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May/June 2017 Issue:
PLANNING CORNER
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WHAT'S NEW AT BMc?
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CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
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ENHANCED EMAIL ENCRYPTION SYSTEM
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BMc SPEAKER SERIES
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BY THE NUMBERS
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RECOMMENDED READING
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Timeshares: Paradise or Pitfall?
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Who doesn't want to own a slice of paradise? The timeshare vacation industry was built on that allure, making its U.S. debut in Hawaii in 1969. Today, 7.9% of Americans own some version of a timeshare - and despite being a leading source of consumer complaints many owners stated in a recent industry-sponsored survey that they
would buy theirs again.
On the other hand, timeshares are often derided as a perpetual money-pit. They are associated with high-pressure sales tactics, and most owners take a financial hit when the time comes to sell. Plus, timeshares come with maintenance fees (often called club fees or dues) that increase annually, and must be paid each year whether you use your assigned interval or not. These can top several thousand dollars.
Before buying a timeshare, there are several important points to keep in mind.
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Save the Date!
Tom Waldron
, author of Pride of the Sea, recounts the loss of the schooner Pride of Baltimore in 1986 in his book that was praised by the Washington Post as "one of the year's great adventure reads."
Tom will join us on
October 11, 2017 at the Center Club in Baltimore.
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1,032
Average number of emails received daily by BMc's server. 476 of them are spam which is filtered before ever reaching our inboxes.
167%
Greece's debt-to-economy ratio in 2017. The country holds $326 billion of debt compared to its $195 billion economy. By comparison, the debt-to-economy ration for the USA is 105%, with $19.846 trillion of debt stated as a percentage of the $18.8694 trillion American economy. (Source: Commerce Department)
100 years
One out of eight American workers with at least a household income of $100,000 believe they will live to the age of 100 or beyond. (Source: Transamerica Retirement Survey)
23
The
number of Major League Baseball teams out of 30 with at least a $1 Billion valuation. Leading the league are the New York Yankees valued at $3.7 billion with defending World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs, rated #4 at $2.7 billion. (Source: Forbes)
4.2 million
The number of people employed by the commercial real estate industry. A growing number of construction projects nationwide has created a labor shortage of 500,000 workers. (Source: Builders and Contractors)
14
Publicly-traded American retailers have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy already in 2017. The total was only 18 for all of 2009 in the midst of The Great Recession. (Source: AlixPartners)
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Retirement
Retirement holds a lot of surprises, and according to Glenn Ruffenach at the
Wall Street Journal
, probably more than you were expecting. He authored this fascinating piece The Biggest Surprise in Retirement on what to expect post-retirement, from the good and hopeful, to the bad and unexpected.
Laura Vanderkam
is the author of several time management and productivity books, including I Know How She Does It and What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. In her popular TED Talk How to gain control of your free time, Vanderkam dispels myths on time management and argues, "Even if we are busy, we have time for what matters... and can build the lives we want in the time we've got."
The New York Times
in their article The Best Exercise for Aging Muscles has reported new research that pinpoints the best exercises for cellular and muscular strength. A study conducted by the Mayo Clinic has confirmed, "The decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging was 'corrected' with exercise." This held particularly true with even intense exercise.
Susan Svrluga of the
Washington Post
recently discussed the challenges and benefits of switching fields or reinventing yourself later in life in her article The career pivot is the ultimate test of self-reinvention. Svrluga says, "Advances in technology have changed the calculation for older workers, leading some back to school to launch themselves on a new path in life." It's a journey!
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Kim Silvestri helped organize a Krusader's Relay for Life Bingo event to benefit the American Cancer Society. More than 150 people attended, raising $7K for the charity.
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Berman McAleer
held its annual team retreat at the historic Bedford Springs Resort in PA. Congratulations to team "Lean Mean Blue Machine" for their team building games victory.
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In its annual "Best Places to Work" list, the Baltimore Business Journal
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"This award means more to us than other business or industry accolades because we know that attracting and retaining the best advisors and staff are the key to delivering exceptional client service. It's not an accident that our average employee tenure is over a decade in an industry that struggles with burnout and retention.
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- Joe McAleer IV, Co-founder and Chief Administrative Officer
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Numerous media outlets picked up on the story last week that
Berman McAleer was the only Baltimore-area firm to make the national Top-50 list, including
Crain's,
Citybizlist and
Technical.ly.
Click here to read the coverage,
including the four other private companies that made the Top 200.
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David Berman was asked to comment on why Baltimore-based companies are holding so much cash, and what it might mean in a recent
Baltimore Business Journal article.
Click here to read the article.
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Tammie Eckle's daughter, Samantha, was named ScanSource Student Athlete of the Month. A senior lacrosse player at Furman University, Samantha has been a team captain for three years.
Read the full acknowledgement here.
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In the same month that Ida Schmidt's granddaughter Alyssa graduated cum laude from the University of Florida, her grandson Max (pictured) was named Valedictorian of his high school class. He will be attending UNC Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar recipient.
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ENHANCED EMAIL ENCRYPTION SYSTEM
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We are pleased to announce a significant improvement in our email encryption system. Most recipients will no longer need to enter a user ID and password to receive encrypted emails containing confidential information.
The secure email will look like any other you receive, but rest assured the transmission will have been secure and encrypted on our end until received. We hope you enjoy this improvement.
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