T he stock market meltdown of 2001 sent a lot of people running for cover—but not the financial professionals who work with PLANCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hartford that wholesales our annuities, mutual funds and other financial services products. Despite a painful combination of recession and terrorism, PLANCO never wavered in its confidence in long-term economic growth or in its commitment to  the brokers and other intermediaries it serves. And throughout 2001, the industry’s leading wholesaler of annuities shared its unshakeable optimism and strengthened its partnerships with more than 153,000 financial advisors. It’s no accident that PLANCO, which The Hartford acquired in 1998, is the industry leader, as well as a trusted wholesaler of mutual funds, 401(k) plans and  single-premium variable life. When it comes to support- ing financial professionals, PLANCO does it right and does it often—especially during the most trying times. PLANCO wholesalers spent the latter part of 2001 reminding financial professionals that every 20th cen- tury downturn gave rise to a prolonged recovery, and urged them to think ahead to the first recovery of the 21st century. Within two weeks after the Sept. 11 tragedies, thousands of those professionals received a new brochure from PLANCO titled “From Crisis to Recovery.” It outlined the history of the bull markets that followed World War II, the Cuban missile crisis, the Iran hostage crisis and the Persian Gulf War, demon- strating the market’s resilience and ability to bounce back from a national crisis. attitude