Warm greetings to each of you from beautiful downtown White Bear Lake. Much is happening on the financial front. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan retired. While his exit was almost a non-event in the news, it will have broad repercussions for the future. I am of the opinion that this will be a positive move.

There are new Roth Plan choices coming soon. The IRS has promised to have the regulations ready by year-end. Briefly, coming are after-tax Roth Plan choices added to 401-K and 403-b plans. This releases the Roth income limitation for some higher income households. It will increase the Contribution Roth deferral amounts. Is this suitable for everyone? NO! Much depends upon your individual and household situation.

Tell your friends we have contracted an exciting new Human Resources Service for
our business clients. You can view an extensive demo of this service on our web site. This highly valued service is available at no cost to our corporate clients.

The dust is beginning to settle on our name change from Sentra to AIG Financial Advisors, Inc. Some of the investment companies made the process more cumbersome with needless interim steps. If you are not sure all is straightened out, give us a call.

We want you to be aware of our broad array of services and the extensive network of professionals with whom we work. Remember: we can select from a wide assortment of investments through AIG. We have an insurance agency for everything from group health plans to the Medicare Part D supplements. We install and service corporate employee benefits as well as your household capital improvements. Use us as a resource. Our network includes mortgage and refinancing experts, accountants and tax professionals, attorneys and estate planning lawyers, auto and homeowner property/casualty insurers, real estate and banking service (just to name a few).

May the coming New Year find you grateful and personally enriched.

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3rd Quarter, 2005

This Fall we are introducing two exciting changes at Focal Point. First, we are adding a Human Resources component to our Corporate Employee Benefits Department. This is a value-added service available to our corporate accounts at no additional cost. Jerry Miron has joined our expanding staff to spearhead this effort. He welcomes interested businesses to call him.

The HR services includes the Four R’s: Reveal: a self-assessment component that evaluates your current status. Recommend: a strategic prioritization of what needs to be on the HR agenda. Resolve: over 250 policies, procedures and forms are provided on over 100 HR topics to help resolve your strategic priorities. Review: updates are provided in 25 crucial areas of Federal legislation and Minnesota regulations. Give us a call if you know of an employer who could benefit from these services.

The second change comes from Sentra Securities Corporation, our broker-dealer for the past eighteen years. As you may know, Sentra is a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group (AIG) and is a member of the AIG Advisor Group. The AIG Advisor Group recently announced the formation of AIG Financial Advisors, Inc., a new broker-dealer and member of the AIG family of financial service companies.

I am proud to announce that Sentra Securities will officially transfer our affiliation to its affiliate, AIG Financial Advisors on October 31, 2005. AIG Financial Advisors will represent the nation’s sixth largest independent broker-dealer organization based on revenues and total commission revenue. I want to assure you that this change will in no way effect your account, investments or the relationship you have with Focal Point. Your account numbers will remain the same; you will simply see the new name and logo displayed on your confirmations and statements following the transition to AIG Financial Advisors.

Please be aware that Sentra Securities is required to send you advance notice of this change. Therefore, you will receive a negative consent letter, along with an introductory letter from AIG Financial Advisors that includes the firm’s Privacy Policy Notice, Revenue Sharing disclosure and Business Continuity Plan Statement.

With these two developments we anticipate a full Fall season. The additional staff is here to serve you. Our Household Capital Improvements Department is ready and able to meet your family financial needs.

Grateful for your partnership,

2nd Quarter, 2005

Sam Rossi, one of the avid readers in the office, handed me an article worth repeating. MarketWatch by Paul B. Farrell had an intriguing title, “Get a Millionaire Mindset”. Here are some of the tips cited in his column.

