Should You Change Investment Strategies Because of Unrest in Ukraine, Iraq and Israel?
Advisors To The Affluent Offer Tips for People Concerned About World Events

The summer's headlines grew increasingly shocking:

• Malaysia Airlines Passenger Jet Shot Down Over Ukraine

• Israel Steps Up Airstrikes as Gaza Buries Dead

• U.S. Warplanes Strike ISIS in Iraq

The violence and instability, along with worries about the Federal Reserve ending its market-bolstering stimulus and raising interest rates, precipitated a negative return in July for the Dow Jones Industrial average, the first decline in 2014. Should you be taking steps to protect your portfolio?

If the recent geopolitical events have made you uneasy about the possible effects on your portfolio, now might be a good time to evaluate the real risks you are taking, says wealth management expert Chris Snyder, co-founder with Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo of Pillar Wealth Management, LLC, www.pillarwm.com. (Get their white paper, Intelligent Investing: Making Smart Investing Decisions In Today's Volatile Market, at the website.)

"You have to allocate your assets to avoid Undue Risk which will help protect your portfolio through  the inevitable wars, natural disasters, recessions and depressions that will occur," Ashoo says.  "That's right - not if, will. A well-diversified portfolio provides peace of mind."

Snyder and Ashoo offer these tips for weathering today's troubles - and those to come in the years ahead:

•  Ensure your portfolio is diversified.
Modern Portfolio Theory, developed by Nobel Prize-winner Harry Markowitz, tells us that 90 percent of the return in your portfolio is based on the allocation of stocks, bonds and cash, Snyder says.

"The percentages you allocate between these asset classes is far more important than timing the market or chasing around for the best manager, hedge fund, gold/commodities, dividend paying stocks or whatever Wall Street's next pitch is," he says.

•  Steer clear of active portfolio management.
Trying to outperform the markets involves active trading, which can have great impacts on your portfolio's net return. With active management normally comes high management fees and high portfolio turnover, which lead to higher taxes and transaction costs, potentially leaving Wall Street and the IRS the biggest winners!

"World-class investment management must rise above the noise from Wall Street and day to day news headline," Ashoo says.

• Never make financial decisions based on emotion.

Individual investors tend to buy and sell based on the emotions: greed and fear. When the markets are up, they tend to buy, hoping to catch a piece of the rise, yet when markets are losing, fear sets in and investors sell. Investing with emotion often leaves investors wondering why they are overweight in growth investments before a market drop and subsequently why they were out of the market when it recovered.

"Be sure that you and your investment advisers are qualified to understand and test the volatility and risk consequences your portfolio faces before the next big bad event happens " Snyder says.

About Chris Snyder and Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo

Chris Snyder and Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo are co-founders of Pillar Wealth Management LLC, (www.pillarwm.com), of Walnut Creek, Calif., specializing in customized wealth management advice to affluent families. Their unique five-step consultative process for new clients ensures they have a deep understanding of clients' goals. With a combined 51 years of experience, they are the authors of numerous published works, have addressed thousands of investors nationwide, and have been interviewed on radio shows across the country.

Will Create Jobs and Economic Growth in Bureau, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Knox, LaSalle, Lee, Rock Island, Stark, Warren and Whiteside Counties

OTTAWA - Governor Pat Quinn today announced capital investments of more than $26 million for construction projects in Bureau, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Knox, LaSalle, Lee, Rock Island, Stark, Warren and Whiteside Counties. The investments will create jobs and improve transportation safety and efficiency throughout Northwest Illinois. Funded by his Illinois Jobs Now! construction program, the projects are part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and drive Illinois' economy forward.

"These investments across Northwest Illinois are putting people to work, creating jobs that will help drive the local economy," Governor Quinn said. "They are also helping to repair and maintain Illinois' infrastructure to improve safety and efficiency throughout the region."

Today's announcement follows last week's news that Illinois' unemployment rate declined in July to 6.8 percent from June's 7.1 percent. During July, 11,200 new private sector jobs were added, including 3,900 manufacturing jobs. The state's unemployment rate has fallen steadily since July 2013, when it stood at 9.2 percent, and has completed its steepest 12-month decline of 2.4 percentage points since August 1984. Since February 2010, Illinois has added 263,100 private sector jobs.

Construction payrolls are up by 8,500 jobs since the beginning of the year, nearly four times as strong as the gain posted for this same period in 2013. Specialty trade contractors' payrolls posted healthy gains for the third straight month, fueled in large part by Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program.

The projects below will be managed by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Bureau County

U.S. Route 34 will be resurfaced in Bureau County from 3200 E to 3320 E Road for $718,710 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton.

A bridge carrying 470 Street over I-80 will be cleaned and painted for $274,832 by Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc. of Pevely, Missouri, the lowest of five bidders.

11.85 miles of Illinois Route 40 will receive intermittent milling and resurfacing from north of I-80 to Illinois Route 92 for $280,076 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton, the lower of two bidders.

U.S. 34 will receive 4.8 miles of resurfacing from 6th Street in Princeton to the eastern city limits of Dover for $1,287,701 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton.

Bureau and LaSalle Counties

Various routes in Bureau and LaSalle Counties will receive intermittent milling, resurfacing and striping for $668,725 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton.

