All of us at Heritage Financial wish to share a heartfelt thank you to our clients, partners and friends of the firm. 2020 was a challenging year for individuals and businesses alike. Somehow, we all found a way to accept, adapt, and push through these challenges. We are hopeful for what lies ahead in 2021 and beyond.
Thank you for being by our side and allowing us to be by yours in this unprecedented year.
We also wanted to share our thoughts on some unexpected but welcome silver linings from the last 12 months. Below, the Management Team at Heritage share just a few of the silver linings they are grateful for as we close the books on 2020.
A Testament to Core Values
At Heritage, our core values are teamwork, integrity and excellence. The stay-at-home order put teamwork to a test and, from my perspective, our team passed with an A+. There were countless phone calls, zooms and virtual collaborations. The underlying tone was always doing what’s best for our clients. 2020 tested our team, and I’m proud of our staff’s resiliency.
Bob Weisse, CFA, CFP®, Chief Investment Officer
Quality Family Time
One of the unintended consequences of the pandemic and how it has affected education is having my two college age kids home much earlier than normal. “The band is back together” as they say. It’s great having everyone around the dinner table and enjoying some quality family time.
Chuck Bean III, CLU®, ChFC®, Founder and CEO
Patience and Compassion
This has been a stressful year, and it would be natural to see less patience and shorter fuses as we all figure out how to keep working efficiently under such different circumstances. Instead, I’ve noticed more kindness, understanding and patience in how communication is framed, which ultimately allows us all to help each other get through these challenges. It was a welcome surprise.
Ann Smith, IACCP®, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer
A Time for Health
Staying at home forced us to slow things down a bit. We couldn’t run from place to place anymore and there was little point in trying to cram lots of things into our day. There was more time to make healthier choices like eating better and getting some exercise in.
Sammy Azzouz, JD, CFP®, President
Stocks On Sale
The pandemic and subsequent economic shut down led to swift and dramatic declines in stock prices. While it seemed unnerving at the time, it created a great rebalancing opportunity to move money from bonds into stocks while they were temporarily down 30%. As it turns out, the market decline in early 2020 was a wonderful opportunity for disciplined investors, including Heritage clients.
Jim Scally, CFP®, Managing Partner
We hope you’ll take this time at the end of the year to reflect on the silver linings you see as well.
