March 13, 2023
Regional Bank Failures
Last week, three banks catering to the crypto and venture capital industries failed.
Read MoreMarch 13, 2023
Last week, three banks catering to the crypto and venture capital industries failed.
Read MoreMarch 10, 2023
Job report details hint at slowing inflation.
Read MoreMarch 7, 2023
With the capital markets closed in observance of Presidents’ Day, we created a day for our teammates to give back to the communities in which we live, work, and play. We call this day our Day of Caring.
Read MoreMarch 7, 2023
Our national debt has garnered a lot of attention this year, both for its absolute size and for the possibility that our elected friends in Washington might fail to raise its ceiling.
Read MoreMarch 7, 2023
Most estate plans skip the idea of using incentive distribution provisions to induce behavioral changes in the estate beneficiaries. A common estate distribution regime uses milestone ages, e.g., 25% at age 25, 50% at age 30, and the balance to be distributed at age 35.
Read MoreMarch 7, 2023
Behavioral biases are beliefs or behaviors that can unconsciously influence our financial decision-making. One example is loss aversion, where the pain of losing (money) is more powerful than the pleasure of gaining.
Read MoreMarch 7, 2023
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The legislation contains significant retirement provisions in what is called the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“the Act”).
Read MoreMarch 7, 2023
Cross-testing is a calculation method used for allocating employer discretionary profit-sharing contributions. This is often used alongside 401(k) and safe harbor contributions to maximize annual contribution limits (usually targeted to owners or highly compensated employees) at the lowest overall cost to the company.
Read MoreMarch 7, 2023
March 1, 2023
Greenleaf Trust is pleased to share the addition of Team Service Coordinator, Kerri Rosenbaum, to our team. Kerri is responsible for providing comprehensive administrative support, day-to-day servicing of account needs and driving the efforts of the client centric team. She ensures clear, concise communication by coordinating the team’s workflow and acts as an ongoing resource […]
See MoreMarch 1, 2023
Rachel Mortensen, a senior estate settlement associate – team lead in southeast Michigan, was recently awarded the Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor designation from the American Bankers Association.
Read MoreFebruary 23, 2023
Vice President, Assistant Director of Research Chris Burns, CFA®, CPA, CFP® was featured in NerdWallet in a discussion on interest rate risk.
See MoreFebruary 15, 2023
Managing Director – Southeast Michigan Bill Feldmaier was featured in D Business.
See MoreFebruary 15, 2023
U.S. retail sales rose in January by the most in nearly two years, signaling robust consumer demand which, combined with yesterday’s stronger-than-expected inflation report and labor market resiliency, could mean the Fed will need to raise interest rates more than originally expected.
Read MoreFebruary 14, 2023
January inflation data showed price increases slowing for the seventh straight month, though not to the degree analysts had anticipated. The
Read MoreFebruary 6, 2023
Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Juhle discusses the job market with Bridge Michigan.
See MoreFebruary 3, 2023
Blockbuster jobs report keeps pressure on the Fed. U.S. employers added significantly more jobs than expected in January and the unemployment rate edged down to a 53-year low.
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2023
Please join me in welcoming our newest teammate back home to Birmingham, Michigan. Bill Feldmaier has recently joined Greenleaf Trust as our new Managing Director of our southeast Michigan market and will be located in our Birmingham office.
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2023
We’re off to a good start in 2023. 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 in the stock market.
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2023
US equities have historically generated outstanding returns for long-term investors. Notwithstanding numerous recessions, market panics, wars, and a global pandemic, the S&P 500 has increased in value from 17 in 1927 to nearly 4,000 in 2022, equating to an annualized total return of nearly 10%.
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2023
The term hedonic treadmill, also known as hedonic adaptation, was created in the early 1970’s when behavioral economics came onto the scene combining psychology and economic behavior.
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2023
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) comprised over an estimated $13.9 trillion of assets as of 2021 per the Investment Company Institute. IRA balances have risen significantly over time as companies moved away from pension plans and baby boomers gathered assets for retirement.
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2023
The year end has passed and business leaders and office personnel have been working diligently on closing the books for the year end 2022. This process can be time consuming and stressful.
Read MoreFebruary 3, 2023
February 1, 2023
Fed Statement Side-by-Side: https://file.ac/QIEfaKSk2vI/ Fed raises interest rates by 0.25%, bringing the Fed Funds Rate range to 4.50-4.75%. The market is now lower than the fed, pricing for a terminal rate of 4.75-5.00% before 75-100 bps of cuts in late 2023 & early 2024. Key takeaways: The Fed raised interest rates 0.25%, as expected, to […]
Read MoreJanuary 26, 2023
Growing up in Birmingham, Michigan, sports were a big part of Bill Feldmaier’s life. From little league baseball to playing quarterback at Birmingham Seaholm and earning a full athletic scholarship to the University at Buffalo, he enjoyed the camaraderie, competition and strategy required to lead winning teams. For 22 years, Bill worked in the institutional […]
Read MoreJanuary 26, 2023
Greenleaf Trust is proud to announce diversity and inclusion certification for Lisa Luebke.
Read MoreJanuary 26, 2023
Andrew Edgar, Gabbi May and Quincy Jackson join the team at Greenleaf Trust.
Read MoreJanuary 26, 2023
This morning, the Bureau of Economic Analysis delivered an advance estimate of fourth quarter GDP growth. The report showed that real GDP expanded at an annual rate of 2.9%, compared to expectations of +2.6%, following growth of 3.2% in the third quarter.
