April Retail Sales – Consumers Take a Breather

U.S. retail sales stalled in April after downwardly revised gains in the February and March.

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Greenleaf Trust’s CFO Achieves Milestone with Executive MBA from Bowling Green Schmidthorst College of Business

Greenleaf Trust proudly announces the recent achievement of its Chief Financial Officer, Steve McKiddy, who has successfully completed an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Bowling Green Schmidthorst College of Business.

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Taking Our Culture’s Temperature

As you all know, culture is something that is very important to Greenleaf Trust. It defines us and differentiates us. One of our founding goals in 1998 was to find really talented teammates and create a culture that would engage and inspire them. If we could do that, then just think about what that team […]

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At Any Rate…

As the year has unfolded, the labor market has been stronger-than-expected. The US has added an average of 276k jobs in each of the first three months and the unemployment rate has stayed below 4%.

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Preparing for Tomorrow: Navigating Long-Term Care Options and Planning Strategies

Discussions around long-term care can be emotional, but it’s important to begin these conversations early. Long-term care planning should be a part of your overall personal risk management plan and should begin as early as your forties.

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Diversification – The Only (Almost) Free Lunch in Investing

No single person can predict with perfect accuracy how markets will behave in the short term nor with consistency.

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Decoding Deepfakes: Navigating the Digital Mirage Safely

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies improve our ability to mimic real life, it’s becoming harder to tell what’s real and what’s fake in the digital domain.

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Investor’s Best Interest – The Final Retirement Security Rule

On Tuesday, April 23 the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued the final Retirement Security Rule. Department officials said the rule will be active later this year on September 23 requiring investment advisers to follow impartial conduct standards and acknowledge their fiduciary status. Other parts of the rule will not be effective until fall of […]

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April Jobs – Soft Report Highlights Moderating Demand For Labor

Job gains lower, unemployment higher.  U.S. employers scaled back hiring in April more than anticipated and the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose, suggesting some cooling may be underway after a robust start to the year.  The labor market added just 175K jobs in April, below consensus expectations of +240K, and the unemployment rate ticked up 0.1% […]

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Greenleaf Trust announces the addition of four team members

Debby Kasemeyer, Victoria Atkins, Nicole Simon and Emily Talcott join Greenleaf Trust.

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Greenleaf Trust announces CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification

Family Office Portfolio Manager, Steve Wilbur, earns CFP® Certification

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Greenleaf Trust named among Michigan’s Best and Brightest in Wellness by National Association for Business Resources

Greenleaf Trust is honored to be named among the winners in the first round of Michigan’s Best and Brightest in Wellness winning companies.

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Forbes: How Social Media Affects Our Financial Health

Senior Vice President, Director of Wealth Management, James Curry, provides commentary in Forbes on the impact social media has on lifestyle inflation.

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Greenleaf Trust announces CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification

Vice President, Northern Michigan Market Team Lead and Senior Trust Relationship Officer, Regina Jaeger, has been authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) to use the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and CFP® certification marks in accordance with CFP Board certification and renewal requirements.

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March Retail Sales – Strong Print Supports Delayed Rate Cut Expectations

U.S. retail sales rose by more than forecast in March and February results were revised upward, highlighting yet-resilient consumer demand exiting the first quarter.

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Debby Kasemeyer

Growing up in West Terre Haute, Indiana, Debby felt the same as everyone else. Nothing felt unusual, nothing seemed out of place. When she got to college, however, she quickly learned, there were big differences in the world when it comes to wealth and poverty.

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March Inflation – Hot Print Likely Eliminates June Cut

Year-over-year, inflation rose 3.5% in March, up 0.3% compared to February and 0.1% ahead of expectations.

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April 2024 Perspectives Newsletter

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From Generation to Generation

Our desire is to serve clients and their next generation. And, when appropriate, this includes serving multiple generations within the same family concurrently. This is because we believe that family is an investment with the highest returns.

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Be-Labored

For some time now, surprising resilience in the U.S. labor market has underpinned a favorable narrative for the economy. Healthy demand for labor has kept American consumers employed and spending.

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The Corporate Transparency Act

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) went into effect on January 1, 2024. The CTA broadens the reporting to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of information, including personal information, concerning the control and beneficial ownership of nearly all small U.S. companies.

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Navigating Lifestyle Inflation in the Age of Social Media

Lifestyle inflation can be defined as the tendency to increase spending as income rises. The following article explores lifestyle inflation in the current media environment, as well as discusses a few of the dangers of social media on your happiness and lifestyle.

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American Retirement Plan Progress

According to the Congressional Research Service, approximately two-thirds of US households had a financial stake in the U.S. retirement system.

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Job Gains Strong – Stop Me if You’ve Heard this Before

Job gains were strong again in March (stop me if you’ve heard this before).  The U.S. labor market added 303k jobs in March, exceeding expectations for 214k jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8%. Revisions to January and February data were marginally positive, adding 22k jobs to total employment collectively. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3%, […]

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DBusiness: Julie Weston Assumes New Role at Greenleaf Trust in Birmingham

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DBusiness: Greenleaf Trust Among USA Today’s 2024 Top Workplaces

DBusiness shared the news of GLT being named a USA Today 2024 Top Workplace.

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Greenleaf Trust named 2024 Top Workplaces USA and featured in USA TODAY

Greenleaf Trust is honored to announce it is a recipient of the prestigious 2024 Top Workplaces USA award.

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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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