Covington had the pleasure of attending the Charles Schwab Impact Conference held in Boston, MA this year. This marks the 25th year of the conference with around 1,800 advisors from all over the country in attendance. Each year Schwab strives to provide best in class speakers from various backgrounds who offer their unique perspectives on their field of expertise. This year’s keynote speakers ranged from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford Motor Company.
In addition to the in-depth educational sessions we attended, highlights of the general sessions were the following:
Bernie Clark – Executive Vice President of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and head of Schwab Advisor Services:
Over the past 10 years, the Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) industry has grown from $1.6 trillion to $4 trillion.
There are over 14,000 RIA firms today.
RIA’s employ over 32,000 people.
There’s $23 trillion in untapped opportunities for Advisors....
1247 Hits
Opening Night at the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra
Covington Investment Advisors, Inc. sponsored the opening night of the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s forty-seventh season on Saturday, October 24, 2015. Patrick Wallace, President of Covington, is pictured above with Kim Dickert-Wallace on his left and Covington’s Cindy Jones and Daniel Messmer. The Ligonier Investment firm and the Wallace’s are pleased to support the arts and cultural heritage that makes Westmoreland County a special place.
The WSO’s season opening concert featured violin virtuoso, Yevgeny Kutik, performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major. Mr. Kutik emigrated from Minsk, Belarus to the United States at the age of five. He has studied the violin since arriving in America and has performed with the Boston Pops and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. Mr. Kutik has also recorded and released a number of CD’s including “Music from the Suitcase: A Collection of Russian Miniatures.”
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Fort Ligonier Days
One sure sign of autumn in the Laurel Highlands is the Fort Ligonier Days Festival. Occurring on the 2nd full weekend in October this 3-day event commemorates the battle of Fort Ligonier on October 12, 1758 which was a key engagement of the French and Indian War. This year’s festival is scheduled for October 9, 10 and 11 and marks the 56th year of the event.
Attractions during all of the three days include craft vendors, food booths, merchant sidewalk sales, Kids Korner at the Ligonier Valley YMCA, musical entertainment and, of course, special events at the Fort. There is something for everyone and every interest.
Craft and Food booths open at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 9 and the official opening ceremony will be at noon on the Diamond.
Saturday’s highlight is the parade on Main Street at 11:00 a.m. which includes... 
IDENTITY THEFT 101
“But he that filches from me my good name/Robs me of that which not enriches him/And makes me poor indeed.”
-Shakespeare, Othello, act iii. Sc. 3.
What is Identity Theft?
Identity Theft and Identity Fraud are defined as terms used “to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains another person’s personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain” (www.justice.gov, 2015). Identity Theft can be something as little as unauthorized persons taking funds out of your bank account or in worst cases taking over your identity altogether and running up debts, committing crimes, etc. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the average number of Americans who fall victim to identity fraud is 11.5 million annually and the average financial loss is $5,000.
Before Congress created the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998, identity... 
