How To Be Rich - Guaranteed and How To Become A Capitalist - Gevers Wealth Management, LLC

July 2014
How to Be Rich Guaranteed and How to Become a Capitalist

I have discovered a guaranteed to way to become wealthy.

Two of my sons and I recently returned from a trip to the slums of Mexico where we were on a
mission to build houses for some homeless families. Our small group of Dads and sons were all from
the greater Eastside. We all hoped to serve, and teach our boys to serve as well, and we also wanted to
give our families some perspective on their lives in the US.

The area we worked in suffers from poverty you can see from the building site below that the
neighborhood we were in was a far cry from the well-to-do suburbs of Seattle.

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Gevers Wealth Management, LLC
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The work was hot, dirty and dusty. However to my delight, my sons and I learned how to frame, roof,
and install windows and siding. I have to confess to my embarrassment that my expertise with a
spreadsheet and finances are far better than my almost non-existent building skills. I was quite grateful
that my boys learned some valuable life skills that their Dad had not been able to teach them. I was
also filled with pride watching them install and finish a roof under a blazing Mexican sun.

We split into building teams of eight or nine, and built four homes in a week. Some of us had little
carpentry experience and enjoyed the challenge of learning new things. As our group was filled with
highly competitive guys - some good natured competition, bantering, cheering, and jeering were a
regular part of our days too.

The families who were to receive the homes were carefully selected ahead of time by DOXA Serves,
the building ministry we were serving with. Each family had a special story, and we got to know them
a little as they often spent most of the day near the worksite, eager to help in any way they could.
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Some of the boys would play with the local children at the end of our work day.
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Almost done

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Lunch was sandwiches and warm Gatorade.

Our housing was a vacant room in an orphanage, and we slept on concrete floors. Bathroom facilities
were spartan. You can see our shower below.

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Five gallons of lukewarm water was not effective at removing a workdays
worth of sweat, dirt and dust.

Our team with the young family who received the home we built
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So here is the guaranteed way to become rich I promised you and I think it is obvious where I am
going with this working and living in these conditions helps to completely reset ones expectations,
desires and wants.

When the young family walked into their home for the first time, the husband sobbed uncontrollably.
When he could finally speak, we learned through our interpreter why he was so overwhelmed. He said
that he had been working in a local factory twelve hour days for six days a week for years. He had
been trying to save for his family but said that he had given up hope that they would ever have a
home of their own. He said that he was overjoyed to have a house for his family, and that we had given
him not only a home, but also given him hope for the future once again.

He then asked if he could pray for us, and as we bowed our heads, he asked for a blessing on all of us
and our families. There was barely a dry eye in the room.

Our group of Dads included venture capitalists, software executives, a professional athlete,
entrepreneurs, a movie producer, and real estate developers and we all felt a conflicting mixture of
emotions and thoughts. Humbled that the young Mexican man was praying for us, a little sheepish and
guilty perhaps for the wealth of being an American, grateful for the opportunity to live in our
wonderful country, and thankful for the opportunity to serve others, even just a little.

Perhaps the most unsettling comment was spoken on our last day. Eric, our leader, and one of the
founders of DOXA Serves, said to us, Look around you guys and think about this. You think this is
bad, but this is the middle class for most of the world there are millions of other people around the
globe that live in conditions far worse than this.

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My sons Trey and Gentry, and me.

A special and warm Thank You! to our friends and clients who donated. Your funds went directly to
purchase home buildings and supplies, you helped put these families into their first homes, and you
blessed them greatly.

How to Become a Capitalist

Our trip to the Mexican slums had a profound impact on my sons and I, and we hope to serve again
and stay sensitive to the needs of others. However, reflecting on the poverty there further increased my
deep convictions that our economic system in the United States is exceptional and a powerful system
for creating wealth and providing financial blessings for many. Someone once said that, The US has
the richest poor people in the world. and that fact is a direct result and benefit of our capitalistic
economy.

