that causes us to assess

the value of an investment by how popular it is with oth-

er investors. Like most heuristics, social proof feels right

and natural to the human brain. Unfortunately, when it

comes to investing, what everyone else is doing is rarely

an indicator of a good investment opportunity. It can

feel intuitively right and even compelling, but many

things about investing are counterintuitive and dicult

for the primitive part of our brain to process. Investing

quite oen requires contrarian thinking…

doing the opposite.

HIGHER-QUALITY DECISIONS?

ere’s no cure for heuristics. ese patterns have been

built in to the human brain by 50,000 years of experi-

ences. So, the question is not “How can I avoid making

these mistakes?” You can’t; they’re built in to the way

we think about the world and are helpful under certain

circumstances. When it comes to investing, a better

question is “What can I do to make higher-quality

decisions?”

Pay attention to your feelings. Heuristics operate within

the most primitive part of the brain: the part in charge

of survival…the ght-or-ight instinct. When you are

feeling emotional about a decision, that is a good indica-

tor of a heuristic being activated. When investing, avoid

succumbing to emotions and try to recognize that slow,

rational thinking will likely lead to better long-term

decisions.

A comprehensive discussion of Behavioral Finance is

beyond the scope of this article. We are passionate about

the topic and convinced that the mastery of emotions

will have a far greater impact on long-term investment

decisions than anything that can be found in a spread-

sheet. We hope you enjoyed this introduction. Stay calm

and invest on!

continued from page 7

CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLE

ABOUT FAIRHAVEN

Fairhaven Wealth Management is an independent, privately owned investment and wealth management rm serving select families and

small to mid-sized businesses. At Fairhaven, our commitment is simple – we exist to serve our clients…period. Our culture of service

and accountability combined with prudent risk management and tax-eciency are the cornerstones of our client commitment.

www.fairhavenwealth.com

This material has been prepared for informational and educational purposes for our clients and friends. Please consult your Fairhaven Wealth Management professional to discuss how

this may impact your own ﬁnancial plan and/or investment portfolio. This material is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for accounting, legal or tax advice or any other

purposes. Neither Fairhaven Wealth Management nor its subsidiaries or afﬁliates provide accounting, legal or tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor and/or attorney for such guidance.

Advisory services offered through Fairhaven Wealth Management, an SEC registered investment advisor. Securities offered through Triad Advisors, member FINRA/SIPC. Fairhaven Wealth

Management and Triad Advisors are not afﬁliated. For a copy of Fairhaven Wealth Management’s ADV Part 2 disclosure document please direct your inquiry to admin@fairhavenw.com.

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