Spring Harvesting

The year 2022 has been challenging across financial markets, to say the least. While it is best to stay disciplined during times of uncertainty to achieve long-term goals, that does not mean we avoid making changes. Tax-loss harvesting is a strategy that we consistently use for clients regardless of economic conditions. Given the challenging market […]

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Making Gifts to Individuals

As we work with clients to fulfill their goals and objectives, one of the most common strategies that we discuss is gifting. Making gifts to achieve goals and objectives, which are often generational in nature, requires a great amount of analysis and detailed execution to attain the desired outcome. Gifting strategies vary widely depending on […]

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Liquid Alternatives

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 […]

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Next Level Leadership

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 […]

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May 2022 Perspectives Newsletter

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Broken Windows and Diversification

Have you ever wondered why diversification in your portfolio matters? Before we answer the question, have you ever heard of Michel de Nostradamus? Nostradamus was born December 14, 1503 in Saint-Remy, France during the Renaissance. He was a physician and an astrologer, and was regarded for his insight and ability to foretell what the future […]

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How to Donate Wisely and Avoid Charity Scams

The COVID pandemic, and now the war in Ukraine, continue to significantly impact the world and pull on the heart strings of many, leaving them searching for ways to help. In times like these, the number of organizations bidding for your donations generally increases. As urgent needs present, the decision to donate may be an […]

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The State of Social Security and Savings

In 2021, more than 65 million Americans received Social Security benefits totaling, in aggregate, more than one trillion dollars. In April of each year, the trustees of the Social Security trust fund are supposed to report on the current and projected status of this highly relied upon program. Last year, the report was not published […]

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Health Savings Accounts – A New Retirement Savings Strategy?

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a great way to cover medical and long-term care costs in the owner’s retirement years when those expenses increase exponentially with the owner’s age. The only real tax drawback to accumulating wealth in an HSA is when the account is inherited after the account owner’s death by a non-spouse beneficiary. […]

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Greenleaf Gives

As one of our four “Cs” – Clients, Colleagues, Communities, and Culture – the communities that we live and work in are very important to us. We value giving back to them and making them stronger and more vibrant. As such, we empower our team to support their communities and causes within those communities in […]

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What are the Odds?

If you are a sports fan like me, you may be familiar with ESPN’s Win Probability graphic. It is displayed on the ESPN website as games unfold. Their model tracks and updates the odds that one team will win based on the circumstances of the game in real-time. As an example of how it works, […]

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Diversification and Discipline

Managing Geopolitical Event Risk Geopolitical uncertainty is an ever-present source of risk for the economy and financial markets. International tensions ebb and flow – sometimes simmering down to base levels and sometimes boiling over as is currently the case in Ukraine. In this article, we will take a closer look at how financial markets have […]

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April Perspectives Newsletter

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Establishing Cash Reserve Targets

We are frequently asked how to set an appropriate level of cash reserves in a client’s financial holdings and the answer is, it depends. It varies by individual and entity, the level of predictable expenses or distributions and whether there are other sources of funds besides the investment portfolio. But there are steps to follow […]

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Have You Noticed a Change to Your Retirement Plan Statement?

As a result of a provision of the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act, passed in 2019, retirement plan providers are required to begin providing lifetime income illustrations on retirement plan statements by September 18, 2022. Many plan providers send quarterly statements; therefore, if you have not yet noticed a change to […]

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Watch Your Step!

Cost Basis Step-Up, a Quick History and Why it is Still in the News You may recall there was a lot of discussion around tax reform in 2021, with quite a bit of attention given to the threat to repeal the step-up in cost basis upon the death of the asset’s owner. While that change […]

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Our Brand Awareness

In 2015, we implemented our 10-year strategic plan to be Top of Mind Market Brand Dominant in the state of Michigan. Each year we assess our progress and initiate tactics to take one step closer to our goal in 2025. This year, as part of our marketing plan, we partnered with public relations firm Lambert […]

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Perspectives Newsletter March 2022

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Required Annual Testing in Qualified Retirement Plans and Solutions to Consider

At this time of year retirement plan providers are busy completing the annual Actual Deferral Percentage (ADP) tests for qualified retirement plans which contain a salary deferral or Roth 401(k) component. This test in particular can be very impactful to certain plan participants. This is a non-discrimination test for 401(k) plans mandated by the Internal […]

