Kusske Financial Management Inc. ADD TAGLINE OR SLOGAN EYE ON THE MARKET. September 2014 Express MARKET DATA

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1 OMPANY LOGO HERE Kusske Financial Management Inc. ADD TAGLINE OR SLOGAN Portland Ave South Burnsville, MN NPH Due Diligence MARKET DATA August 3 Mo. YTD 1 Year S&P % 4.15% 8.39% 22.68% Russell % 3.51% 0.92% 16.17% NASDAQ 4.82% 7.96% 9.67% 27.59% MSCI EAFE ($ basis) % % 0.46% 13.39% MSCI EAFE (local) 0.69% 0.47% 1.79% 12.58% UK (FTSE) 1.33% % 1.05% 6.34% Germany (DAX) 0.67% % % 16.87% Japan (NIKKEI) % 5.41% % 15.20% MSCI Emerging Markets ($ basis) 2.07% 5.86% 8.50% 17.03% Barclays Aggregate 1.10% 0.90% 4.81% 5.66% All market data as of the end of August Quoted index returns are based on month end index prices (in local currency except where noted) and do not include dividends. EYE ON THE MARKET September 2014 Express U.S. ECONOMIC DATA August Prior Month Beginning of Year Prior Year 10 year Treasury Yield 2.34% 2.56% 3.03% 2.75% Gold (London pm fixing per ounce in dollars) 1, , , , Oil ($ per barrel) VIX Index All economic and market data as of the end of August 2014

2 Eye on the Market Express Each summer, the Federal Bank of Kansas City sponsors a symposium on an important economic issue facing the United States and world economies. The symposium is more colloquially known as Jackson Hole, and this year it focused on Re-Evaluating Labor Market Dynamics. Interest in the summit was heightened this year due to the attendance of both Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. Ms. Yellen did little to add clarity to when interest rates will rise but instead shared the factors, especially labor market factors, the Fed considers when making policy decisions. In her keynote speech, Ms. Yellen stated that though labor markets have improved based upon factors such as strong monthly job gains and a relatively low traditional unemployment rate, it speaks to the depth of the damage that, five years after the end of the recession, the labor market has yet to fully recover. Examples of labor market weakness she cited include a declining labor force participation rate, an elevated number of part-time workers that desire full time employment, and restrained wage growth. She stated that now the most important economic uncertainty is determining just how far the economy now stands from the attainment of its maximum employment goal. The Fed is still scheduled to conclude its asset purchasing program in October of this year. After moving lower in July, U.S. equity indexes bounced back in August with the benchmark S&P 500 appreciating by 3.8% and closing the month at a new record high of Year to date the index has gained 8.4%. Small cap stocks as measured by the Russell 2000 gained 4.9% for August, which brings its year to date returns out of negative territory and up to 0.9%. Continuing the trend, the tech-heavy NASDAQ also more than recovered from its declines in July and posted a 4.8% percent return for August, which brought its year to date gains up to 9.7%. It is worth noting that the NASDAQ is still about 10% below its March 2000 peak. Drilling down into S&P 500 sectors, the strongest performing sectors for the month were Utilities, which were up 5.0% and Healthcare, which was up 4.9% for August. Utilities and Healthcare have been the top two performing sectors for the year as well, with both Healthcare and Utilities up 16.1% year to date as of the end of August. After a mild spike in July, volatility returned to lower levels in August as the VIX Index declined to Positive domestic equity returns in August were coupled with mixed domestic economic data. Starting with housing, this month brought reasons for both optimism and disappointment. In the optimistic column, housing starts for July beat expectations, coming in at a million annualized pace, and existing home sales also beat expectations, rising to a 5.15 million annualized pace. In addition, pending home sales were better than forecasted, and climbed 3.3% in July. On the other hand, new home sales in July were a disappointment at an annualized rate of 412,000 and the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index declined 0.2% in June when no change was expected. Moving to the labor

