News & Views
March 25, 2020
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Although we can agree it is not exactly “business as usual,” we want to share our 1st Quarter newsletter with you. Some of these articles were written a couple of weeks ago, yet they offer great insight regardless of the circumstances our nation is experiencing. Perhaps sharing some “normal” content, especially when many of you will have extra time at home to read, might be a welcome relief. Enjoy our News & Views!
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Nearly every week, Managing Director Lance Gunkel interviews an employee and develops a presentation to share their story with the rest of the team. For example, did you know that Johnne Syverson went to work for Happy Chef Restaurant at age 16 making $.80 per hour and later managed a Happy Chef Restaurant in Story City? We have learned a lot about each other!
Syverson Strege employees participated in “The Relationship Game Training” taught by Adam Steen, Director of Business Development. Adam encouraged us to consider that relationships are the most important asset we have, whether in business or life in general. He led us through a series of exercises to help us think through our life purpose and how relationships and networking can help us reach our purpose and help others in the process.
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Syverson Strege’s 9
th
annual Shred-It event was scheduled for April 23, 24, and 25, but for now the event has been
postponed
.
In the meantime, you can use your extra time at home to search for documents that may eventually need to be shredded. We’ll keep you posted on the rescheduled date.
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Matt Roberts, along with other Syverson Strege financial planners, will be presenting educational information about retirement planning to farmers via a virtual workshop. We are partnering with Practical Farmers of Iowa for these webinars. The “farminar” as Practical Farmers calls it, will be presented two times, once on Wednesday, April 1 and again on Thursday, April 9 at 10:00 AM. All farmers and those who are interested are invited to join the virtual workshop.
These virtual workshops will discuss retirement in the context of farm transition and succession. Facilitated by financial planners from Syverson Strege, the workshops will discuss retirement planning and implementation strategies and will lay out a roadmap to retirement as part of a larger farm transfer or estate plan. Attendees will also hear about new legislation (the SECURE Act), effective December 2019, that includes changes to IRAs, 401(k)s, RMDs, and more.
To join one of the virtual workshops, click
here.
The top of the page on this link says “postponed,” but they are referring to the live event. Scroll down to find the buttons to join the virtual workshop.
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Adam Steen, Director of Business Development, was invited to speak at a “First Friday” Professional Development for the Army Reserve Unit, 103rd ESC, rear detachment. Rear detachments are soldiers who are assigned to take care of unit needs at home during a unit’s deployment. Values, empathy, ethics, and discipline were main topics of his speech on a leader’s character.
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Our friend Rena Striegel from Transition Point Business Advisors has started a new “Courage to Break Through” podcast series (see
https://renastriegel.com/podcast/
). Two of her podcasts have featured the courageous journeys of two of Syverson Strege employees, Managing Director Lance Gunkel, and Director of Business Development, Adam Steen. Click
here
to listen to Lance’s story and click
here
to listen to the podcast with Adam.
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Community Involvement/Philanthropy
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Each month Syverson Strege donates to an employee’s favorite charity. This month, the donation was made to the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC), Matt Roberts’ favorite charity. DMARC serves between 20,000-30,000 individuals at their food pantry each month and hosts other help groups such as Life After Death of a Spouse (LSDOS). With extra needs during the coronavirus pandemic, they are conducting a virtual food drive, asking for monetary donations so they can restock their shelves. Visit the DMARC website at
https://www.dmarcunited.org/
to learn more.
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Check
here
to read Wayne Johnson’s blog article on the 5 reasons you should hire a professional tax preparer.
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The Importance of Emergency Savings
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How important is it to have 3-6 months of expenses in emergency savings? Read Financial Planner Tyler Conley’s blog post article
here.
Also learn about various savings vehicles that can help you reach your goals.
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Client Orientation Workshop
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With the health of our clients and employees in mind, we have postponed the first Client Orientation Workshop on March 26 due to the suggested guidelines by the U.S. Coronavirus Task Force, the CDC, and Iowa’s Governor Reynolds. The remaining workshops are still on the schedule and we’ll keep you updated on any new postponements.
To learn more about the workshops and to register, click
here.
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In case you missed our 1st quarter newsletter that came out on March 20, click
here
.
Read about a young father’s perspective on planning for your life’s purpose. Also learn about why planning for long-term care is more important than ever, and how Syverson Strege employees celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Day.
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Office Closure-Good Friday
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The Syverson Strege office will be closed on Friday, April 10 in observance of Good Friday and Easter. The office will open back up on Monday, April 13.
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Thank you for your patience as we strive to serve you well during these ever-changing times. We are doing our best to keep you informed on any new business developments related to the coronavirus. We will continue to send out information proactively via email and social media as pertinent information arises and updates are needed.
Article
Click
here
to read Chief Investment Officer Jason Gunkel’s most recent blog article on the coronavirus and its impact on the markets. To read his entire series of articles on the impact of the coronavirus, visit
http://www.onlyworkforyou.com/resources/blog
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We have added a temporary mail policy. You can read the new policy
here.
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Mark your calendars for 1:00 PM on April 1, 8, and 15 for client Zoom webinars. Management team members from Syverson Strege will update you on the effects of the coronavirus on the markets, your portfolios, and the economy along with a Q&A session. We will continue the meetings beyond April 15 if needed. Depending upon content and the number of questions, each webinar will last about 30-60 minutes. We will notify you by email each Monday with call-in information.
In case you missed our first Zoom client call, you can click
here
.
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As of Monday, March 16, The Syverson Strege office is closed and we will keep you updated as to when the office will reopen. All employees have confidential remote access to client information and can continue normal financial planning activities and help clients with questions and concerns.
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