Articles, insights and analysis.

Greenleaf Trust is proud to announce the promotion of Beverly Whaley to a trust relationship associate. She is responsible for day-to-day servicing of account needs, trust administration, and fiduciary compliance while coordinating estate and tax planning strategies with other professional advisors for her clients. Beverly ensures clear, concise communication by coordinating the team’s workflow and […]

Evidenced by the spring break crowds as well as daily airline passenger totals, it is clear people are experiencing real COVID-19 fatigue and are increasing their appetite for risk. Further evidence is the infection rate among younger individuals that helps to explain increased case rates and hospitalizations. Fortunately, duration of stays in hospitals have been […]

After a miserable February in Michigan, I felt like all of us at Greenleaf Trust needed some acknowledgement of where we have been and some encouragement regarding the way forward. Below is an excerpt from what I wrote to our team and I am sharing it here with the idea that we can all benefit […]

Here is a quiz for our readers. Currently, credit spreads on 1-10 year corporate bonds are 81 basis points, meaning, yields on these bonds are 0.81% higher than on comparable Treasury bonds. Will these corporate bonds outperform Treasury bonds by roughly 0.81% over the next year? If history is our guide, the answer is actually […]

The financial markets provided strong returns in 2020, despite the staggering human and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The strong returns and the resulting increase in endowment values have been beneficial to many nonprofits, which continue to see a heightened demand for their essential support services. As the disease has come under greater control, […]

With proper estate planning, the big-ticket items like real estate, valuable artwork, and heirloom jewelry are often addressed directly in the estate planning documents. Some of the most argued-about items during the estate settlement process are often not over money or items of monetary value. The disagreements often stem from claims to personal property or […]

Did you know that April is financial literacy month? You may be asking yourself, what exactly is “financial literacy”? Financial literacy is often defined as “the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.” You may be wondering how financial literacy is related to retirement planning. Simply, […]

Tax Day is only months away, Kristin Bennett, CFP, CPWA discusses this as an additional planning time, making sure smart decisions are being made when it comes to your finances and the future. Listen on WGVU Public Media