02

I S S U E

Efficient Frontier A p r i l – J u n e

2 0 1 6

WORDS OF WISDOM

Benjamin Franklin

“An investment in

knowledge pays the

best interest”

Ralph Waldo

Emerson

“It is one of the most beautiful compensa-tions in life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping him-self”

Abraham Lincoln

“Always bear in mind

that your own reso-

lution to succeed is

more important than

any one thing”

THIS ISSUE

If a Tree Falls? P.1

Thief in the Night P.2

Here Comes Summer! P.3

Upcoming Events P.4

If a Tree Falls?

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around

to hear it, does it make a sound? This is a

popular philosophical question that was

posed hundreds of years ago. I cannot think

of a better way to describe the first quarter of

2016. There were countless articles written

and financial programs running with, “This is

the worst January market drop in history.”

The follow up pieces were dedicated to

whether or not the U.S. economy was head-

ing toward a recession and how this latest

drop is “the beginning of the end.”

Naturally, most were concerned as the Janu-

ary doldrums extended into February. As you

checked your accounts online and waited

patiently for your statements, the reality of

seeing your hard earned assets fall, tested

your resolve. And rightly so. You have spent

a majority of your life working and saving to

build up the necessary resources to meet

your goals. For many of you, your next step

was to reach out to me, for which I am grate-

ful. It is during these periods of turbulent

markets that I believe you need me most. I

appreciate the time we spend discussing the

current state of affairs and helping you un-

derstand how we will continue working to-

ward meeting your goals.

However, March provided some much need-

ed relief (Surprise! If you haven't checked

your account). As it turned out, the perfor-

mance in March allowed most to recover all

of their January/Febuary “losses,” while some

have even experienced a gain.

I regularly counsel my clients against viewing

their accounts too frequently. The reason

being, the short term fluctuations in the stock

market have very little effect on your goals,

but more importantly, cause unnecessary

fear. In fact, there is a considerable amount

of data that suggests emotional based deci-

sions are the primary cause for underper-

forming investors.

I will leave you with this final question. If

your portfolio goes down in January, but you

don’t check your statement until March, did it

really go down?

Matt

Thief in the Night

Thieves have been an issue since

the dawn of civilization. However,

their schemes have become more

elaborate as of late. In fact, the

most common form of theft today is

identity theft. Practically every per-

son I speak with has either been a

victim of identity theft or can name a

person that has. Their latest method

of utilizing your identity to make

money is through the IRS. Thieves

are getting enough personal infor-

mation (e.g. name, social, date of

birth) to file a tax return as though

they were you. They then get a

“refund” from the IRS. Most will not

realize that they have been compro-

mised until they attempt to file their

taxes (This exact situation has oc-

curred to me personally, as well as

to friends, family, and coworkers).

The follow up questions when people

hear this for the first time are, ”How

did they get my information” and

“What do I do if it happens to me?”

How Did They Get My

Information?

One of the most common ways that

thieves are getting access to our

personal information is by us giving it

to them. In fact, sometimes they will

actually call you directly. The thief

will call you and it will typically go in

one of two ways. You will receive a

call from someone and your caller ID

will display that it is either from the

IRS or some law enforcement agen-

cy. In the case of the IRS, they will

request your personal information

because you didn’t file your taxes

correctly. Some will attempt to just

get the personal information, while

others will take it a step further and

attempt to get funds

directly from you. In

the case of the law

enforcement agency,

they will claim that

they are attempting

to collect debts owed

to the IRS. If that

debt is not paid they will claim that

you will be subject to legal ramifica-

tions ranging from seizing of assets

to jail time. Unfortunately, the afore-

mentioned methods are most com-

monly used on elderly victims in an

effort to scare and/or intimidate them

into giving personal information.

What Do I Do If It Hap-

pens To Me?

If you receive a call from someone

claiming to be with the IRS or law

enforcement agency simply hang up.

If you are concerned that you may

owe taxes to the IRS, always contact

them directly. The IRS has a cus-

tomer service line that is available to

answer any questions you may have.

More than likely you will find that you

were the target of a scam. The next

step is to reach out to the Treasury

Inspector General for Tax Admin-

istration to report the incident. The

more details they have the greater

likelihood they will be able to prevent

these scams in the future.

However, if you find yourself in the

precarious situa-

tion of receiving

a letter from the

IRS stating a

refund has been

filed in your

name, or you are

unable to file

your taxes due to someone fraudu-

lently doing so, you should contact

the IRS Identity Protections Special-

ized Unit immediately. They will then

be able to walk you through the nec-

essary steps to rectify the situation. I

have provided the contact numbers

for all the aforementioned depart-

ments of the IRS in the “Eye on the

Numbers” column to the left.

Please share this information with

your friends and family. Especially

those you believe may be suscepti-

ble to potential thieves. The time

and aggravation of sorting out your

personal finances after your identity

has been compromised can be im-

mense. After all, the best defense is

a good offense.