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Over the Rainbow

Planning for retirement is not only important from a financial perspective, but from a psychological perspective as well. Being prepared financially for retirement is critical, but the emotional impact is one that is often overlooked. Moving from a busy career into uncharted territory creates excitement as well as anxiety. The path to retirement reminds me […]

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The Value of Valuation Discounts in Transferring Ownership of Family Owned Businesses

Valuation discounts, often utilized in connection with the transfer of ownership interests in family-owned or closely-held businesses, are a valuable estate planning tool. These discounts have gotten a good deal of press lately. Last September, the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) (H.R. 5376) was introduced in the House of Representatives. In its original form, the […]

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Global Equity: Revisiting Diversification in Risky Times

Greenleaf Trust has long been an advocate of diversifying equity portfolios across the stocks of both US and non-US companies. However, over the past several years, the returns of domestic equities have consistently outpaced non-US equities. This has led some to question whether investing in non-US equities is still prudent. Additionally, recent high profile geopolitical […]

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Finding Talent

We have all read the headlines about the tight labor market and have seen the help wanted signs around all of our communities (I counted 17 on my 20-minute commute into the office this morning). Without going into the myriad of reasons why we have a tight labor market, suffice to say that it is, […]

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Wealth Transfer Planning for Uncertain Times

As of 2022, the federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption is now $12,060,000 per person. If you are married, that means $24,120,000 can pass from you and your spouse to non-charitable beneficiaries without being subject to a 40% tax. The elevated lifetime exemption amount, combined with the recently increased annual exclusion amount of $16,000 […]

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February 2022 Perspectives Newsletter

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Should Long-Term Care Insurance Be Part of Your Retirement Planning Tool Box?

In 2021, the nation’s long-term care insurers paid out $12.3 billion in claims to 336,000 policyholders in which some claims totaled over $1 million. This represents a significant increase over prior years according to the Association of Long-Term Care Insurance (AALTCI). The 2021 payout was approximately $700 million more than what was paid out in […]

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Restoring the Benefits of SALT

Workaround clears the road for select Michigan business owners. During the final weeks of 2021, Michigan joined a growing number of states in adopting State And Local Tax (SALT) parity reforms. Governor Whitmer signed a bill into law December 20 that creates an election for owners of pass-through entities with Michigan-sourced income to pay state […]

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The Dead Hand: Can Conditional Bequests Work?

Bequests that are subject to a condition or contingency are often referred to as “dead hand” control. They are often used to incent beneficiaries or to change unacceptable behaviors. A bequest to a beneficiary that is subject to a condition that the beneficiary must abide by the condition or forfeit the bequest is often used […]

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How Investment Paradoxes Impact Decision Making

Active equity managers face many investment paradoxes. Markets are inherently volatile and can be irrational. Long-term consensus expectations are often misestimated, all of which should create inefficiencies in security prices. And yet, most active managers fail to outperform their respective benchmarks. As Senior Equity Portfolio Manager, I’m specifically responsible for the Intrinsic Value Strategy, an […]

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What to Expect Your First Day at Greenleaf Trust

Remember starting your first job as an adult in the “real world?” You were excited, nervous, and wanted to make a big impression on day one. The problem was you were not exactly sure who everyone was nor what you were supposed to be doing. Our growth and commitment to client service has required the […]

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High Earners – To Roth 401(k) or Not?

How can I get more money into my retirement plan? As a relationship manager for numerous retirement plans, I regularly receive this question from business owners and other highly compensated employees (HCEs). These same individuals are often surprised to learn there are no income restrictions on Roth 401(k) or Roth 403(b) dollars, unlike the income […]

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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. As we look for opportunities to serve our clients better, we begin […]

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January 2022 Perspectives Newsletter

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Trust-Based Philanthropy

I’m encouraged by a conversation topic that seems to be coming up more and more regarding philanthropy, trust-based philanthropy. It’s not a new topic, but one that has and will take time to become the norm. As with most changes, it is understood and adopted at varying rates and levels of engagement. For the sake […]

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Encourage Participation in your Retirement Plan through an Automatic Contribution Arrangement

Increasingly popular methods to raise employee participation in defined contribution retirement plans are various “automatic” features. These include auto-enrollment, auto-escalation, and automatically diversified qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs). Let’s explore the opportunities auto-enrollment, in particular, affords plan sponsors. There are three forms of auto-enrollment, or automatic contribution arrangements (ACAs). Basic Auto Enrollment (ACA) Participants are […]

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The Dreaded Death Tax – On Its Own Deathbed?