Fulton, Henderson, Knox and Warren Counties

Bridge painting will be done on Illinois Route 17 over I-39 in Marshall County, on Illinois Route 116 over Spoon River on the west side of London Mills in Fulton County, on Illinois Route 94 over the Henderson Creek Overflow south of Bald Bluff in Henderson County, on Lincoln Park Drive over U.S. 35 in Knox County and on U.S. 67 over Middle Henderson Creek 10 miles north of Monmouth in Warren County for $823,882 by ERA Valdivia Contractors, Inc. of Chicago, the lowest of six bidders.

Knox and Warren Counties

U.S. 34/ Illinois Route 110 will receive 7 miles of patching from one mile west of Cameron Road to Main St. for $330,678 by Midwest Bridge and Crane, Inc. of Good Hope, the lower of two bidders.

Henry County

Grange Road will receive 1.97 miles of resurfacing from Illinois Route 92 to Sand Road for $328,657 by Valley Construction Company of Rock Island, the lowest of four bidders.

Knox County

Main Street in Galesburg will receive resurfacing and pavement marking from Soangetaha Road to State Street for $163,011 by Gunther Construction of Galesburg.

Improvements will be done at the intersection of Illinois Route 97 and 1st Street in Maquon for $173,176 by Gunther Construction of Galesburg, the lower of two bidders.

U.S. 150 will receive 1.6 miles of patching and resurfacing from Home Boulevard to north of North Lake Storey Road, interconnect installation, guardrail removal and replacement, and renovation on Lake Storey Bridge for $1,593,420 by Gunther Construction of Galesburg, the lowest of three bidders.

LaSalle County

A bridge carrying Interstate 39 over a service road and conveyor 0.43 miles south of U.S. 6 will be cleaned and painted for $80,766 by Thomas Industrial Coatings, Inc. of Pevely, Missouri, the lowest of five bidders.

Illinois Route 23 will receive intermittent resurfacing north and south of Streator for $265,841 by H.J. Eppel & Co., Inc of Pontiac, the lower of two bidders.

Illinois Route 71 will receive 3.76 miles of shoulder widening, rumble strips and signing from Illinois Route 89 to E. 275^th Road through Cedar Point for $785,985 by Advanced Asphalt Company of Princeton.

I-80 will receive 3.95 miles of milling and resurfacing from Fox River Bridge in Ottawa to just west of CH 15/Marseilles interchange for $8,495,025 by D Construction, Inc. of Coal City, the lower of two bidders.

I-39 will receive pavement patching from the Marshall County line to the Lee County line for $408,408 by G. M. Sipes Construction, Inc. of Rushville.

1.29 miles of work on base course widening, leveling, pipe culverts, shoulders and pavement markings will be done from 100 feet south of North 4425th Road to 75 feet north of 4550th Road for $539,625 by D Construction of Coal City, the lower of two bidders.

Lee County

Illinois Route 2 will receive 0.73 miles of resurfacing from east of River St. to Ottawa Avenue in Dixon for $420,542 by Martin & Company Excavating of Oregon, the lowest of three bidders.

Four bridges carrying I-39 over Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company Railroad and over Steward Creek will be partially cleaned and painted for $356,847 by Eagle Painting & Maintenance Co., Inc. of Lansing, the lowest of five bidders.

Two bridges carrying I-39 over U.S. 30 will be cleaned and painted for $731,637 by Three Star Painting, Inc. of Merrillville, Indiana, the lowest of four bidders.

Rock Island County

3rd Avenue will receive reconstruction from 19th St. to 23rd St. in Moline for $6,902,871 by McCarthy Improvement Company of Davenport, Iowa, the lower of two bidders.

Stark County

Removal of wingwalls and pipe, and removal and replacement of culvert will be done 1.5 miles west of Speer over the tributary to Mud Run Creek for $370,126 by Stark Excavating, Inc. of Bloomington, the lowest of three bidders.

Whiteside County

Two bridges carrying Avenue G over the Rock River in Sterling will have substructure repairs made and joint replacement done for $427,205 by Kovilic Construction Company, Inc. of Franklin Park, the lowest of four bidders.

The projects are part of Governor Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years. Illinois Jobs Now! is the largest construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest construction programs in the nation.

Ahead of Renewable Fuel Standard decision, Congressman urges Leadership to bring Ending Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act to House floor for a vote

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today wrote a letter to Speaker John Boehner urging House leadership to bring the Ending Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act of 2013 to the House floor for a vote. Braley previously announced his support for the legislation which would end tax breaks for the largest and most profitable oil companies, saving taxpayers roughly $40 billion over the next five years.

"The future of American energy is in domestic wind turbines and biofuels?and lies in places like Iowa's farmlands, not in Saudi oilfields," Braley said. "We need to be devoting our resources towards clean, homegrown energy, where Iowa has proven to be a global innovator."

The Ending Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act would end a host of tax breaks and loopholes currently used by the largest oil companies, that cost taxpayers billions of dollars annually. See a fact sheet of the bill's specific provisions online HERE.

"At a time when Congress is discussing budget cuts that affect middle class Americans, we do not need to be subsidizing some of the most profitable corporations in history," Braley's letter reads.

Braley has previously called on House leadership to repeal tax subsidies for big oil companies.

In 2011, Braley introduced the Clean Energy Jobs Act, which would have ended the tax breaks given to big oil, while using the savings to create jobs in Iowa, boost the renewable fuels industry and pay down the national deficit.

Braley's letter to Speaker Boehner can be found HERE.