On the Money 2019

Are you doing all you can to assure that your finances are in order? Do you need some help learning tips on safe money-handling to rest assured, knowing you’re financially in the right spot? Well, most of us need a little help in that area, so we talked to local finance experts and they’ve agreed to share some knowledge. Use their smarts and a little bit of your own to get your money lined up so you can breathe easy and spend wisely.

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on the money

TREASURED OFFICE E a u C l a i r e n at i ve S a r ah G odle w ski h as b ig p lan for b oost in g t h e p rofile of the s ta te trea s urer’ s office WORDS: TOM GIFFEY FIRST, EAU CLAIRE NATIVE SARAH GODLEWSKI LED A SUCCESSFUL EFFORT TO SAVE THE JOB OF WISCONSIN’S ELECTED TREASURER by defeating a statewide referendum last year. Next, she was elected to that office herself by winning a statewide election in November.

Now, she’s facing an even bigger challenge: Maintaining – and increasing – the relevancy of an office whose powers have been eroded in recent years and whose most recent occupant actively campaigned to eliminate.

In a recent interview, Godlewski described the tasks at hand: “How do I rebuild an office that has been vacated for more than four years? And how do we rebuild a legacy of the state treasurer being the state’s chief financial officers?”

Those are questions Godlewski is prepared to answer over the coming four years by promoting the office as an independent financial watchdog for state government as well as an entity

that helps consumer with their financial needs by confronting issues such as student loan debt and retirement savings.

the lack of investment capital available to small Wisconsin businesses, Godlewski learned about a program operated by the state treasurer in Rhode Island that offered low-interest loans to small businesses. Thinking Wisconsin’s treasurer could develop a similar program, Godlewski reached out to Matt Adamczyk, then the incumbent treasurer.

“My calls weren’t returned. There was nobody home in the treasurer’s office,” she said. Godlewski soon learned that Adamczyk was working to eliminate his own job, citing it as unnecessary and wasteful.

Godlewski worried about what would happen if Wisconsin became the first state in the nation to eliminate the constitutionally-mandated post.

An independent treasurer, she said, is important to provide oversight on the state’s finances from outside the Legislature or governor’s office. “I was just really concerned that Wisconsin was going to remove its chief financial officer,” she said. She campaigned against the referendum to eliminate the office, which Wisconsin voters defeated by a 62% to 38% margin in April 2018. A few days later, Godlewski announced she would be seeking the treasurer’s office in the fall as a Democrat.

S AVING T H E OFFICE Godlewski, a 37-year-old graduate of Memorial High School, holds degrees from George Mason University and the University of Pennsylvania. Most recently, she was co-founder of a MaSa Partners, an investment firm focused on aiding “socially responsible, earlystage companies.” Before that, she was director of strategy and performance for Arapahoe County, Colorado, and an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, a management consulting firm in the Washington, D.C., area, where she worked on a variety of projects within the Defense Department. Her resume also includes stints working on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and as a congressional intern.

A few years ago, while lamenting

U P H ILL BA T T LE Since taking office in January, Godlewski has been working to raise her department’s profile, despite a lack of staff and resources. As a Wisconsin State Journal profile noted, Godlewski has only one staff member and works out of an office in the basement of the state Capitol that lacks both windows and Wi-Fi. And yet Godlewski is more focused on what her office can do in the future than on what it used to do in the past (such as overseeing the state’s college savings program). She points to a list of 16 powers and duties of the office, including serving on the Board of Commissioner of Public Lands, which oversees a $1.2 billion trust fund that aids schools with books and technology; serving as treasurer of both the state investment board and the state employee trust fund; signing millions of state checks annually; and promoting the unclaimed property program.

There’s also the bully pulpit provided by being an elected official to promote issues such as economic security, retirement savings, and student loan debt. In other states, treasurers have undertaken innovated programs to address these issues: For example, Godlewski said, the state treasurer’s office in Oregon created a public Roth VOLUMEONE.ORG

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IRA program he help residents save for retirement.

For Godlewski, pursuing such policies may be an uphill battle considering the highly partisan nature of 21st century politics. For instance, in his version of the 2019-21 state budget, Gov. Tony Evers, a fellow Democrat, proposed setting aside $50,000 for a committee to oversee student loan refinancing, but the funding was removed

by Republican lawmakers. Nonetheless, Godlewski intends to push forward with a task force that has held public input sessions on student loan debt.

“My primary goal with the retirement task force and the student loan task force is (finding) things that are achievable on both sides of the aisle but also get buy-in from Wisconsinites,” Godlewski said.