For much of 2021, there was plenty of angst expressed in the news with regard to the potential reduction of an individual’s federal unified gift and estate tax exemption amount. That exemption, $11.7 million per individual in 2021, was regularly threatened by several bills filed in Congress to reduce the exemption to a much lower […]

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2021 Review and 2022 Outlook

Back in July, we published our 2021 mid-year market review. Having hosted a virtual year-in-review seminar in January, the article highlighted how much changed in the first six months of 2021. An increasingly vaccinated population rediscovered a sense of normalcy. The optimists in all of us were ready to declare victory and move on, but […]

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A Little Recognition

We believe meaningful recognition should be appropriate and deserved. It should be acknowledgement for a job well done. At the end of the year, we announced the following 20 promotions. These were teammates from throughout the organization who successfully executed customized purposeful growth plans with their coaches. Promotions are always based on merit at Greenleaf […]

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Equity Compensation

With the end of 2021 around the corner, many individuals who work at both publicly traded and private companies may find themselves in a position where their employers have given them opportunity to receive equity compensation as part of their benefits package. There are two basic types of equity compensation – options and grants. Under […]

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The Greenleaf Trust Gift Guide

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed by the House of Representatives on November 5 and signed into Law by President Biden on November 15, 2021. It’s approximately 2700 pages long and includes $1.2 trillion of spending into broad infrastructure improvements. The bill has bipartisan support. In fact, it passed the Senate by a […]

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Capital Gains Distributions: Same Principle, Same Tax Rate?

As fall gives way to winter, families across the nation turn their attention to holiday festivities, football, and the coming of a new year. Similarly, financial advisors and tax experts at Greenleaf Trust spend this time preparing for year-end capital gains distributions. While this annual tradition may largely go unnoticed by those outside of the […]

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The Plan for 2022

I thought navigating 2021 would be a lot easier when we started. After all, what could be more difficult than 2020? I was wrong. Although we will have had our most successful year in the history of our company, it seemed like the rules and guidelines were always changing. Are we still in the pandemic, […]

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IRS Announces Retirement Plan and Other Benefit Limitations for 2022

The IRS recently announced contribution and benefit limits for qualified retirement plans effective January 1, 2022. Thanks to a higher-than-normal annual inflation rate of 5.4%, the IRS is allowing taxpayers to contribute up to $20,500 to a 401(k) or similar workplace retirement plan.This is a $1,000 boost from the $19,500 contribution limit for this year. […]

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December Perspectives Newsletter

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November Perspectives Newsletter

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Secure Your New Home with an Asset Based Line of Credit

Background Cash has always been king when purchasing a home, especially in today’s hot housing market. Being able to purchase a home with cash can give you a significant advantage over the other potential buyers. The ability to purchase a home in cash is not feasible for many people without having to draw from their […]

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Using a GRIP in Anticipation of the Transfer Tax Sunset

While the 2017 Tax Act effectively doubled the federal transfer tax exemption per person, it also provided that the lower transfer tax exemption would automatically drop beginning in 2026. That scheduled sunset of the higher federal transfer tax exemption has produced among many wealthy individuals a “use-it-or-lose-it” mindset when it comes to estate planning these […]

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Tax Planning in a Year of Uncertainty

Much has been written this year about potential changes to tax law in 2021 and many across the country are trying to divine just what exactly Congress will accomplish before December 31, 2021. I will not use this space to add another voice attempting to make that prediction because the real answer is: none of […]

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The Long & Short of the Labor Shortage

There has been no shortage of explanations offered for the United States’ current labor shortage. In this article, we will play judge and jury on several of the common narratives about the labor market. Are people staying home due to more generous government support programs? Are previously-working moms staying home due to childcare disruptions? Are […]

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Social Security Benefits Getting a Big Boost in 2022

Americans receiving Social Security benefits in 2022 will see the biggest increase in four decades, according to the latest news from the Social Security Administration. The 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will impact approximately 70 million Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This is the largest increase since 1982 and is expected to […]

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