Greenleaf Trust recognized as Best and Brightest Company to Work For in Metro Detroit and West Michigan by National Association for Business Resources for 14th consecutive year

Greenleaf Trust is honored to be named as one of the 2024 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in Metro Detroit and West Michigan by the National Association for Business Resources. This year marks the fourteenth consecutive year of receiving these awards. Considering the ten to one ratio of this program, these winning companies […]

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February Retail Sales – Below Forecasts

On the heels of a robust holiday shopping season, U.S. retail sales decelerated sharply in January and missed forecasts in February, underscoring concerns over how household spending will hold up this year.

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February Inflation – Generally As Expected

Year-over-year, inflation rose 3.2% in February, up 0.1% compared to January and 0.1% ahead of expectations.  Month-over-month, prices increased +0.4%, up 0.1% compared to January and consistent with expectations.  While inflation has declined substantially from a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022, today’s report reinforces the Fed’s cautious approach to cutting interest rates as […]

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Greenleaf Trust deepens the bench in Governance, Risk and Compliance division

Julie Weston has transitioned from the client centric team to her new role as a special asset risk management associate as a member of the governance, risk and compliance team.

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February Jobs – Unemployment Rises Despite Healthy Job Gains

Strong February job gains mask a gradually cooling labor market.  The unemployment rate climbed to a two-year high of 3.9% in February, but remains below 4% as hiring remained healthy.  The U.S. labor market added 275K jobs following a combined 167K downward revision to the prior two months.  The rise in the unemployment rate appeared […]

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March 2024 Perspectives Newsletter

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We Can Do This Together, Michigan

Is Michigan growing? The short answer is no. Is that a problem? Yes. Can we do something about it? Yes.

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Economic Commentary

The S&P 500 has been on a tear in 2024, extending the positive momentum from the end of 2023. February marked the index’s fourth consecutive month of positive returns, contributing to a year-to-date gain of more than 7% and an increase of more than 24% from the late-October low point.

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Cryogenics and Revival Trusts – Really?

Currently there is a growing interest in revival trusts. A revival trust is one which holds, or financially supports, a decedent’s cryogenically preserved body, or a decedent’s head (brain) with the intent that centuries from now, their body or brain can be revived with the advancement of medical science.

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Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products

The financial market’s landscape is continually evolving, and the introduction of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) signifies a notable shift towards integrating digital assets into mainstream investment portfolios.

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Tiny Heirs, Big Plans: Mastering Minor Inheritances with Trusts, Wills, and Custodial Accounts

Can a minor child inherit financial assets and/or property? The answer is YES, they can.

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A New Dawn on the Retirement Plan Landscape

The passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act is spurring an evolution in the retirement plan industry. As more guidance and clarification is provided on some of the provisions of this voluminous act we can see a very different future direction.

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NYCB & Flagstar Bank

You may have seen another regional bank in the headlines recently, NYCB – New York Community Bancorp.  The trouble with NYCB appears to be isolated. However, we wanted to point out that NYCB owns Flagstar bank which has several branches in Michigan. If you have a client with uninsured deposits (>$250,000) at Flagstar, you should […]

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The Corporate Transparency Act

The Corporate Transparency Act is simple in concept, but more complicated in its application. Wendy Cox supplies some definitions, deadlines and guidelines on how to navigate the new legislation.

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MarketWatch: Divorce Can Cost You. Don’t Overlook These 8 Financial Matters

Syndicated coverage from Barron’s. Managing Director – Great Lakes Bay Region, Jennifer West provides insight on financial considerations when navigating divorce.

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Barron’s: Divorce Can Cost You. Don’t Overlook These 8 Financial Matters

Managing Director – Great Lakes Bay Region, Jennifer West, provides insight in Barron’s on important financial considerations when navigating a divorce.

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January Retail Sales – Womp Womp

On the heels of a robust holiday shopping season, U.S. retail sales decelerated sharply in January falling short of expectations. 

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Greenleaf Trust announces the addition of five team members

Greenleaf Trust nears 200 employees with the addition of five team members to the client centric and research teams.

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WZZM: Social Security and saving for the future

Senior Vice President, Senior Wealth Management Advisor, Nicole Asher, speaks to 13 on Your Side on social security and saving for retirement.

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Money.com: A New Bill Aims to Fix Social Security by Eliminating Taxes on Benefits

Senior Vice President, Senior Wealth Management Advisor, Nicole Asher, comments on social security bills for Money.com.

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February 2024 Perspectives Newsletter

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How We Work

The top five most common adjectives used by teammates to describe the behavior they admire most in teammates were kindness, honesty, supportive, reliable, and helpful.

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Economic Commentary

We’re off to a decent start in 2024. If you believe the notion that “as goes January, so goes the year,” the so-called January Barometer suggests we may be in for a positive year for stocks.

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Build It With the End in Mind

Considerations for Building and Transitioning the Family Business

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Navigating Election Year Volatility

Insights into Market Trends and Strategies for Long-Term Investors

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401(k) Distributions – What Options Are Available Now?

