Articles, insights and analysis.

Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Juhle talks about the “tough medicine” when markets are volatile, and reminding clients to keep a long-term perspective on their investments. Read more on MLive (subscriber article).

Greenleaf Trust is proud to announce wealth management certification for Richard Carden Senior Wealth Management Associate Richard Carden, CFP®, ChFC® successfully completed the American College of Financial Services program and examination to become a Chartered Financial Consultant®. The program covers topics such as tax planning, retirement planning, special needs advising and wealth management, among other […]

Greenleaf Trust is proud to announce project management designation for Quinn McCormick. Compliance Specialist Quinn McCormick, CAPM® successfully completed and passed the Project Management Academy Certified Associate in Project Management Certification Training and has been awarded the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) designation. The program aims to educate professionals in the fundamentals and terminology […]

May retail sales up 8.1% year-over-year; down 0.5% after inflation. In real terms, retail spending came in slightly below levels observed in May 2021 when retail sales jumped nearly 30%. Increased spending on gasoline (+43% YoY) accounted for a large portion of the nominal increase, but strength was also evident in brick and mortar retail […]

Today, the S&P 500 officially entered a bear market closing down more than 20% from the peak on January 3. Year-to-date, 2022 has been difficult for investors, offering limited opportunities for positive returns. In this update, we offer historical perspective on the bear market experience, highlight issues likely to shape the path forward (for better […]

U.S. inflation unexpectedly accelerated to hit a new 40-year high in May. Record gasoline prices and geopolitical factors threaten to keep inflation high in the coming months suggesting the Fed – which has already committed to half-point rate increases at each of its next two meetings (starting next week) – will need to apply more […]

June 8, 2022, Grand Rapids, MI – Greenleaf Trust adds to the Family Office Division Greenleaf Trust adds three new teammates to the Family Office Division: Andy Fabiano joins Greenleaf Trust as a senior family office wealth advisor. As part of the Family Office at Greenleaf Trust, Andy is responsible for the coordination and oversight […]

The New York Fed revised their May 19 Weekly Economic Indicator reading upward to 4.29%; however, their May 26 initial reading declined to 3.52%, reflecting the trend in place. Simultaneously, the Conference Board, as well as University of Michigan consumer surveys, also mirrored a small, but consistent, decline in consumer sentiment and confidence in short […]

The development of our talent is critical to our growth. As we continue to find and hire new teammates we need to make sure they are properly supported. We do this by making sure every teammate in our organization has a coach. The coach’s primary responsibility is to support and develop those they lead along […]

A Case Study on Portfolio Diversification Many of you are familiar with the phrase popularized by Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” This rudimentary economic principle tends to hold true within the realm of economic theory; however, this idea was put to task by Harry Markowitz in […]