Capitalism has worked very well. Anyone who wants to move
to North Korea is welcome.
Bill Gates
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My youngest son Trey came home from school earlier this year and as usual I greeted him with a big
hug, and a warm greeting. I also exclaimed to him, Congratulations someone else made some
money for you today! And you know whats better; you didnt have to do any work for your gains. The
employees at the company you own are all working diligently to make the company successful, and if
they succeed then you will too!

He looked at me in surprise and some puzzlement, so I explained to him that the stock of a company
that he and I had researched together had recently gone up in value, and since he had purchased a few
shares in his investment account, he had made money on his small investment.

What is Capitalism?

An economic and political system in which a country's trade
and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather
than by the state.
In a narrower sense, and more relevant to us as investors, capitalism might be characterized as the
productive use of capital (money) to create wealth. Using Bill Gates and his company as an example, if
an investor had purchased Microsoft stock in the past he then became an owner in the company. In
exchange Microsoft could then use the investors capital to attempt to increase wealth. Happily, MSFT
has been wonderfully successful at that goal, and thus an owner (stockholder) has been able to share in
that success through an increase in the price of their stock as well as collecting dividends paid to them
by the company.

My sons small experiment at capitalism paid off for him as his stock had gone up in value. Of course
as his father, I was eager to use this experience as a teaching experience and life lesson for him.
One of the hallmarks of the financial success of our capitalistic economy is that many US companies
have been quite successful at creating wealth the money invested in them has grown and multiplied
through the prosperity and profitability of the enterprise. For example, noted below is the Return on
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Equity (ROE) of US companies in various industry sectors. ROE is an indicator of how profitable a
company is.
Industry Name
Number of
firms ROE
Advertising 65 16.51%
Aerospace/Defense 95 21.60%
Air Transport 25 42.68%
Computer Software 273 21.53%
Electronics 191 7.98%
Farming/Agriculture 29 4.82%
Financial Svcs. 76 15.50%
Healthcare Information and Technology 125 9.45%
Homebuilding 32 32.64%
Hotel/Gaming 89 4.50%
Insurance (Life) 27 6.08%
Insurance (Prop/Cas.) 53 14.34%
Internet software and services 330 11.75%
Oil/Gas Distribution 80 12.66%
Oilfield Svcs/Equip. 163 13.18%
Packaging & Container 24 15.61%
Paper/Forest Products 21 15.98%
R.E.I.T. 46 12.55%
Railroad 10 19.85%
Recreation 70 18.03%
Restaurant 84 27.46%
Retail (Automotive) 30 30.79%
Retail (Grocery and Food) 21 10.91%
Semiconductor 104 13.14%
Shipbuilding & Marine 14 0.37%
Shoe 14 24.27%
Steel 37 -6.67%
Tobacco 12 214.71%
Transportation 22 14.75%
Utility (General) 20 7.34%
Total Market 7766 15.68%
Source: NYU- Stern School of Business database http://people.stern.nyu.edu/adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/roe.html

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How do you become a Capitalist?

Financial peace isnt the acquisition of stuff. I ts learning to
live on less than you make, so you can give money back and
have money to invest. You cant win until you do this.
Dave Ramsey

You cannot become a capitalist and take advantage of the wealth creation and compounding effect of
the US economy unless you have surplus capital to invest. A simple concept but almost completely
ignored and overlooked by the average person. Regrettably for the financial well-being of the average
US citizen the savings rate in the country is and has been abysmally low for many decades. One might
argue that it is a challenge for folks just starting their career, or for the poor, to save and that
undoubtedly is true. However, multiple studies have shown that even US families with higher incomes
have done a poor job of saving.

Source: Nextadvisor

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One of the most important money lessons my wife and I have been trying to convey to our children is
the importance of financial surplus and saving and using some of that saving to become a capitalist,
i.e. to become an owner in great companies through the stock market.

I have learned that lesson from the examples of others most importantly my parents and our clients.
My Mom and Dad immigrated here from Holland, and arrived in the US with hardly any possessions
other than the clothes on their backs. Years of diligent work, and many years of savings and investing
transformed my parents from penniless refugees of WWII to prosperous middle class retirees.
Our dear clients often share the same traits they have become rich the old fashioned way, by being
excellent at their careers, by saving consistently, and by investing well. My parents and our clients
have harnessed the power of capitalism to create prosperity and wealth for themselves and for their
families.