Read MoreJanuary 17, 2023
Greenleaf Trust announced today that Bill Feldmaier is joining the company as managing director of southeast Michigan located in its Birmingham office. With more than 20 years of experience in the institutional pension, 401k and retirement space, Feldmaier will be responsible for market strategy, business development and leadership of the Greenleaf Trust’s Birmingham office. He will be working throughout southeast Michigan to grow the firm’s personal trust, family office and retirement plan business.
Read MoreJanuary 24, 2023
Senior Estate Settlement Officer Alexandria Solis-Mullen was featured in Money Geek article on managing taxes on life insurance proceeds.
See MoreJanuary 18, 2023
U.S. retail sales fell by more than forecast in December (-1.1% MoM vs. -0.9% expected) with a real year-over-year decline of 0.5%. While real year-over-year retail sales declines can be a leading indicator of a recession, softness is also an indication that Fed efforts to reduce consumer demand, and in turn inflation, is having an impact.
Read MoreJanuary 9, 2023
Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Juhle, and Assistant Director of Research Chris Burns offer their review on the markets and investments in 2022, and their outlook for 2023.
Read MoreJanuary 9, 2023
Greenleaf Trust is pleased to share Financial Accounting Analyst Marisol Quiroz’s successful completion of her Certified Public Accountant designation. To earn the CPA designation, Marisol completed her Masters in Accountancy at Western Michigan University, passed all four sections of the CPA exam and had to demonstrate her abilities over at least 2,000 hours of application. […]
Read MoreJanuary 9, 2023
Greenleaf Trust is pleased to announce the promotion of Christine M. Hansen, CPA to assistant vice president, finance. Christine is responsible for the corporate accounting, taxation and financial reporting functions. She ensures compliance with regulatory and governing requirements and partners with third party accounting firms to administer financial audits.
Read MoreJanuary 6, 2023
Solid hiring and decelerating wage growth may offer Fed some breathing room. U.S. employers again added more jobs than expected in December and the unemployment rate edged lower while wage growth decelerated more than expected and participation increased slightly. Today’s report highlights resiliency of the labor market, but may also be an early indication that the persistent imbalance between the supply and demand for labor is beginning to unwind. A sustained deceleration in wage growth could lead Fed officials to pursue less aggressive policy moves in the coming months.
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2023
One of the things that makes us unique is our talented team. They are deeply committed to the work they do for our clients and deserve meaningful recognition for their achievements. At the end of the year, we announced the following 29 promotions. These were teammates from throughout the organization that successfully executed customized purposeful growth plans with their coaches. 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.
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2023
Arguably, 2022 was one of the more challenging of the past 25 years. We experienced high inflation that extended throughout the economy and induced monetary policy surprises as central banks tightened in response. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shocked commodity prices exacerbating inflationary pressures and accelerating monetary policy changes. As the year progressed, tighter policy caused activity in the housing market to slow dramatically and the combination of these factors significantly increased the likelihood of a recession. Relative to when the year began, all of these developments came as surprises.
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2023
As we look for opportunities to serve our clients better, we begin by listening to those that matter most – our clients.
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2023
Many individuals have durable powers of attorney for health care, or advance directives, as part of their estate plan. These documents appoint a surrogate, or patient advocate, to make health care decisions for them when they are unable to do so in a hospital setting. An advance directive is effective only after two physicians have certified as part of the patient’s medical record that the patient is unable to participate in their own health care decision-making. As such, there are conditions to when an advance directive becomes effective. Nor is a durable power of attorney for health care in the form of a medical or physician’s order.
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2023
In late October of 2022, the IRS published the inflation adjusted limits for transfer taxes for 2023. The Applicable Gift and Estate Exclusion Amount increases to $12,920,000 per individual up from $12,060,000 in 2022. For those individuals who have used their full exclusion amount, they now have an additional $860,000 to give without incurring gift tax. This exclusion is the amount that an individual may transfer during their lifetime or at their death without incurring gift and estate tax.
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2023
The year 2022 ushered in significant events in the industry in many areas. Some were more impactful than others, but a few are worthy of review.
Read MoreJanuary 5, 2023
January 3, 2023
Allison Birmingham has been promoted to assistant vice president, senior wealth management advisor. Anne Bohl has been promoted to senior wealth management coordinator. Patrick Bruining has been promoted to senior trust operations analyst. Chris Burns has been promoted to vice president, assistant director of research. Gabrielle Contesti has been promoted to senior project manager. Wendy […]
Read MoreJanuary 3, 2023
Julie Weston has been promoted to special asset associate on the estate settlement team. She is responsible for the management of special assets in the settling of estates. She has over ten years of experience in client service. Julie earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree from Walden University. Joel […]
Read MoreJanuary 3, 2023
Family office wealth strategist receives CFP® Certification Family Office Wealth Strategist Brittany Szymczak, CFP®, CPA 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. Brittany is responsible for providing comprehensive family wealth […]
Read MoreDecember 20, 2022
Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Juhle, CFA was featured in a Nerd Wallet article on How to Buy Treasury Bonds. Read more here.
See MoreDecember 19, 2022
Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Juhle’s commentary was recently featured in US News & World Report article on stock market trends for 2023. Read more here.
Read MoreDecember 19, 2022
Greenleaf Trust is proud to announce that it has been recognized as an “Inclusive Workplace” by Best Companies Group, a workplace culture and employee engagement expert, and COLOR Magazine, a leader in corporate inclusivity.
Read MoreDecember 19, 2022
Wealth management associate and trading specialist receive CFP® Certifications Wealth management associate Brian Schafer, and trading specialist Mollie Felt have 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. Brian is a member […]
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