October 2003 - 2003 Q3 Investment Management Letter to Clients

October 9, 2003

Dear Client:

The S&P 500 stock index gained 3% this quarter bringing the year-to-date gain to 15%. Small-cap and foreign stocks have gained the most: 9% and 7% this quarter and 27% and 17% year to date, respectively.

Bonds are treading water, as their prices have declined due to interest rate increases and U.S. dollar declines. The price declines have been mostly offset by the interest paid by the bonds, generating a total return of interest plus capital losses at about 0%.

Choosing a Financial Adviser

Jonathan Clements writes the "Getting Going" column in the Wall Street Journal Personal Finance section. In case you are interested, we have enclosed his recent column in which he discusses how to choose a financial adviser.

Less (paper) is More

Is your mailbox stuffed? Is your filing cabinet overflowing? Want to get save time looking for documents at tax time? You can get rid of the paper easily. Available in paperless format are:

Brokerage statements
Trade confirmations
1099 tax forms
Tax returns
Automatic task reminders by GFC

Prospectuses
Proxies
Annual Reports
GFC Quarterly statements
GFC Newsletters

Let us know if you want help and we will walk you through the steps. We will even send someone to your home to set up your computer for you. You'll feel lighter immediately!

Regards,

Audrey Grubman, CFP^®