Protecting tax dollars and improving the economic security of state residents shouldn’t be partisan issues, she added: “The things we are fighting for are Wisconsin values, and we need to work together to achieve those.”

Learn more about state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and her office at statetreasurer.wi.gov.

on the money KEN TEEGARDIN / CREATIVE COMMONS 2.0 LICENSE

SAVING FOR COLLEGE MADE EASY t h e s c o o p o n W i s c o nsin ’s 52 9 p lan s WORDS: TOM GIFFEY IT’S NEVER TOO LATE – OR TOO EARLY! – TO SAVE FOR YOUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE HIGHER EDUCAT I O N A L E X P E N S E S . In Wisconsin, parents (and anyone else, actually) can save for kids’ college costs through one of the state-designated 529 plans: Edvest and Tomorrow’s Scholar. These plans work much like a 401(k) or IRA: Withdrawals are entirely free from federal income tax if used for educational purposes, and contributions – up to $3,280 per child, per year (or $1,640 for single filers) – are deductible on your Wisconsin income tax return.

Contributions for the previous tax year can be made through April 15, which means if you’re the kind of person who procrastinates on filing your taxes, you have three and a half months at the start of the year to sock away some extra cash for your kids while reducing your state income tax liability. And, as previ-

6 IN 10

30%

ously mentioned, while 529 plans are most often used by parents, they are also available to grandparents, other relatives, or frankly anyone else to save for a kid’s college. (You can even open an account with yourself as the beneficiary.)

And Edvest contributions can be made by employers, too.

Between Edvest (which people can invest in directly) and Tomorrow’s Scholar (which is offered only through financial advisors), Wisconsin’s college savings plans had $5 billion in assets as of last year. That will pay for a lot of higher ed! Learn more about them at 529.wi.gov.

According to recent survey by Sallie Mae, a major provider of student loans, an increasing share of parents are saving for college, and 529 plans are their most frequently used ways to save. Here are other big findings from the national survey, which was conducted in early 2018:

Share of parents who are saving for their children’s college expenses. One-third of these said they saved more last year than they had the previous year.

Share of all college savings held in tax-deductible 529

9 IN 10

Share of parents who feel confident they will reach their savings goals.

plans.

$18,135

Average amount parents have saved for their

$55,342

Average amount parents plan to save for their children’s higher education.

children’s higher education.

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on the money

TOP THREE APPS TO HELP YOU INVEST u s e y our sm ar t p h on e t o b uild w e alt h an d save for the fu ture WORDS: JEN EKBLAD MONEYLION.COM

THANKS TO TECHNOLOGY, INVESTING CAN BE A S S I M P L E A S D O W N L O A D I N G A N A P P , connecting your bank account, and making a deposit. Gone are the days you must have hundreds, even thousands of dollars to start investing. For over a year now, I have been using three of the apps to invest money.

Each app asks a series of questions to help you choose a risk level that best fits your financial goals and comfort level. Below you will find my reviews of these apps. I have graded each one based on its ease of use, multifunctionality, and cost. Whatever app you choose to invest your money, beware of hidden management fees and fees that switch to a percentage of assets once you reach a certain balance.

Disclaimer: I use an Android mobile device; I am not a licensed financial planner; and, I am not affiliated with any of the companies that develop these apps.

# 3 | STAS H

Ease of use: AMultifunctionality: ACost: B Stash is user-friendly and, dare I say, even fun to use, but it can be a bit overwhelming with all of the statements, trade confirmations, and tax documents.

With that being said, I love being able to choose the stocks and funds I invest in, like Starbucks and

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on the money

MONEYLION.COM

Amazon.

Stash’s functionality is limited to investing (though it includes retirement and custodial accounts), spending, and earning. The app does include an educational component, which I appreciate. Stash is free to download and only $5 to get started plus $1, $3, or $9 per month depending on your financial goals.

Features of the app include recurring deposits (schedule automatic daily, weekly, and monthly transfers from your bank account), Round-Ups (Stash will round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invest your spare change), and a free debit card (earn Stock-Back™ rewards when you spend – spend at Amazon, get AMZN Stock-Back).

# 1 | M O NEYLI O N: B O RROW, SAVE, I NVEST

use and fantastic multifunctionality – from saving to investing to borrowing to building credit to credit monitoring to earning cashback rewards, MoneyLion has you covered. I love this app! The only downfall I have experienced so far is the lack-luster technical support when needed, but it is improving.

