"Oh the Weather Outside Is... Weather"
Yes, it's winter in California. The holiday season is in full swing. Gift shopping is now a contact sport. Our Fresno State Bulldogs grabbed a share of the Mountain West Conference championship and are on their way to a bowl game. And your friends at TD Group are sending this end-of-year eUpdate. Yup, all is right on track for the holidays. We hope you and your family enjoy every minute of this most wonderful time of the year!

Look for Our 2012 Highlights Letter
Soon we'll be mailing you our 2012 Highlights Letter where we share some great memories as we all say good-bye to 2012. We love writing and sending this letter each year because it's a good reminder that we are able to make a difference when we work together. Thanks to great clients like you, it's been another great year. All of our charitable activities raised more donations than the year before. And our special culture continues to attract gifted new team members to TD Group. Thanks for now. Just  allowing us to serve you, whether you participated in our community events or not, you have helped us grow and make an even bigger impact on more lives.

Let's Get Ready for 2013 ... Together
Our job is to help you look ahead to give your best opportunity to reach your goals. So we are watching carefully every day to understand potential changes that will help us help you plan effectively. Right now, as you know, there are a lot of potential changes.

After hundreds of hours of debates, well over a billion dollars spent, and an endless barrage of new coverage, the 2012 election battle ended on November 6. But the real fighting began after that day. Those on Capitol Hill seek to mitigate the budget bombshell of tax increases and spending cuts, known as the fiscal cliff, due to hit on January 1. The battle is likely to result in a compromise that averts the worst-case outcome, but the negotiations themselves may drive market swings in the days and weeks ahead. Fortunately, the lowest valuations for stocks in 20 years may help to limit downside and create potential investment opportunities. 

We are forced to prepare for year-end drama... and for 2013. This last month of 2012 will surely bring political theater to Capitol Hill. Congress may or may not end up keeping income and estate taxes at their recent levels. If the Bush-era tax cuts sunset, everyone will see higher taxes.  Medicare payroll tax on earned income is set to rise. You may have less take-home pay as Social Security taxes for paycheck employees are slated to rise. Medical expense deductions may shrink. Extended jobless benefits may disappear for the long-term unemployed at the start of 2013. The estate & gift tax exemptions may shrink significantly. 

As it all unfolds, you may want to look ahead to next year and consider that these potential changes could have on your financial life. We encourage you to stay in contact with your TD Group advisor. You may want to have a face-to-face meeting to review your accounts and discuss any of these changes that may affect you. We take your trust, your success and your goals very seriously.

Welcoming New TD Group Team Members
TD Group is going on 10 years of being affiliated with LPL Financial. If  you've been with us since the beginning, you remember our team consisting of only four people in 2003. Every year we continue to grow, but 2012 has brought us the most growth. We have added five new team members just within the last 6 months. We would like to introduce the newest members of our team, David Johnston and Carol Matalon of Camarillo, CA. It's very exciting for us to  partner with David and Carol as we begin serving wonderful new clients in Southern California. Serving clients from Camarillo to Bishop, David has been in the financial services for over 20 years. His practice has been affiliated with LPL Financial for the last 13 years. David and Carol are a great team and we appreciate them bringing their experience to our team. We welcome David, Carol and their clients to our family.

Notice Anything Different? (Hint: "TD")
If you have a sharp eye and keen sense of design, you may have noticed our logo changed recently. Here's why. We recently received a cease-and-desist letter from TD Ameritrade. The online trading giant said the "TD" in our Thiesen Dueker Group logo design was too similar to the "TD" in its own trademark. Of course, we had no intension of infringement and we gladly had our logo revised to accommodate TD Ameritrade's concerns. We thought it was interesting that after all this time with our old logo, TD Ameritrade only recently took notice. But it's a sign that our growth is starting to put TD Group on the radar screens of some national firms. We take it as a compliment!  And we rather like the new version of our logo. We hope you like it too. Thanks for the letter, TD Ameritrade!
 

"Remember. Celebrate. Fight!"
TD Group's Kim Lindley tells us these three words capture the spirit of Relay For Life: "Remember. Celebrate. Fight!" The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life is an opportunity to raise money for cancer research. To support this great event, our own Kim and Diana camped out at a high school track in Visalia from 6 am Saturday, September 22 to 10 am Sunday the 23rd. Kim says the survivor's lap was very special to her as she has lost family members to cancer. She is grateful to know more that have survived, including her mother and mother-in-law. According to Diana, it was an emotional-roller-coaster-of-a-day, as they honored those lives that have been touched with cancer. We are so proud of Kim and Diana for coming together as a team along with the community for a great cause. We're proud to share their story and raise awareness of the annual Relay for Life.

 
Double the Toys! Double Joy! 