3 market, the economy added 209,000 non-farm payroll jobs in July. July s employment gains were relatively broad based and occurred in the professional and business services sector, manufacturing, retail trade, and construction. Turning towards consumer and business confidence, retail sales disappointed in July coming in flat for the month, and the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence index for August slid to its lowest level since November of last year. Finally, durable goods order surged in July by 22.6%, the largest monthly increase ever recorded. The increase was attributed to quite a strong spike in airplane orders. After broadly selling off in July, international developed markets were mixed for August with the benchmark MSCI EAFE Index gaining by 0.7% in local currency terms. However, once the index s returns are converted to a dollar basis, it declined by -0.4% due to a strengthening dollar and weakening Euro. The Euro s weakness has been attributed to recent poor economic data from the euro zone, including second quarter GDP figures that indicated no growth in the euro zone for the second quarter. France s growth was stagnant, Germany contracted by 0.2%, and the Italian economy even contracted for the second quarter in a row, meaning it is in a recession for the third time since the financial crisis. At his speech in Jackson Hole, ECB president Mario Draghi stated that inflation expectations had experienced a significant decline at the long horizon, and that the risks of doing too little outweigh the risks of doing too much, leading to speculation that the ECB will announce the initiation of some form of quantitative easing when it meets in September. Quantitative easing should, in theory, increase the supply of Euros and reduce its value. Looking at Europe s largest economy, the German DAX index rose by 0.7% in August, despite poor economic news. German business sentiment dropped for the fourth straight month in August, which promptly sent 10 year German bund yields below 1.0%, where they have been hovering since. On the shorter end of the German yield curve, investors have been accepting negative real (after inflation) rates on notes with maturities of three years and less. Moving away from Europe, Japan posted negative returns for the month with the Nikkei Index declining by 1.3% in August, bringing its loss for the year to 5.3%. Japan also saw negative economic data in August with second quarter figures reporting a 6.8% decline in GDP. The shrinkage was largely attributed to a decline in private consumption due to a sales tax hike introduced in April. Moving to emerging markets, the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets index rose 2.1% for the month and 8.5% for the year on a dollar basis. The rise has been attributed to strengthening economic data from the United States, which could boost export driven economies. Despite the positive returns for the broader Emerging Markets index, there have been some worrying developments in China, including declining manufacturing output and home prices dropping in 64 of 70 Chinese cities in July. Russia s economy continues to struggle

4 as the effect of Western lead sanctions are beginning to take effect. As of the last trading day in August, the Russian ruble was worth $0.027, an historic low. Domestic fixed income markets rose in August, with the benchmark Barclays Aggregate Bond Index rising by 1.10%. The index is heavily composed of U.S. Treasuries, which benefited from a flight to quality due to geopolitical concerns over the escalating hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note declined over 20 basis points to 2.34% as global demand for longer-dated U.S. government debt increased. With the decline in interest rates, especially on the long-end of the yield curve, once again the top performing sector in the U.S. bond market was long-duration U.S. Treasuries with the Barclays US Treasury Long Index returning 4.0% for the month and 17.3% for the year. It is important to be aware that if interest rates were to suddenly increase due to increased inflation or other factors, that long dated Treasuries may be highly vulnerable to potential price declines. On the other end of the spectrum, high yield bonds also outperformed the broad index and ended the month with the BofAML Masters II High Yield Index posting a 1.5% gain for the month after selling off in July and the early part of August. The commodities markets struggled a bit this month. Gold prices rose by $0.50 to end the month at $1, The precious metal was hurt by the appreciation of the dollar. Despite continued hostilities in Iraq, oil prices fell in August to $95.96 per barrel. Fighting in Iraq has been concentrated in the northern part of the country, but the its oil fields are mainly concentrated in the southern part. Increased U.S. oil production has also helped dampen any pressure for oil prices to rise. IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES: Kusske Financial Management, Inc. is separate from and unrelated to NPC and all other named companies. The Market Update has been prepared by National Planning Holdings, Inc. (NPH), for use by its affiliated broker- dealers which includes National Planning Corporation, member FINRA, SIPC. This Update is for informational purposes only any mention of any security, index, corporation is not meant as a solicitation to buy or sell any security, or any investment related to any corporation mentioned in this Update. Securities offered through National Planning Corporation (NPC of America SM in FL & NY) Member FINRA/SIPC. Opinions, Forecasts and Statistical Information. All expressions of opinions and forecasts expressed in this Market Update are based on assumptions we feel are reasonable. However, these opinions and forecasts may or may not actually come to pass. This information is subject to change at any time, based on market or other conditions and should not be construed as a recommendation. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward- looking statements

