The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

security

Nearly 800 Attended Community-Wide Program to Learn About Initiatives to Combat Antisemitism and Hate

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(l-r) Mark Weitzman; Audrey Stein, Regional Director, UJA-Federation; Hindy Poupko, Elliot Forchheimer, CEO, Westchester Jewish Council; Westchester DA, Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr.

WHITE PLAINS, NY (January 10, 2019) Nearly 800 members of the Westchester community attended “Anti-Semitism: What We Face and How We Fight It,” a discussion about the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and abroad, and Westchester’s efforts to combat hatred. The event, presented by UJA-Federation of New York in Westchester, in collaboration with Westchester Jewish Council, took place on Wednesday, January 8, at Temple Israel Center in White Plains.

(l-r) Mark Weitzman; Lisa Roberts, President (Mahopac), Westchester Jewish Council; Hindy Poupko; Arlene Kleinberg (New Rochelle), Cindy Golub (Mamaroneck), Westchester DA, Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr.

Cindy Golub of Mamaroneck, UJA Regional Chair, welcomed the attendees, and Arlene Kleinberg of New Rochelle, UJA Westchester Annual Campaign Chair, introduced the evening’s guest speakers. The program featured three experts who provided insight into the rise of anti-Semitism and what is being done to address the challenge.

Westchester District Attorney, Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. opened the program and shared insights into the work that his office does to create a safer and more secure community. The Westchester Intelligence Center, a unit of the DA’s office, ensures hate crimes are prosecuted appropriately and justice is served. Mark Weitzman, Director of Government Affairs for the Simon Wiesenthal Center provided historical context about anti-Semitism, reminding the audience that anti-Semitism is not new – we are simply seeing the growth of what has always been present.

(l-r) Laurie Girsky (Mamaroneck), Chair, UJA Women; Tris Berger (Scarsdale), Chair, Westchester Women; Arlene Kleinberg (New Rochelle), Cindy Golub (Mamaroneck)

Hindy Poupko, Deputy Chief Planning Officer at UJA-Federation of New York concluded the formal remarks with an overview of the many initiatives that UJA-Federation is undertaking to combat anti-Semitism including making a major investment in security. “We are embarking on a new, multi-million-dollar effort to engage in a wholesale upgrade of our community security infrastructure”, said Poupko. This includes the hiring of former NYPD director of intelligence analysis, Mitchell Silber, as UJA’s new Community Security Director to lead a team of five locally based security directors. In addition, a new position will support the specific security needs of Jewish day and residential camps.

Beyond enhancing security, UJA is strengthening community relations efforts with non-Jewish groups, advocating for critical government support, helping organizations access government security funding and empowering college students with tools to engage in healthy discourse about Israel on campus.

The program concluded with the speakers responding to questions submitted by the audience.

Nearly 800 people attended “Anti-Semitism: What We Face and How We Fight” presented by UJA-Federation of New York in collaboration with Westchester Jewish Council.

 

About UJA-Federation of New York

For more than 100 years, UJA-Federation has brought New Yorkers together to solve some of the most pressing problems facing our community. Through UJA, more than 50,000 donors impact the issues that matter most to them, pooling their resources to care for Jews everywhere and New Yorkers of all backgrounds, respond to crises close to home and far away, and shape our Jewish future. Working with a network of hundreds of nonprofits, UJA extends its reach from New York to Israel to nearly 70 other countries around the world, touching the lives of 4.5 million people each year. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit our website at www.ujafedny.org.

 

News courtesy of the UJA-Federation of New York

 

The Benefits of Having a Financial Advisor on Your Side

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In today’s complex and volatile markets, making sound investment and financial decisions is a challenge. Investing on your own can be complicated, overwhelming and risky. In fact, studies have shown that self-directed investors can often be their own worst enemies, entering and exiting the market at inopportune times in reaction to market movements that make them uncomfortable or emotional.

Steps to Successful Investment

Successful investing involves fortitude and a focus on the long term. The first steps you can take toward minimizing the likelihood of costly mistakes are:

1. Understanding the emotional and behavioral factors that contribute to investor pitfalls

Psychology influences the choices investors make, such as how often they trade and how they make buy-sell decisions. Common psychological blind spots include:

  • Overconfidence – assuming you know more than you do.
  • Mental accounting – consciously or unconsciously dividing your wealth into separate buckets.
  • Anchoring – fixating on past prices, such as what you paid for a particular stock.
  • Loss aversion – putting more emphasis on avoiding losses.

2. Defining your goals and developing a plan–and an asset allocation–that helps you reach them

Having a plan and sticking to it can help you avoid making emotional decisions.

3. Having the discipline to stay the course as markets fluctuate

Some investors try to time the market by moving in and out of it. Professional advice can help keep you focused by taking emotions out of the equation.

Your Financial Life Is More Than Just Your Investments

Over the past few years, the proliferation of robo-advisors that provide digital financial advice based on algorithms has received significant buzz. While robo advice offers a low-cost entry into investing, it also comes with little to no human intervention. Instead, an asset allocation is generated from an investor’s answers to an online questionnaire. But, how you value money–and what you believe about money–cannot be captured or solved by mathematical rules or algorithms.

The bottom line is that you want advice that connects with your thinking, experiences and beliefs around money.

If you’re deciding among traditional Financial Advisors or robo-advisors, consider the following:

  • What is most important to you at this stage of your financial life?
  • How confident are you in your financial knowledge?
  • Are you able to take emotions out of your financial decision-making?
  • What are the financial complexities that you currently face?

If there are complexities in your financial life–debt, children, employee benefits, major life events, estate and tax issues–you may want to consider choosing a traditional Financial Advisor who can help you customize a plan that is tailored to your specific situation.

And, keep in mind that reaching your goals often involves going beyond investment advice to include conversations about estate and wealth transfer planning, risk management and even your philanthropic aspirations.

By working with an experienced Financial Advisor, you can have the best of both worlds–the freedom to make your own investment and financial choices, but with the guidance of a professional who understands your unique needs, improving your chances of achieving your goals.

Disclosures

Article by Morgan Stanley and provided courtesy of Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor.

Richard Bloom is a Financial Advisor in 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”). He can be reached by email at Richard.Bloom@morganstanley.com or by telephone at (212) 893-7597.

This article has been prepared for informational purposes only. The information and data in the article has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. It does not provide individually tailored investment advice and has been prepared without regard to the individual financial circumstances and objectives of persons who receive it. The strategies and/or investments discussed in this article may not be suitable for all investors. Morgan Stanley recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives.

Asset Allocation does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining financial markets.

Richard Bloom may only transact business, follow-up with individualized responses, or render personalized investment advice for compensation, in states where he is registered or excluded or exempted from registration, http://brokercheck.finra.org/Search/Search.aspx.

© 2018 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.   Member SIPC.   CRC 2149104  06/2018

Design Lighting by Marks

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waterfall markCreate lighting to help enhance any environment! The variety of soft, understated elegant lighting enhances your home without being noticed. With no glare, the lighting makes everything look prettier. Security lighting options are automated, giving the allusion that someone is home when you’re not. Design Lighting by Marks uses only the best-quality fixtures, taking advantage of LED and environmentally friendly options. With more than 40 years of lighting installations throughout the tri-state area, the company designs, measures, and pre-assembles in its facility. Working together with his electricians and landscapers, owner Mark Mosello completes the installations seamlessly in one day. designlightingbymarks.com