Greetings!
We've been so busy this summer getting our new home ready for you and our Anniversary Celebration, Thursday, Sept. 19th ! We hope you'll join us between 3-7pm to enjoy beverages and hors d'oeuvres, toast, mingle and meet other clients and friends. Feel inspired to decorate and fill duffle bags for local foster children. You can also donate new toys or personal care items and send them straight to us if you can't make it.

Beginning this fall, our Curated Events will be structured differently than we have in past years. As we embark on the next era of growth, we're looking to you, our best clients and friends, to share our company mission with those you think can benefit from our unique brand of service. We need your help to grow our impact and effect positive change for women and families within our community.

As a thank you to our referring clients, we have some really exciting things in store, like our Workshop in Capturing Nature's Beauty through Eco-Printing . This October 22nd evening class with local well-known artist, Kathleen Lang Metaxas, will have participants designing their own sustainably eco-printed silk scarves using only plant materials. We're also planning a Hands-On Glass Blowing Class at a sought after Philadelphia studio and a women's wellness gathering on Discovering Nature's "Farmacy" with Sue Weldon, the founder of Unite For Her , plus many more fun and unique events curated just for you.

Look for more information coming to your inbox soon and let us know if you're interested in joining us at one of our upcoming events or have someone in mind that we could help.

We are never too busy to see if we can be of value to someone you care about.

Marianna
NEWS THAT AFFECTS YOU
MARKET COMMENTARY: Strong June Leads to Positive Quarter for Markets
June was a great month for stocks, as all major equity markets saw positive returns. The S&P 500 gained 7.05 percent for the month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) returned 7.31 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 7.51 percent. Further, June’s gains offset May’s declines, leading to positive quarterly performance of 4.30 percent for the S&P 500, 3.21 percent for the DJIA, and 3.87 percent for the Nasdaq.

This positive performance came despite weakening fundamentals. According to FactSet (as of June 28, 2019), the estimated earnings decline for the S&P 500 in the second quarter is 2.6 percent. This estimate is down from the 0.5 percent decline projected at the start of the quarter. Keep in mind that earnings declined in the first quarter for the first time since 2016. As such, this projected earnings decline for the second quarter in a row is concerning. Analysts project further declines in the third quarter before a return to growth in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, fundamentals drive long-term performance, so this is an area that deserves attention going forward.

Managing Exposure to State Estate
and Inheritance Taxes
In 2017, with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the federal estate tax exemption amount was effectively doubled. Today, individual estates valued at less than $11.4 million are not subject to federal estate taxes.

This has left many Americans thinking they don’t need to worry about estate taxes at all. But there are still state estate taxes and/or inheritance taxes to keep in mind—even for estates that don’t come close to the federal exemption limit. Here, we’ll review some of the historical context, along with some techniques that can help you determine your exposure to state estate and inheritance taxes, so you can plan accordingly.

 
Hack-Proof Your Password
& Give Your Brain a Break
It’s time to refresh your sense of what makes a password safe. Some of the old standards for passwords are changing, and rules you have been following for years may not be keeping your accounts secure any more. Learn the new password rules now, before the hackers break in.

Do all of your passwords contain special numbers and characters? Do you change them every 90 days? Chances are you’ve been following this password advice for many years—but it may not be keeping your accounts safe anymore.

In 2003, engineer Bill Burr authored what came to be known as the official guidance on password security published by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In it, he suggested that users strengthen passwords by incorporating uppercase letters, numbers, and characters. Burr also recommended changing passwords frequently.
Quickly, Burr’s recommendations became the gold standard on password security. But now Bill Burr regrets the password advice in his original guide. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Burr acknowledged that his suggestions may actually have led people to use less secure passwords.

Asking people to change a password every 90 days typically results in users making a minor change, such as adding a number to the end of the existing password. That change does little to increase password security. And all the characters, numbers, uppercase letters and lowercase letters make it harder for people to remember their passwords without offering much increase in security value. Once masses of people adopted this trend, the hackers caught on and they can now break these types of passwords in a couple of days.

CURO IN THE COMMUNITY
We Need Your Help on September 19th!
You may think this image is an exaggeration , but sadly it is not. Children displaced into foster care are often carrying their few beloved possessions in trash bags!! This is the heartbreaking reality of what children in foster care experience.

Please join us on September 19th for our second "Build-A-Sweet Cases" project, in celebration of our 5th anniversary. We will create  personalized duffle bags filled with teddy bears, blankets, hygiene kits and more, to show foster children entering the system, that they are not forgotten and their needs matter!

We've got the bags and basics, but we NEED YOUR HELP with a few extra feel good items. Please consider sending a donation of new toys, books, night lights, hygiene items and more through our Amazon Wish List or bring into the office on your next visit. Thank you for your help and supporting our community and this worthy cause.
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