5 because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Past performance does not guarantee future results. NPH, its affiliates, officers, directors or their employees may in the normal course of business, have a position in any securities mentioned in this report. This Update also contains statistical information related to the performance of certain indices which are presented for illustrative purposes only as factors that may have an impact on today s economic environments. Keep in mind individuals cannot invest directly in any index, and index performance does not include transaction cost or other fees, which will affect actual investment performance. Individual investor s results will vary. See the table below for a description of the indices used in this Update. Risks of Investing. Both stock and bond investing are subject to risks, including the possibility you may lose money and include credit, interest rate and inflation risk. Stock or bond market investing may not be suitable for all investors. Certain investments including international investments, global or emerging markets, securities of small to middle sized companies, companies with low quality industry ratings, commodities, foreign currencies are subject to a higher degree of risk than more conservative investments and thus may only be suitable for the more speculative investor. International investments are subject to special risks, such as political unrest, economic instability, and currency fluctuations. Securities products are Not FDIC/NCUA Insured; Are Not Guaranteed By Any Bank or Credit Union, and May Lose Value. NPC is not affiliated with any bank or credit union. Affiliate Disclosure. Please note that NPH and <INVEST Financial Corporation> are affiliates of Jackson National Life Insurance Company and Curian Capital LLC. INDEX DESCRIPTION 10 Year Treasury The closing yield on 10- year Treasury notes calculated on a daily basis. Data sourced from the Federal Reserve. Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index Barclays Municipal Bond Index BofAML Masters II High Yield Index Conference Board Consumer Confidence A broad based index used to represent performance of investment grade bonds traded in the United States. The index includes Treasury securities, government related and corporate securities, mortgage- backed securities and asset- backed securities. An unmanaged index considered representative of the tax- exempt bond market. An unmanaged index tracks the performance eof below investment grade, but not in default, U.S. dollar- denominated corporate bonds publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market, and includes issues with a credit rating of BBB or below, as rated by Moody s and S&P. An indicator used to measure consumer confidence in the economy produced by the Conference Board on a monthly basis based upon a survey of 5,000 households.

6 DAX (Germany) Dow Jones Industrial Average Federal Funds Rate FTSE (UK) FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index GDP Gold ISM MSCI EAFE MSCI Emerging Markets NASDAQ Nikkei (Japan) Oil Retail Sales Russell 2000 S & P 500 Shanghai Composite Thomson- Reuters Jefferies CRB Index Unemployment VIX Index A total return index of 30 selected German blue chip stocks traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. An unmanaged index of 30 widely held securities. Targeted interest rate at which depository institutions lend to each other overnight. The rate is targeted by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). A capitalization- weighted index of the 100 most highly capitalized companies traded on the London Stock Exchange. Market capitalization weighted index that includes all tax- qualified REITs listed on the New York Stock Exchange. A measure of broad economic output in the United States produced by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis on a quarterly basis with revisions made monthly. Value of gold based upon the afternoon fix (15:00 GMT) in London each afternoon. A measure of manufacturing activity reported by the Institute of Supply Management each month. A reading over 50 signifies growth in manufacturing during the month. A widely accepted benchmark of foreign stocks. It comprises 21 MSCI country indices, representing the developed markets outside North America: Europe, Australasia and the Far East. A widely accepted benchmark of emerging markets stocks. It is a float- adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets. An unmanaged index of all stocks traded on the NASDAQ over- the- counter market. An unmanaged price- weighted index of 225 widely held stocks listed in Japan. Closing value of light, sweet crude oil futures in the near month. A measure of retail sales compiled monthly by the US Department of Commerce An unmanaged index of small cap securities. An unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks. Index of all listed (A and B share class) stocks traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. A widely accepted benchmark of commodity prices. The index is designed to provide a representation of long- only broadly diversified investment in commodities. A measure of unemployment compiled monthly by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Measure of market expectations of near- term volatility based on S&P 500 stock option prices.