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Since we announced that Inve$tWare and ICLUBcentral joined forces, there has been a great deal of speculation about the implications of this step we have taken. Some have expressed concern that we may have somehow forsaken our loyal friends as we ride off into the sunset. This kind of conjecture is way off the mark. Simply put, you haven't heard the last of us. ICLUBcentral has some core competencies that are better than Inve$tWare's. Happily, we can now rely upon someone else's dealing with those things. Our strong suits lie in the area of creativity, engineering expertise, user experience, responsiveness, and of course service and support. And we expect to bring to the table contributions in all of those areas. To be sure, we have a transition ahead of us that will entail some training and reshaping of some past practices. And, it may take some patience on your part as we make the changes for the better. But I have no doubts that you will be pleased with the results in a short time. As a practical matter, we find the ICLUBcentral team to be a delightful group to work with. All of our conversations have been upbeat and productive, usually hearing each others' ideas and excitedly building on them. If you could witness the content and tone of our communication, you'd soon realize there's no downside here for NAIC members. Most of our talk is about how to improve our customers' experience. And we're having a great time doing it! All of our NAIC investing products will benefit from this collaboration. And, we'll be much better able to design all our products to focus on the needs and wants of our audience rather than on retaining market share for individual products. In other words, it's going to be much better for NAIC and for members who want some direction when it comes to which software is best for them. Finally, a personal note. Those of you who have attended the half dozen events I've participated in since I retired July 1st (or, for that matter, who plan to attend the nine events next year to which I've already accepted invitations) will understand that this is, for me, the perfect retirement. It means that I no longer have to do anything but the things I enjoy doing. And that's just great! So no, you haven't seen the last of us. Ellis Traub
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