The popular culture media would have us believe that we are losing the COVID-19 battle, have lost all momentum in vaccinations, and are falling on economic hard times. It seems that we should test these themes with an examination of facts and raw data. As the sage mechanic might say, “Let’s lift the hood and […]

The Delta variant of COVID-19 has now been joined by Omicron, the latest variant that was first observed in South Africa in recent weeks. As with previous variants of the original virus, Omicron is thought to more easily spread particularly among the unvaccinated populations. As of this writing, the current initial as well as booster […]

This time of year retirement plan providers are gearing up to complete the annual Actual Deferral Percentage (ADP) tests for qualified retirement plans. 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 IRS to ensure that a plan does not unduly […]

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 […]

The news has been dominated lately with the topic of raising the United States’ debt ceiling. It is hard to call the process of doing so, new. In fact, 90 different times in our country’s history Congress has agreed to raise the debt ceiling, which Congress previously established so that the United States doesn’t default […]

The very nature of our business requires that we have a thirst for research and a constant desire to understand whatever is impacting our economic, domestic and geopolitical systems. We always approach that discovery from our clients’ side of the desk. What might our clients be reading or listening to? As a result of their […]

It is now clear that at the current daily average of vaccinations against COVID-19 in the United States, the country will not meet the 70% threshold until early August. The July goal was ambitious and assumed that the early two million per day vaccination rate would hold. The evidence is clear that it did not, […]

The recent surge in the Delta variant of COVID-19 informs us that while we might wish that the pandemic is over, it is not. Let’s set aside the headlines and examine some data to help us determine the state of our current condition. In March of 2020, our research team at Greenleaf Trust adopted the […]

Progress has slowed in our country’s COVID-19 vaccination rate as of late. Data through June 1st reveals that our seven-day average vaccination rate has slipped to 1.6 million, a decline of more than 50% from our previous high of 4.2 million. Unlike early in the vaccination roll-out, the struggle to get our population vaccinated is […]

Resilience has always been an important part of our country’s history. The pathway to our current condition has not been simple or easy, but rather gut-wrenching and somewhat terrifying from time to time. A close examination of our country’s history reveals just how much we have overcome and endured during the past 245 years. Global […]

Progress continues to be made in multiple areas in the battle against COVID-19. Through February 28, over seventy five million Americans have received at least one dose of vaccination against the virus, which is about 23% of the current population. The rate of vaccination currently stands at 1.74 million per day; although it is not […]

2020 will certainly be reflected on as a very unusual year in modern history. Everyone in the United States was aware that we would be in a presidential election year; however, prior to February of 2020 relatively few knew that the COVID-19 Pandemic would insert itself into the lives of nearly everyone in the world, […]

Happy New Year to each of you; we hope 2021 is a fantastic year for you and your family. The year has gotten off to somewhat of a mixed bag. While the much-anticipated vaccine is being manufactured and shipped, the number of those who have actually been vaccinated is far below the initial target and […]

We attempted to defer our publishing deadline until the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was determined, but, as you can surmise, as of November 6th the outcome was not known. At this writing, President Trump has won 214 electoral college votes and must be declared the winner in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and […]

As we have done for the past seven months, we will begin by checking in with the New York Federal Reserve Weekly Economic Indicator (WEI) index that attempts to measure data focused on labor, production and consumption. As much as is humanly possible, the data is real time and designed to measure GDP relative to […]

We now have endured five months of battling the COVID-19 virus and our experience has revealed much about our country and our collective as well as divided political wills. What is our present condition as we approach the sixth month of our battle to defeat the virus? Our economic condition is perhaps the easiest to […]

As we enter our seventh month of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, our current condition appears to be more of the same with conditions changing marginally in some areas. Cases spiked in July and early August and have been trending downward in some regions while remaining stubbornly unchanged in others. As we put […]

Awareness is sometimes a self-inflicted burden. Those of us that research information for a living are bombarded with data that, while informative, can lead to anxiety and increased senses of urgency. The greater experience that you have researching information, the more likely you will discover that the majority of people are living their lives in […]

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 […]

“Opening the economy” is the phrase that seems to be taking up much of the oxygen lately, so let’s spend some time digging into exactly what that phrase means and how we might observe progress in the future growth of our economy. In essence, we want to put some data and facts into the equation […]

I think we can all agree that the crisis we find ourselves in does not come with a step-by-step instruction book of solutions. The way out is complicated, includes self-sacrifice, social order of the highest degree, individual and societal self-discipline and the abandonment of political self-interests. You may observe this list of requirements and say, […]

At this writing, there are six states that have announced the phased reopening of their economies, or what perhaps is better stated as a beginning of reducing previous requirements to stay-at-home that were ordered by the respective governors of those states. These are in addition to the few states that never had stay-at-home executive orders […]

We all run across quotes from a variety of sources during the course of our lives. Some of those quotes stick with us for any number of personal reasons. Close to twenty years ago a person who I think is a really talented behavioral scientist said “Big people share and little people keep secrets.” I […]

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to two different groups of educational leaders about the implications of artificial intelligence on employment and global economies, principals and superintendents of K–12 systems as well as leadership in post-secondary community college systems. I was able to share with them some relevant information produced by the global consulting […]

As you can imagine, recent events such as the US drone attack that killed a top Iranian military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in Iraq has caused many questions from clients and readers of our newsletter. Nick Juhle and his research team have offered their perspectives and advice with respect to the economic and investment implications of […]

