The one thing that stands out clearly from the 'new new experience' in this our latest volatile market cycle is, that during market ascendance, it appears to be so easy to make money. It is so easy to be right. It is so easy that everyone thinks that they are investing geniuses. How could we not, everything is just going up, up, up! We are convinced that is the only way it will go. How quickly we forget how rough it was during the last down cycle. Who wants to revisit that time anyway?

Behavioural finance scientists make a business of knowing the way the investors cope with losses, follow the crowd, use selective memory and other tendencies particularly research-worthy. They know, for instance, that even when we wish to act rationally, we tend to become unhinged emotionally, over reacting or under reacting to outside events. Their goal is, of course, to be able to predict this behaviour in order to capitalise on it, financially we assume.

In becoming accustomed and complacent about how well we are doing, we, then become reluctant, sometimes extremely so, to reviewing changes in our personal life that may mean making changes in our financial life. Am I castigating you, dear reader? Absolutely not, we all do it, except for the fearless few who are able to focus undeterred and completely on those long-term goals Then, the market abruptly betrays us (as one investor put it) and we have to cope with these unknowns as best we can.

Investment performance today is no longer the only criteria to financial success. Who would have thought that in these times we would be routinely asking questions and reviewing our investments for excess leverage, hedging, prime broker identification, counterparty credit issues, derivative exposures, liquidity flexibility in trading markets, sensitivity analysis, currency volatility, drawdown risk, transparency, company viability, and probability modelling?

Individual investors have had some real time to get acquainted with these terms that are connotative of the phrase "when the risk taken exceeds the reward expected, it is too much risk for one's financial profile". When that happens, an individual investor may then wish to consider professional investment management.

The professional investment and finance related community have had their challenges since last August when markets took a rather horrendous tumble. The difference is that they are highly trained to anticipate that clients (and markets) may be irrational; thus, one of their prime focuses as investment stewards, managers or advisors is to constantly utilise the best methods of managing the risk inherent in investment portfolios.

Individuals, companies, governments, endowments and the like interested in hiring professionals to manage their investments, do so because investment managers are considered to be fiduciaries, experts and fully qualified for their complex roles. A fiduciary, generally, is a person who has the responsibility of managing someone else's assets.

During periods of market stress, clients with managed assets may seek greater accountability from their core investment management groups.

Global Fiduciary Standards of Excellence in Caring for Client's investments. Investor coping mechanisms are also enhanced when they perceive that the professionals that they employ adhere to stringent due-diligence protocols that are routinely updated for changes in the investment environment. No one can predict future performance but investors can be comforted when they know that they have hired the best, operating with Global Fiduciary Standards of Excellence and in their best interests. You can't ask for more than that.

Qualified finance professionals are serious about their professions and the mandate to always perform with ethical integrity. They are also required to maintain and upgrade their skills on a concurrent basis. The alternative is membership board review with possible loss of a licence / designation.

Argus Financial Ltd.'s First Annual Bermuda Investment Industry Education Forum

On Wednesday November 5, 2008, Argus Financial Ltd., along with the sponsorship and support of FORS Ltd. and STEP Bermuda, will host its First Annual Bermuda Investment Industry Education Forum to promote the ongoing commitment in continuing education that qualified professionals in law, accounting and auditing, trust and estate planning, compliance, and portfolio management emphasise on a routine basis.

They do this because of their pride in their professions, along with their serious work ethic focus. They are to be commended and respected for these commitments to excellence that can be, at times, enormous constraints on their time and personal lives. The First Forum will focus on two seminars that present various aspects for Global Fiduciary Standards of Excellence in the Management of Investment Risk. The featured keynote speaker and global investment industry leader is Donald Trone, the chief executive officer of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies, www.fi360.com.

His ground-breaking vision and lifework, started in 1996 and assisted with a highly respected Board of equally talented investment innovators such as Nobel Prize winner Frank Sortino, PhD, has generated an evolution of prudent best practices in the global fiduciary standards of excellence and embraced by many organisations and countries, including the US, Canada, Australasia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

Qualified professionals who are members of the Bermuda Bar Association, STEP Bermuda, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda will receive three credit hours of continuing professional development for attending.

Registration information may be obtained by calling Teresa Santo, 294-5715 or emailing tsantos@argusfinancial.bm

The Bottom Line: Fiduciary excellence is achieved by consistently applying sound practices aligned with the best interests of investors. Excellence eliminates risk.

Martha Harris Myron CPA -NH1929, CFP® -67184 (US licences) TEP#203510 - Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, UK. She is a senior wealth manager at Argus Financial Ltd. with international experience, specialising in investment advisory services and comprehensive financial solutions for individual private clients and their families, business owners, endowments and trusts.

DirectLine: 294 5709 Confidential e-mail can be directed to mmyron@argusfinancial.bm The article expresses the opinion of the author alone. Under no circumstances is the content of this article to be taken as specific individual investment advice, nor as a recommendation to buy/ sell any investment product.