Market Volatility Commentary; Fall 2007

Dear Cedar Brook Client,

The capital markets today are experiencing extreme volatility. Many pundits blame the crisis in the subprime mortgage market, while others point to more secular trends such as the overall leverage in the markets, squeeze on the capital supply, role of private equity and hedge fund players, eroding confidence in the U.S. dollar or economy, etc., etc. Regardless of the cause, the fact remains that investors have been on a wild ride through the summer of 2007.

At Cedar Brook Financial Partners, LLC we feel now, more than ever, that our core wealth management principals of employing an institutional asset allocation, goals-based investing, and manager selection will continue to serve our clients well during this period of uncertainty in the broader markets. What do those principals really mean in terms of your portfolio management? Let's take them one at a time:

Institutional Asset Allocation - by this we mean a deep understanding and unwavering commitment to Alternative Investments. Your advisor managed portfolio at Cedar Brook has been built under the philosophy that asset allocation is more than simply stocks, bonds, and cash. The strategic use, where appropriate, of other institutional asset classes such as real estate, hedging, hard assets, private placements, etc. are researched, recommended, implemented, and monitored for Cedar Brook clients with the goal of delivering a more consistent investment experience. Indeed, these varied investments bring a measure of independence and non-correlation to investments returns. Our research indicates that for this primary reason, the "smart money" - defined by institutional investors such as major endowments and pension plans - has historically sought these diverse asset classes. The net result in the case of our client portfolios is that we build allocations that do not "have all eggs in one basket" and thus may be able to better protect principal in the face of severe market volatility such as the past several weeks.

Goals-Based Investing - put simply, this means managing your portfolio toward a plan. Many of our clients work with the advisors at Cedar Brook on a comprehensive financial planning spectrum. As such, you have already determined the appropriate rate of return targets, risk tolerances, capital sources, and liquidity needs of your unique situation. Thus, your portfolio is designed to meet specific objectives, and not subject to the pure gyrations of the markets. Even if your Cedar Brook relationship is a purely money management one, many of these same themes apply, and we understand that risk management is central to any investment recommendation.

Manager Selection - the specific money managers that are chosen on a sub-advisory basis to populate your portfolio are specifically selected based on factors such as their track records in similarly volatile markets, their risk controls, and their history of protecting capital against loss. We are in constant communication with these specialists - asking the tough questions on your behalf, analyzing their exposure to areas of concern, and looking for any deviation from the value proposition that they originally brought to your portfolio. It is precisely this layer of management that you can count on in difficult markets to make sure that the various components of your portfolio are doing what they were hired to do.

Perhaps most importantly, we believe that this recent market volatility is part of the normal market cycle. Despite claims to the contrary, at Cedar Brook we do not believe that the investment fundamentals have changed. We believe that the old rules of asset allocation, goals, and manager selection still apply. Without question, these are uncertain times in the global economy - however - we know that to some degree that is actually always the case! We thank you for entrusting your wealth management to Cedar Brook - there is no responsibility at the firm that we take more seriously than your financial well-being. Please do not hesitate to call us with any questions or concerns about your portfolio, about your money managers, or about the investment themes that you read and hear about each day. We're here to manage your money, but more critically, our job is to discuss your financial life and do everything we can to ensure its success.

Best regards,

Azim Nakhooda
Chief Investment Officer