1. Getting rich isn’t about obsessing over money. Researcher Ric Edelman discovered “that millionaires spend an average of just six minutes a day on personal finance. They have better things to do.” (That is our job anyway.)
2. Accentuate the positive. This truth should stand on its own.
3. Think differently. Author George Stanley said, ”It pays to be different”.
4. Quit doing what you hate. Too many people live for the day they can retire. Quietly, or not so quietly, they await the day they can stop doing what they have grown to hate.
5. Do what you love. Not that you’ll love it all the time, or that you’ll love every aspect of it, but it wouldn’t feel like “work” or “just a job” either.
6. Find the real you. It is exhausting and stressful to work in a career that is not a good fit. People do change careers more than once in a lifetime.
7. Invest in “You, Inc.”. Become an entrepreneur. “Most millionaires work for themselves, pay less in taxes, live below their means and build equity in themselves.”
8. Live with passion. Joseph Campbell said, “If you follow your bliss, you will always have your bliss, money or not. If you follow money, you may lose it, and you will have nothing.”
9. Live in the moment. Enjoy each day. Drink deeply from the cup of opportunity that comes daily to those who see them.
10. Make a difference. Make your world a better place. Make our world a better place. Help others. Millionaires dream of making the world a better place and then they do something to make a difference.

My thanks to Paul B. Farrell. The Pioneer Press printed this column on March 20, 2005.

I have often said, “Our goal for you is to enable you to have the freedom to do what is most important to you.” To be a millionaire – that is up to you. We want to assist you in achieving your goals. We are thrilled by the numerous reports that come back to us saying “I’ve always wanted to...and now I can”. “Thank you for helping us to...” “This...is better than I had ever dreamed”.

Our best to each of you,

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1st Quarter, 2005

We are well into 2005. The equity markets are behaving or misbehaving, depending upon the month and your point of reference. 2004 was an average year. The S&P 500 stock index was up +10.9% (total return). The average annual return over the last 50 years (1955 – 2004) was +10.9%. (BTN Research). Unlike A Prairie Home Companion where all the children are “a little above average”, the stock market indices tend to draw closer to the averages. (Indices are unmanaged and investors are not able to invest directly into any index.) I fully expect 2005 to be a good, strong year.

The contribution limits have gone up again for retirement plans for 2005. Call us for the new limits that apply to your accounts. Amazingly, 42% of today’s workers are not saving anything for their future retirement! (Employee Benefit Research Institute) Those that are saving are now in the successful majority. We can help you plan how much you should save now for your future needs. The best time to start saving is the proverbial “yesterday”! The second best time to start saving is today.

Try to avoid some of the most common IRA and pension plan mistakes. 1) Not taking advantage of increased contribution limits including the “catch-up provisions for those who turn 50 or older in the calendar years. 2) Paying unnecessary penalties on early distributions when there may be other alternatives and choices available. 3) Not listing or not updating your beneficiaries or coordinating them with your other estate planning needs. 4) Placing a qualified plan account title into a trust causes immediate taxation, even if the account holder is over 59-1/2 and alive at the time of transfer. 5) Missing important dates such as enrollment deadlines and beneficiary distribution dates. 6) Not taking advantages of special features such as IRD (Income with respect to a Decedent) and the “stretch” distribution options available to beneficiaries. (MFS Invest. Mgmt.)

We are continually striving to bring you an unmatched level of excellence. Our Corporate Employee Benefits department works with health, dental, life, disability and pension plan benefits. Our Household Capital Improvement department is focused on you reaching your financial goals. We serve you with honesty, integrity, and high ethical values. You are our focal point! May 2005 bring you to new levels of personal fulfillment.

Kindly,

P.S. We deeply appreciate your advocating our services to others.

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NOTE: Dale Hedstrand is a registered principal associated with AIG Financial Advisors, Inc., Member NASD/SIPC. Before proceeding further, please be advised that Dale Hedstrand is licensed to discuss with or offer investment and financial services and products only to residents of AL, AZ, CA, FL, ID, MD, MI, MN, MO, NH, NM, ND, OH, OK, OR, SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WY. Securities related services may not be provided to individuals residing in any state not listed above. The information offered is for informative purposes only. None of this information is to be construed as an offer to buy or sell securities referred to within or otherwise. Neither Dale Hedstrand nor AIG Financial Advisors, Inc makes any guarantee as to the accuracy or completeness of this information.

This information has been prepared from sources and data believed to be reliable but is not guaranteed by NASD/SIPC or AIG Financial Advisors, Inc., nor is any representation made herein as to its accuracy or completeness. This listing is provided for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any securities mentioned herein.

We do not endorse any business or product you may find as a result of these links. The links were chosen as a sample of what the Internet has to offer. We caution you: do not enter into any agreement or purchase anything via the Internet until you and your advisors are satisfied that you are getting what you are paying for.