3 minute read
THE FAMILY OFFICE AT GREENLEAF TRUST
Thomas A. DeMeester, J.D. Managing Director
In 2022, The Family Office at Greenleaf Trust experienced extraordinary growth – in terms of team members, platform development and client families.
Our core values lay the foundation for everything we do, from our approach to doing business to how we conduct ourselves in service to our clients. Our core value of continuous improvement is paired with a budget process that focuses on purposeful growth ensuring necessary resources are allocated to advancing our business and our services, as well as our clients’ success.
The Family Office added seven new team members this past year doubling the number of dedicated fulltime employees working within our division. We fully integrated our market-based team members to improve our ability to provide key services, and our reporting platform was expanded to include enhanced alternative asset tracking and pacing. Several new consulting and full-service client families were also added to The Family Office.
In 2022, we deployed a full suite of solutions on behalf of our client families including wealth blueprint design services (clarifying, optimization and management), comprehensive reporting, investment advisory services, fiduciary and custodial services (Michigan and Delaware situs-based administration), philanthropic services and lifestyle enhancement services. took a proactive step towards enhancing security by implementing multifactor authentication technology on all our external and internal applications. This additional layer of protection will make it more difficult for unauthorized individuals to gain access to sensitive information.
The Family Office is composed of substantively skilled team members with diverse professional backgrounds who work in concert with our client families’ trusted advisors to fully integrate collective knowledge and insights. Our private ownership structure and commitment to independence, combined with regulatory oversight as a state-chartered, trust-only bank, afford institutional continuity with integrity of process and procedure – allowing us to ensure our client families’ well-being is at the center of our focus. Our dedicated team of professionals is empowered to provide a single family office service experience consistent with the articulated goals and expectations of our client families and their advisors.
I am also proud to report that Kelly Jorgensen, our senior family office coordinator, received the President’s Award for 2022 in recognition of her impact to the organization during the year.
We remain privileged to work alongside our client families, their staff and trusted advisors. We look forward to the opportunities 2023 will bring our way.
It was another amazing year for Greenleaf Trust! We continued to work through lingering economic impacts of the pandemic while also making remarkable improvements to processes, systems and internal controls to better serve our clients.
The Operations Division is responsible for ensuring the integrity and efficiency of all internal processes. This is of utmost importance as it helps us to provide a high level of service to our clients and maintain a competitive edge in the industry. The division is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of excellence and continuously improving our operations.
In 2022, we had a record year in terms of new business which has led to an increase in the volume of new clients and assets being transferred. We have added team members to help manage these processes and the increased workload, ensuring all assets are transferred, clients are onboarded smoothly and our high standards of service are maintained.
We recognize the importance of technology in driving efficiency and improving our operations. Greenleaf Trust has partnered with our software vendors to drive improvements in systems functionality. We work closely with them to identify areas where our systems can be enhanced and confirm we are taking advantage of the latest technologies to improve our processing. Information security is a critical aspect of our business operations, and we take it very seriously. We understand our clients’ personal information is extremely sensitive, and we are committed to protecting it at all times. In 2022, our business information services team
As the field of cybersecurity continues to evolve, our ongoing evaluation and updating of security measures allows us to remain ahead of the curve. We invest in the latest technology, implement strict processes and protocols and regularly train our team members and Board of Directors on best practices in information security. Our goal is to provide our clients with peace of mind knowing that their personal information is being safeguarded by the most advanced security measures available.
The growth of our business has necessitated the strengthening of our project management and application development teams. As our organization expands and takes on new projects and initiatives, it is essential we have a strong and capable team in place to manage and oversee these efforts. By strengthening these teams, we are equipped to handle the increased workload and ensure projects are completed on time and within budget.
Greenleaf Trust’s project management team is responsible for overseeing the entire project life cycle, from planning and initiation to executing, monitoring, controlling and closing. This includes setting project goals and objectives, identifying and managing project risks and ensuring all stakeholders are informed and engaged throughout the project.