When we think of retirement, we think of reaching that magical age of 65 and living our remaining years on the funds we worked so hard saving.

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January Jobs – Wow… just wow.

Surging job gains and higher wages great for economy and consumers, but likely extend rate cut timing.

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Greenleaf Trust announces two designations

Business Resiliency Analyst, Lyndsay Deery, received her Certified Business Continuity Professional designation. Vice President, Senior Trust Relationship Officer, Karen McNish, received her Certified Trust Fiduciary Advisor

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2023 Review & 2024 Outlook

Chief Investment Officer, Nicholas Juhle and Vice President, Assistant Director of Research, Christopher Burns, present the 2023 year in review and 2024 outlook presentation.

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Greenleaf Trust announces promotions in Northern Michigan

Greenleaf Trust is pleased to share the promotion of Regina Jaeger and Lauree VanderVeen to Vice President, Northern Michigan Market Team Leads and Senior Trust Relationship Officers.

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Greenleaf Trust announces 27 promotions.

Greenleaf Trust is pleased to share the promotions of the following teammates: Salena Al-Saadi was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Senior CRM Engineer. Peggy Anderson was promoted to Executive Vice President, Director of Operations. Nicole Asher was promoted to Senior Vice President, Senior Wealth Management Advisor. Karen Baldwin was promoted to Chief Human Resources Officer. […]

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December Inflation – Uptick Complicates Rate Cut Timing

Year-over-year, inflation accelerated to 3.4% in December – the highest reading since September.

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Greenleaf Trust named Inclusive Workplace by COLOR Magazine

Best Companies Group, in collaboration with COLOR Magazine, recognized Greenleaf Trust as an Inclusive Workplace in December 2023.

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Recognizing Growth and Impact

Promotions are always based on merit and impact at Greenleaf Trust, not time in role. Needless to say, I am extremely proud to recognize these teammates and share their new titles with you.

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2023 Review and 2024 Outlook

Happy New Year! While 2023 did not lack for drama, it was also a positive year for the economy and markets. After a painful 2022, last year was a welcome period of recovery that exceeded expectations.

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When Divorce and Grantor Trusts Collide

Currently, many married couples are encouraged to establish a trust for their spouse as part of their sophisticated estate plans. They are prompted to utilize their federal transfer tax exemption while it is large, since come 2026, if Congress does not act in the interim, their individual exemptions are set to drop from close to $14 million to about $6 million.

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Survey Says…

Continuous improvement is one of Greenleaf Trust’s core values — it is a pillar of our culture and has become part of our DNA. Every tangible improvement we have made on behalf of our clients stems from a disciplined review of our practices.

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New Year, Same Deadlines for Defined Contribution Retirement Plans

Understand what is happening with your business’s retirement plan. Christie Dando shares some of the most important deadlines you should be aware of for 2024 and beyond.

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January 2024 Perspectives Newsletter

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Financial Planning: How the election will hit markets and 4 other wealth predictions for 2024

Wealth Management Advisor, Mike Laske, discussed attractive investment opportunities for 2024 with Financial Planning Magazine.

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November Inflation – Down YoY; Up MoM

Year-over-year, inflation decelerated modestly to 3.1% from 3.2% in October.  Month-over-month, inflation ticked up to 0.1% from 0.0% in October. 

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November Jobs – Stronger Than Expected

U.S. employers added more jobs than expected and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in November, underscoring the Federal Reserve’s intent to keep interest rates higher for longer.

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The Plan for 2024

Next year will mark the tenth and final year of our long-term strategic plan to be Top of Mind. The goal of the plan has always been to be top of mind with our clients by creating a unique holistic wealth management experience for them through our continuity of care and commitment to continuous improvement.

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Economic Commentary

Thanksgiving is over, December is here and the holiday season is in full swing. I’m honestly not sure where the last twelve months have gone, but it has certainly been both an eventful and fruitful year. In what follows, I’ll spend some time covering both the events and the fruits as we wrap up 2023.

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Shaking the Capital Gain Blues

While rising markets may lead to more gains than downward trending markets, many funds continue to generate taxable gains no matter the market environment.

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Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Retirement Plans for 2024

The IRS recently announced that many of the key retirement plan limits will increase next year. These limit increases are more modest than the 2023 increases, with some limits remaining the same.

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The Season of Giving

This is the traditional time for gift-giving, but there can be many advantages to making financial gifts earlier in the year, to both family and charity.

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Gladiators of the Market: Exchange-Traded Funds

This article delves into the history of ETFs, their operating mechanics, adoption, and their benefits.

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December 2023 Perspectives Newsletter

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Greenleaf Trust announces two designations on client centric team

Senior Estate Settlement Officer, Alexandria Solis-Mullen, receives Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor designation, and Senior Wealth Management Advisor, Corbin Donaldson, receives Chartered Life Underwriter designation.

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