Subject: A Message from the CEO
Dear Client First Name,
In light of the current situation around the globe, I thought this would be a good time to take a step back and give you my thoughts from a ‘big-picture’ perspective. The human race has evolved to the point where we feel risk can be removed from almost any situation. However, adverse events can and do happen. How we react will determine our success or failure. Let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the events that have happened during my career:
2000/2001: Y2K, tech bubble, 9/11
2003: SARS
2008/2009: Financial crisis, the great recession
2010: European sovereign debt crisis
2013: Calgary flood
2015: Stock market sell-off
2016: Brexit and Trump
In each of these cases there was an element of fear, panic and emotions running high. In many of these instances there was also a strong stock market reaction. In my 20+ years with CH Financial, we have prided ourselves on providing you and your family with stability. In each of these situations we have been constantly monitoring, analyzing and communicating with the people we’ve partnered with to manage your assets. And these people, by the way, are taking action. Although our message to you is largely to “the stay the course” (a positive message with a well-established history of success), this is quite the opposite of what our managers are doing. This is one of the main benefits of investing in excellent funds. They are deploying cash to buy businesses that are being priced at below-market rates. They are shifting the weightings of their top holdings to monetize gains. They are looking for cash-flow opportunities. They are busy. Further to this they believe, as we do, that this too shall pass. Just as was true 3 months ago, underpinning our market is a strong banking system and powerful economic structure. We are confident in the market’s ability to recover and prosper, as it has after every market disruption in history. It doesn’t necessarily make it easy to weather the storm, but we hope it makes it a bit easier to keep the faith. Keep in mind that we at CH are invested in the same funds that make up your own investments, and our managers are invested in their own funds as well. We believe in these strategies, and we are there with you.
On a practical note, we also want to assure you that we have the infrastructure in place to work securely offsite if we find ourselves being required to work from home. We have made substantial investments in our systems over the past year, and this will allow us to maintain full control of all business functions from wherever we may be. We are monitoring the situation, and the well-being of our staff and clients are of upmost importance.
Currently we will be in the office Monday to Friday, although some of our staff will be working reduced hours. Effective immediately we will be holding all meetings virtually. We will be in touch in advance of each meeting to confirm and to ensure you have all the information you need to participate. As of this time, CRA has not made any announcements to move any of the filing deadlines including the personal tax deadline of April 30th. We will be following these announcements closely. Our preference at this time will be to receive your tax information by mail or by email in pdf format. If you plan to drop off your tax information in person, we will ensure there is someone available to facilitate this between the hours of 10am and 4pm. Please let us know in advance of dropping by and we will arrange an appropriate place and time to meet. In-office business hours are subject to change based on the measures being implemented by the Federal, Provincial and local governments. We will be in touch if there are any further modifications.
With every challenge met, humanity becomes stronger and more resilient. I’m confident this will continue to be the case. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. The team and I are here for you.
With warm regards,
Jeremy Clark
President & CEO
CH Financial Ltd.