On December 6, we once again invited our friends, families and clients to join us for a great night of appreciation and giving. Our annual Toys for Tots collection event was another great success! We teamed with Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting, Trelio Restaurant and Sam's Italian Deli to treat our guests to a festive night. And we collected a mountain of toys. And the "Double Joy!" part? TD Group donated an additional toy for every toy our guests donated. So two mountains of toys were delivered to great kids who otherwise might not have received any this Christmas. 

Other Team News

We want to wish a congratulations to Jason Link and his wife Lisa.  They are expecting their first child; a baby boy due in May.  What a blessing they have to look forward to.

Ryan Purkiss continues to stay active in his Rotary group, whom recently delivered 2,200 dictionaries to all third graders in the Visalia school district as part of the local literacy program.  Also, as the Ambassador for Visalia Chamber of Commerce, he is proud to announce that their annual Christmas Tree Auction and Silent Auction raised over $221,000 that will assis in many various local charities.

Awesome work!

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Social Security Claiming Strategies

Roughly half of retirees claim Social Security benefits at age 62, as soon as they become eligible.  Some people delay befefits and postpone using their retirement savings as an income source.  Others apply our of necessity; their financial situation leaves them little choice.  What is your "magic number"?

Other Ways To Save For Retirement

Besides periodic IRA contributions and elective salary deferrals into 401(k) and 403(b) plans, there are other ways to amass retirement savings, some of them often overlooked.   Direct & indirect opportunities that don't get enough ink.

Your Annual Financial To-Do List

What financial, business or life priorities do you need to address for 2013?  Now is a good time to think about the investing, saving or budgeting methods you could employ toward specific objectives.  Some year-end financial moves may prove crucial to the pursuit of those goals as well.  Things you can do before and for 2013. 

 Know Your Risk Tolerance

Risk tolerance is a highly individual matter. A portfolio that keeps one investor awake at night may let another sleep soundly. However, investors must be willing to accept a certain risk level to receive investment returns in the form of interest or capital gains.

All investments carry a tradeoff between risk and return-generally, the higher the risk, the higher the potential return-or loss. Conversely, the lower the risk, the lower the potential return or loss. The goal is to find the right level of risk that provides the returns you need, while letting you get a good night's rest.

Temperament, age, stage in life, investment experience, financial goals, and time horizons are all factors that affect one's risk tolerance. Following is a brief discussion of some of these points to help you assess your own personal risk tolerance:

Temperament. Not everyone is comfortable taking financial risks. Just because someone is a weekend bungee jumper doesn't necessarily mean that this risk-taking behavior extends to his or her finances. When selecting investments, it is important to bear in mind that different types carry different degrees of risk, and also that returns for specific investment types may vary over time. For instance, stock market returns that have historically risen over the long term have experienced wide short-run fluctuations. During the 1973-1975 recession, the stock market dropped by 46%. Ask yourself: "How well would I have weathered that loss?"

Age and Stage in Life. Single investors may be able to carry more risk than married couples with children. Individuals just embarking on their careers and building wealth can usually take on more risk than those nearing, or already in, retirement.

Investment Experience. Sophisticated investors, who understand capital markets and are knowledgeable about specific investments, can typically assume more risk than novices.

Financial Goals and Time Horizons. Another consideration is the amount of time you have to meet your financial goals-that is, your time horizon. For example, if you begin saving for retirement early, you can generally afford to assume a higher degree of risk. While it is not wise to take on more risk than you are comfortable with, remember that the amount of risk you are willing to carry may potentially affect the level of return you can expect.

Reassess Periodically

It is prudent to assess your risk tolerance before beginning an investment program. Then, reassess it periodically as you progress through life's major stages, such as when starting a family, changing jobs, or approaching retirement. Understanding your risk tolerance can help guide your investment decisions, and help you sleep more soundly at night.

Copyright © 2012 Liberty Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

Ingredients

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 1/4 cups sugar, divided

2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature

5 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

4 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped and melted

1 tsp. peppermint extract

3/4 cup flour, sifted

Finely crushed peppermint candies

Preheat oven to 300 degrees with 2 racks set on lowest rungs. Combine crumbs, butter, and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl.  Press over bottom and up sides of a 10-in. springform pan; set aside.

Blend cream cheese and remaining 1 3/4 cups sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on low speed (do not whip or add air).  Add eggs, 1 at a time, scraping bowl between additions.  Pour in cream, chocolate, and extract and mix just to blend. Mix in flour. Pour into prepared pan.

Put a rimmed baking sheet on bottom rack and fill halfway with water. Set cake on rack above it. Bake until top is set but center still jiggles slightly when shaken, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool on a rack 1 hour. Chill 3 hours and up to 3 days before serving. To serve, sprinkle with candies and cut with a hot, wet knife.