We hope this note finds everyone healthy and safe. As the news continues to pour in regarding the coronavirus, all members of the NorthAvenue team are continuing to work, preparing tax returns and on-boarding clients to Asset Dedication. Although we are making some minor adjustments to client portfolios as we communicate with clients through tax season, we want to remind clients that the safe foundation of their portfolios is already in place. Our retirees and clients near retirement have bond ladders and bond funds that cover nearly a decade of cash flow needs or more. Even our clients that are not close to retirement have some exposure to bonds for safety in case of an emergency. We have been planning with you all along for moments like these, and we continue to be by your side as this time too shall pass. The Treasury Department has already recommended that the IRS tax deadline of April 15th be delayed, and it appears likely to occur. However, we do not yet know for sure if it will be delayed, and if so, when it will be delayed to. Our plan is to continue business as usual, whether that means we are in the office or that our team is working from home. Our preference is to continue to prepare tax returns and file them as soon as we are able. In light of that, and since we are preparing at this time for the potential to be working from home in the near future, we want to remind clients who have not yet provided us with their tax documents to consider doing so very soon. If you have not yet provided tax documents to us, and are not comfortable providing them electronically, please consider the following:
Let us know right away if you have already mailed them to us, so we can watch for them, and let you know as soon as they arrive to us safely.
Reach out to us if you are planning to provide them to us in person. We recommend doing this as soon as possible while we are definitely in the office. However, if you let us know your plan, we can then confirm if someone will be available in the office in person to receive them.
Reach out to us if you are planning to mail them to us. If circumstances change, we may advise you to mail them to Kristen Moosmiller’s home address to ensure they are received safely by our team. While that is not the plan today, our recommendation could change day by day.
As mentioned in our communication last week regarding our business continuity plan, our entire team is able to work remotely from home. We can access all of our available technology and client records remotely by logging into a secure server that uses two-factor authentication. Our work phones ring through to our cell phones, and we receive emails when we have a missed call or have received a voicemail. We already successfully meet remotely with about a quarter of our clients. For upcoming meetings it is possible that we may be in touch to switch to a remote meeting. This simply means you will meet with us in front of your computer, instead of in our office. If you would prefer to change an already scheduled upcoming in-person meeting to a remote meeting, please let us know. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at any time. We are here to support you, address any concerns you may have, and remind you of the plan we have in place to protect you and your assets. We greatly appreciate your continued trust in us. Your NorthAvenue Team
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