Ease of use: A+ Multifunctionality: A+ Cost: A+ I raved about MoneyLion in an article I wrote last summer for Volume One, and I am still raving! At the time, I primarily used it to manage debt, but now I use it more as an investment tool.

This app is free to download, offers zerofee investing, and requires no minimum investment. This app has great ease of

When searching for tools to invest, remember that the purpose of investing money is to grow it. So … let it grow, let it grow! (Sorry, I couldn’t hold it back

# 2 | AC O R N S

Ease of use: A Multifunctionality: A Cost: AHonestly, I didn’t like Acorns at first.

I thought it was boring and one-dimensional. Now that it has become multifunctional, in my opinion it beats Stash in my opinion. It has also become more user-friendly, and I feel it has a cleaner appearance than Stash.

Like Stash, Acorns offers a debit card that saves, invests, and earns for you but it is not free.

Investing through the Acorns app costs $1, $2, or $3 per month until you have $1 million invested.

Acorns Core (the basic account) at the $1 per month level is free for college students (for up to four years). Acorns includes an educational component like Stash, but I find that Acorns covers more financial topics than just investing. Features of the app include recurring deposits (automatic daily, weekly, and monthly investments), Round-Ups (invests spare change from everyday purchases), and Found Money (shop with Acorns’ partners and they’ll automatically invest in your Acorns Core account).

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anymore.) But, if you must withdraw your money, consult with your tax professional to understand how it will affect your tax return before you make the withdrawal. Some final words of advice: do your research before adding personal data and financial account information to any application and with apps that house personal data and connect to financial accounts, take extra precautions to protect yourself by enabling fingerprint login or a PIN for added security.

on the money

LISTINGS & RESOURCES G et t o kn o w y o u r f i nan ce s b e t t e r w it h t h e h e lp of ar e a fin ancia l couns elors a nd pla nners

F INA N C IAL C OU N SE LOR S This list features just local financial counseling services. If we missed your service, let us know and we’ll add you next time!

Catholic Charities Financial Counseling 448 North

Dewey St., Eau Claire • (715) 832-6644 • eauclaire@ cclse.org • cclse.org Offers disaster relief services, bankruptcy counseling, food assistance, housing counseling, and financial literacy counseling.

FamilyMeans Financial Solutions 2194 East Ridge Cen-

ter, Eau Claire • (800) 780-2890 • familymeans.org Offers tools and education so people can regain financial stability and reduce unmanageable debt. Services include budget & debt counseling, credit report review, debt repayment programs, and student loan counseling.

Freund Law 920 S. Farwell St., Eau Claire • (715) 832-

FI NANC I AL P LANN E R S

5151 • freundlaw.com Offering bankruptcy, debt relief, and debt collection services for individuals, farmers, and businesses throughout Western and Northern Wisconsin.

This list features just local financial planning services. If we missed your service, let us know and we’ll add you next time!

Klenz Financial Counseling • adrian@klenzfinan-

cialcounseling.com • Find this business on Facebook Works one on one with individuals, families, and couples to deal with money issues. Areas of focus are on budgeting, the psychology of money, ending destructive money habits, credit repair, and debt negotiation.

Affinity Asset Management 3430 Oakwood Mall Drive, Suite 200, Eau Claire • (715) 833-1884 • gedwards@cfnmail.com • sfswealthmanagement.com/home.aspx Offers retirement planning, risk management, investment solutions, estate planning, and financial planning.

Western Dairyland Financial Counseling 418 Wiscon-

Baird Wealth Management 4106 Oakwood Hills Park-

sin St., Eau Claire • (715) 836-7511, toll free at (800) 782-1063 • WesternDairyland.org/flip.phtml While Western Dariyland no longer provides financial counseling as a stand-alone program, they still counsel as part of the Work-n-Wheels and the Veteran’s Economic Empowerment Program.

way, Suite 100, Eau Claire • rwbaird.com Areas of focus include financial and estate planning, featuring retirement and education planning, tax planning, wealth transfer, and charitable giving; investment management, including portfolios, comprehensive advisement, brokerage, and cash management; and risk and liability management.

Bernicke Wealth Management 1565 Bluestem Blvd,

Altoona • (715) 832-1173 • bernicke.com Acts as the chief financial officer of their clients, consulting about major decisions and assets, while also contracting specialists. Services include investment management, tax minimization, estate planning, income planning, and asset preservation.

Blue Granite Wealth - Raymond James Financial

4257 Southtowne Drive, Eau Claire • 715.514.2903 • bluegranitewealth.com Blue Granite Wealth offers banking & lending solutions, business planning, corporate retirement plan consulting, education planning; estate, charitable giving & trust, financial planning, fixed income services, longevity planning, portfolio management, retirement planning, and risk management.