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell gave a recent speech titled “Building on the gains from the long expansion.” Within the speech, Powell focused on two important themes: maintaining a stable and reliable pace of two percent inflation and, somewhat surprisingly, spreading the benefits of employment more widely. Part of the Fed’s stated mandate has always been […]

As you can imagine, recent events such as the US drone attack that killed a top Iranian military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in Iraq has caused many questions from clients and readers of our newsletter. Nick Juhle and his research team have offered their perspectives and advice with respect to the economic and investment implications of […]

Real US economic activity data reveals a continued mixed picture with strength in consumer spending and recession-like weakness in manufacturing. Consumer confidence surveys, both U of M as well as the Conference Board, are weaker and reflect growing concerns and uncertainties in global and domestic sustainability. The concerns seem to be focused on geopolitical hot […]

The connection between “Wall Street” and “Main Street” is always up for debate, as is the seemingly different focus between those inside the beltway and those who reside, live and work outside of the beltway. Media is driven by advertising revenue, which is highly correlated to viewership and subscription, whether that media be electronic, digital, […]

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The year 2022 has kept us on our toes. Stock market volatility, inflation, and world turmoil have led the way. However, among all the noise, there have been some highlights that are worth exploring. One catching our attention: Series I Savings bonds. But are they worth the hype? Since February 2022, nearly $11 billion in […]

My husband tells me that to do any job right, you need the right tools. He practices what he preaches because we have a garage full of tools for any job you can imagine. (He and Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor have a lot in common.) The problem is, I can stand in our garage […]

Many employers who sponsor a 401(k) plan use a pre-approved plan document with adoption agreements. Every six years, plan document providers update their 401(k) documents with regulatory changes and file them with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for review and approval. Once the documents have been pre-approved by the IRS, employers must adopt this pre-approved […]

Federal interest rates are on the rise, which opens new planning options for many individuals to consider. These federal interest rates are used to value retained interests for federal gift tax purposes. Specifically, the so-called IRC 7520 rate is equal to the mid-term applicable federal rate (AFR) times 120%, rounded to the nearest two tenths […]

Many investors and market pundits describe themselves as contrarians. They argue the way to investment success is to zig when others zag. Warren Buffet encapsulates the idea well with his famous quote, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” It sounds simple, but how do you know when others are […]

Well, summer is just about over. There is a slight breeze in the air, the kids are back in school, football is back, and pumpkin flavored coffee is back in the stores. It was a beautiful busy summer with even more normalcy seemingly returning to our lives. We were certainly busy at Greenleaf Trust, so […]

Summer is a special time in our pleasant peninsula. Many Michiganders pack the kids into the station wagon and head off to explore areas outside of their home towns. This article will address what Michiganders might observe on their travels. Specifically, it will cover how Michigan’s economy is faring 10 years after the financial crisis. […]

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Michigan previously enacted the Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act of 2016 which allowed for the creation of Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (“DAPT”). A DAPT is an irrevocable trust that, if certain conditions are met, can shield assets from the claims of a person’s creditors. Individuals who are in professions or businesses with high liability exposure […]

For an investor, this famous proverb can be broken down into three parts: Slow – be a long-term investor, and Steady – be disciplined and stick with your investment plan through varying market cycles Wins the Race – achieve your financial goals and objectives. Simple math, right? 1+2=3. Unfortunately, it is not that simple when […]

This year has offered its fair share of challenges for financial markets and global economies. The R-word has been a constant in the minds of employers and employees alike; not recession but resignation. In what is being dubbed the ‘great resignation,’ employers have faced a historically tight labor market, rising wages, and the need to […]

Several years ago, my five-year-old was sitting at the table as I prepared his breakfast of cereal and fruit. I slid a bowl of Cheerios to him with a glass of milk and began peeling a banana. Just before I handed it to him, I took a large bite off the end. “Hey,” he remarked, […]

As Internet usage has increased over the past 20 years, there has been a shift in how we are relying on the comfort of online transactions and communications. It has become a normality to engage on the Internet with our email addresses, phone numbers, names, and other login credentials. At the same time, we have […]

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A directed trust is a feature that can be included in various types of trusts, and provides the ability to bifurcate trustee duties between administration, investment, and distributions. Grantor’s commonly use directed trusts to give more control to current and future beneficiaries. Especially in cases where the trust holds family owned investments so the family […]

The word “annuities” can generate a range of reactions from clients, their family members, and their advisors. Some reactions are positive while others are not so much. Everyone, however, can agree that they can be very complex. That said, sales of annuities were exceptionally strong during 2021 up 16% to $254.8 billion. Some of this […]

Retirement security has been a featured topic with legislation over the past several years and was recently on the agenda again.  Back in December of 2019, Americans saw a number of changes to their retirement savings plans when the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, or the SECURE Act, became law. One requirement […]

“Many forms of conduct permissible in a workaday world for those acting at arm’s-length, are forbidden to those bound by fiduciary ties. A trustee is held to something stricter than the morals of the marketplace. Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive, is the standard of behavior.” Meinhard v. Salmon, […]

It’s hard to believe but the little company we started in a historic home on the corner of South and Westnedge streets in Kalamazoo will be 24 years old this month. In May of 1998 we received our charter to become one of Michigan’s first trust only banks open to the public and in July […]