They are all living examples of the fruits of success of capitalism.
But What about all the Problems with Capitalism?
Capitalism is not perfect, but compared to the other 'isms,' it's

far superior.
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Yes there are lots of problems in the capitalist system. Bill Gates himself, perhaps one of the most
extravagantly successful beneficiaries of capitalism in our lifetime has said; Capitalism has
shortfalls. It doesn't necessarily take care of the poor, and it underfunds innovation, so we have to
offset that. We have to find a way to make the aspects of capitalism that serve wealthier people serve
poorer people as well.

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Here is my simple argument in defense of capitalism the surplus of capitalism allowed our group to
travel to Mexico to help others, and it allowed all of our clients and friends the freedom and surplus to
donate funds for the houses to bless others. The success of capitalism also allows all the dear clients
we serve to enjoy a pleasant and prosperous life and to provide for and bless their families. From those
examples capitalism is an unqualified success.

A lesson I learned from my Mexico trip is the importance and significance of using our surplus to bless
others, and a renewed conviction of the importance and power of capitalism and investments.

That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and
loved much; Who has gained the respect of intelligent men
and the love of children; Who has filled his niche and
accomplished his task; Who leaves the world better than he
found it, whether by improved poppy, a perfect poem or a
rescued soul; Who never lack appreciation of the earths
beauty or failed to express it; Who looked for the best in
others and gave the best he had.
- Robert Louis Stevenson
Warm Regards,

William R. Gevers
Financial Advisor

PS: Our firm has been following the Ten Percent Promise. Each year Gevers Wealth Management,
LLC gives at least ten percent of our net profit to charities, organizations, and community groups that
are doing good works in the community and the world. If you are a client with our firm, you are
helping us help others. Please feel free to contact us for a list of the groups we enjoy supporting and
partnering with.
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PPS: We have been repeatedly asked by clients if they could share these e-mail notes with their friends
or neighbors. Please feel free to forward this with the stipulation that it may only be forwarded if done
so in its entirety with no portions omitted. We would be delighted to share our comments and opinions
with your friends, and welcome your comments and feedback. If you received this and would like to be
included on our newsletter list, please email us at wgevers@geverswealth.com

Copyright 2014 William R. Gevers. All rights reserved.

Warm Regards,

William R. Gevers
Financial Advisor

5825 221
st
Place SE
Suite 102
Issaquah, WA98027
Office: 425.902.4840
Fax: 425.902.4841
Email: wgevers@geverswealth.com

The views are those of Gevers Wealth Management, LLC, and should not be construed as individual investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable
sources; however, no representation is made as to its completeness or accuracy. All economic and performance information is historical and not indicative of future results.
Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Please consult your financial advisor for more information. Securities and advisory services offered through Cetera Advisor
Networks LLC Member FINRA/SIPC. Cetera is under separate ownership from an any other named entity.

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US Money Supply, US Dollar, and Inflation/Deflation Watch

"Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history
to wait for the train of the future to run over him."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

US Money Supply Adjusted Monetary Base

(http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?s%5B1%5D%5Bid%5D=AMBNS#)

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US Dollar Price (DXY) USD Index Measured against Other Currencies

(http://barchart.com/chart.php?sym=DXY00&style=technical&template=&p=MC&d=H&sd=01%2F01%2F20
00&ed=&size=M&log=0&t=LINE&v=1&g=1&evnt=1&late=1&o1=&o2=&o3=&sh=100&indicators=&ad
dindicator=&submitted=1&fpage=&txtDate=#jump)

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Inflation/Deflation -Year to Date Price Increase in Commodities and Basics as Measured by
Futures

(http://www.finviz.com/futures_performance.ashx?v=17)

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Velocity is a measure of how quickly money is spent. High velocity is typically a precondition for inflation.

(http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/MZMV)

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July 2014

How to Be Rich Guaranteed and How to Become a Capitalist

But What about all the Problems with Capitalism?

Capitalism is not perfect, but compared to the other 'isms,' it's

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