Seeing as it is tax time I decided to

spend some time discussing

thieves…(wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

EYE ON THE NUMBERS

Identity Theft*

In 2010, 8.6 million

households had at least

one member age 12 or

older who experienced

one or more types of

identity theft

In 2013, government

benefits fraud accounted

for 34% of the reported

identity theft

In 2014, the number of

elderly victims of identity

theft increased to 2.6

million

IRS Customer Service

1-800-829-1040

Treasury Inspector

General for Tax Admin-

istration

1-800-366-4484

IRS Identity Protection

Specialized Unit

1-800-908-4490

*Identity theft facts and figures

provided by the National Criminal

Justice Reference Service

(www.ncjrs.gov)

One of the most common

ways that thieves are get-

ting access to our personal

information is by us giving

it to them.

EYE ON THE NUMBERS Summer Facts*

In the United States, over

650 million long-distance

summer trips are made

In the summer heat, the

iron in France’s Eiffel

Tower expands, making

the tower grow more than

6 inches

More than 40 million peo-

ple play softball each

summer, making it the #1

team participant sport in

the United States

*Summer Facts provided by

www.facts.randomhistory.com

Ask Matt

Each quarter I will answer a

question (or maybe 2) from

you. I tend to get some great

questions from my clients on a

regular basis during our meet-

ings. I have found that the

answers to those questions

are pertinent to quite a few of

you. Don’t worry though. I will

maintain the privacy of those

asking the question as well as

any personal details. Addition-

ally, if you have a question you

would like me to address in the

practice update give me a call

or shoot me an email

Q: What does it mean for my ad-

visor to be a fiduciary or for them

to be held to a fiduciary

standard?

A: The difference is in how a financial

advisor is acting. It may seem silly but

financial advisors can wear two different

hats when working with clients. The

first hat is that of a “broker.” A broker

assists you in purchasing suitable in-

vestments and is paid a commission.

The second hat is that of an “investment

advisor.” An investment advisor typically

receives a flat or asset based fee for provid-

ing you with investment advice. A significant

difference in being a broker vs. an invest-

ment advisor is that the investment

advisor must provide investment advice

that is in the best interest of the client.

In case you are wondering, I enjoy

working with you as your investment

advisor. I believe it can be what you

are truly looking for in a financial advi-

sor.

This Quarter ’s “Ask Matt”

Here Comes Summer!

Summer is just around the corner.

While I don’t get nearly as excited as

I did when I was a kid, I still look

forward to it. My family and I would

be categorized as “outdoorsy.” In

particular, we enjoy frequenting

Montauk State Park each year,

which is known for its trout fishing.

My parents would take my siblings

and me there every summer to get

away from the hustle of every day

life. In fact, on several occasions I

can remember being awakened in

the “wee hours of the morning” by

my oldest brother. The only thing he

would say is, “I’m packing up to go

fishing. You want to come?” I

would roll out of bed, barely enough

awake to get dressed, and plop

myself into the back seat of his

Chevy Nova. It was a 2 hour drive

to get there and the horn sounds at

6:30 AM to alert anglers that they

can begin fishing. We had our

“special spots” that we were con-

vinced had all the best fish. Natural-

ly, our special spots required a great

deal of effort to get to. We had to

hike through the woods and cross a

small creek in order to get there. I

recall stepping in the creek bed once

and having my foot sink deeply into

the soft mud. Unfortunately, when I

pulled my foot out of the mud, the

shoe was no where to be found. We

had no time to “waste” searching for

my lost shoe, as we had to get in

position to cast our lines before the

horn sounded. So, I happily spent

the day fishing with one shoe.

I mention one of my fondest memo-

ries of summer, because I believe

those memories are the main reason

why we plan for the future. Ultimate-

ly, we plan for the future so we are

in position to create those memories

with our loved ones. So, let’s all

make sure we take some time to

create memories this summer. I’m

glad my family and I did.

Matthew R. LaPlant, CRPC®, AAMS

®

Financial Advisor Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor

SM

14755 North Outer Forty Drive, Suite 500

Chesterfield, MO 63017

636-534-2065 (Office)

matthew.r.laplant@ampf.com

ameripriseadvisors.com/matthew.r.laplant/

Upcoming Events

Simple Safeguards for Preventing Identity Theft

May 19, 2016

6:00 PM—8:30 PM

Missouri Athletic Club

1777 Des Peres Road

St. Louis MO 63131

This seminar will focus on how identity theft happens, how to prevent it,

and the early warning signs that your identity may have been compro-

mised. Additionally, there will be time for questions with the speaker.

Presented and sponsored by Ivy Funds. Ivy Funds and its representatives are not affiliated with Ameriprise Fi-

nancial. This is an informational seminar. There is no cost or obligation.

Events

I f there i s some-

th ing in par t i cu la r

tha t ca tches your

eye, p lease do not

hesi ta te to reach

out to me . I am

ant ic ipa t ing tha t a

major i t y o f the

events w i l l reach

maximum capaci t y .

Efficient Frontier Issue 02 April-June 2016

The views expressed here reflect the views of Matthew R. LaPlant as of 3/31/2016. These views may change as market or other conditions change.

Actual investments or investment decisions made by Ameriprise Financial and its affiliates, whether for its own account or on behalf of clients, will not

necessarily reflect the views expressed. This information is not intended to provide investment advice and does not account for individual investor

circumstances.

Investment decisions should always be made based on an investor's specific financial needs, objectives, goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. Past

performance does not guarantee future results and no forecast should be considered a guarantee either.

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA and SIPC.

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