We are pleased to introduce you to a new member of our White Oak office and to offer other important administrative updates and information.
We are so fortunate to have welcomed Karen Cogburn to our office in February as our administrative assistant. Her email address is Karen@wofm.us. Karen began her career in Operations Support at JJB Hilliard Lyons in 1993. She joined IJL Wachovia in 1998 as part of the Operational Support team. Laura and Karen worked together at both Hilliard Lyons and Wachovia. In 2003 Karen helped open BrickStreet Equity Management and served as Partner and Operations Manager. She loves the opportunity of establishing a relationship with clients and taking care of their operational needs. Karen is a native of Asheville and attended Mars Hill University. Karen has served on the board of the Friends of the WNC Nature Center for 2 terms and volunteered at the Asheville Humane Society to support her love and compassion for all animals. Her household always has a four-legged friend as part of the family. She loves exploring and supporting the Blue Ridge Parkway. Welcome, Karen!
Additional Important Information
Laura McCue has a new email address dedicated just to our clients! Please use Laura1@wofm.us going forward, and feel free to include me as well, Priestley@wofm.us. Please delete laura@wofm.us as that account is no longer closely monitored.
Portfolio Reviews
We generally recommend meetings every six months to review your portfolio, catch up on any changes, answer your questions, etc. If you are not on a regular schedule and would like to be, please let me know. You are welcome to come into the office or meet by telephone or Zoom. We welcome your phone calls or emails any time.
Online Access to your Accounts
If you would like to access your account information at www.fidelity.com and have not already registered, here is the link to get started:
https://
If you have registered already but are having trouble signing in, please call me to see how we can help.
Withdrawal Requests and Trade Settlement
If you need us to raise cash for a withdrawal, keep in mind that trades take anywhere from one to three days to settle depending on the assets sold, and we can’t send out funds until settlement.
Beneficiary Review
If you have beneficiaries named on your account(s), it’s a good idea to review those on occasion. If you’d like know who your beneficiaries are, please call or email — or better yet, please make an appointment to come in for a review. We can handle beneficiary changes by electronic signature or regular mail using a Fidelity form. If you have an Individual or Joint account and have not already done so, you can designate beneficiaries on those as well to keep the assets out of your estate and out of probate.
Statement Householding
If you receive paper statements and have more than one account, you can household your statements so that they will come combined in one statement in one envelope. If you would like to do this, let me know. The form to set up householding can be signed electronically or by mail. You can household your accounts even if you go online to review them. I can help you switch from paper to electronic delivery if you’d like.
Connecting your Bank Account to your Fidelity Accounts
If you would like to connect your bank account and your Fidelity accounts for ease of money transfers to and from, please let me know. Having standing instructions in place reduces the time for transfers and saves on wiring fees. These can be set up using a picture of a check or bank statement and a Fidelity form that can be signed electronically.
Required Minimum Distributions
If you must take an RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) from a Traditional IRA or Inherited Traditional or ROTH IRA, you can determine the amount by looking at your account statement, usually on page 3. It will show you the amount that must be taken and how much has been withdrawn YTD. Around October, we start looking at RMDs to see who might still need to take theirs. Call me if you have questions about yours.
For those unfamiliar with RMDs, they are withdrawals some investors are required to take every year from traditional IRAs, 401(k)s and other qualified retirement plans. The RMD starting age is 72. For inherited IRAs, both Traditional and ROTH, the rules for RMD withdrawals may be different. We can help.
White Oak Regulatory Documents
White Oak’s regulatory documents can be found at the links below. If you would like copies mailed or emailed to you individually, please let us know. The documents provide information about White Oak, our Investment Advisor Representatives, our investment policies, our Privacy Policy, etc.