Cadott Tax & Financial Services 345 N. Main St.,

Cadott • (715) 289-4948 • info@cadott-tax.com • cadott-tax.com As a full-service tax and accounting firm, offering professional, personal service; expert knowledge, and comprehensive tax & accounting services. Can help with businesses, farms, families, estate planning, and life insurance.

CLA 3402 Oakwood Mall Dr., Eau Claire • (715) 832-

1100 • claconnect.com Offering planning and guidance to help you reach your professional and personal goals.

Services include audit preparation, consulting, global services, accounting, health insurance, outsourcing, tax, technology, business & leadership transitions, employee benefit plans, growth strategies, human resources, wealth advisory, and more.

Cornerstone Financial Advisers 1109 W. MacArthur Ave., Suite 3, Eau Claire • (715) 834-5366 •

Deborah Becker Insurance & Financial Services Inc.

404 S. Barstow Street, Eau Claire • (715) 835-4328 • deborahbecker.com Deborah Becker has 20 years of experience with State Farm. Offers auto, home, life, business, motorcycle, renters, condo, and pet insurance. Deborah is also licensed to offer banking and annuity services.

Fries Financial Group 11 E. Central Street, Chippewa Falls • 715.720.9605 • friesfinancialgroup.com Fries Financial Group is an independent Raymond James Financial branch. They offer asset allocation, asset

management, college planning, estate planning, financial planning, and retirement planning.

Hall Financial Group LLC 4319 Jeffers Rd, suite 202,

Eau Claire • (715) 514-2526 • info@hallfinancialgroup.com • hallfinancialgroupllc.com An independent firm offering including financial plan creation, portfolio preparation, capital preservation, ongoing monitoring, and retirement plan development.

Investment Management Associates 431 E Claire-

mont Ave., Suite A, Eau Claire • (715) 839-1006 • drobl@royalaa.com • imaeauclaire.com An independent advisor offering financial services to build and preserve the wealth of clients from all walks of life including business owners, executives, retirees, and more. They can choose from non-proprietary financial instruments.

Jones Financial Consulting, LLC Eau Claire • (715)

577-2778 • jonesfinancialconsulting.com Helping you achieve your personal financial goals, make sound financial decisions, and achieve peace of mind regarding your finances. Specializing in comprehensive financial planning and investment guidance for pre-retirees and retirees. Jones Financial is an independent advisory firm that acts as a fiduciary.

Keystone Financial 4410 Golf Terrace, Eau Claire •

(715) 835-6022 • keystonecv.com KeyStone Financial is a full service financial advisory firm serving clients throughout the Midwest. Services include retirement plans, income strategies, wealth accumulation, life insurance, tax minimization, IRA & 401(k) Rollovers, asset protection, annuities, mutual funds, and bonds.

Main Street Capital Management 601 S. Farwell

Street, Eau Claire • (715) 834-9111 • mainstreet.capital@lpl.com • mymainstreetlink.com Main Street Capital Management offers services like investing principles and strategies, retirement investing and distribution strategies, estate conservation issues, risk management, planning for college savings, life insurance, and more.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 3508 Oak-

wood Mall Drive, Eau Claire • (715) 835-0710 • ml.com Works with individuals, families, business owners, executives, and institutions to help address wealth management challenges and opportunities.

Orgel Wealth Management 2420 Rivers Edge Drive, Altoona • (715) 835-6525 • contact@orgelwealth.com • orgelwealth. com A nimble yet sizable group of financial professionals—all adept at maintaining familiarity with each client.

RAI Stone Group 3504 Oakwood Mall Drive, Eau Claire • (715) 598-4340 • raistonegroup.com

RCU Investment & Insurance Team Products and Services • rcu.org RCU offers mutual funds; advisory plans; fixed, index, immediate and variable annuities; life insurance, bonds, and retirement accounts.

River Prairie Wealth Partners Altoona • 715.832.7715 • ameripriseadvisors.com Area of focus include retirement income strategies, tax planning strategies, and wealth preservation strategies. A financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.

Seeman Tax & Financial LLC 535 Fairfax Street,

Altoona • (715) 835-1156 • seemanfinancial.com Offers accounting services, tax returns, and payroll to businesses.

Stifel Nicolaus & Co Inc. 3704 Oakwood Hills Pkwy,

Eau Claire • (715) 852-1990 • stifel.com/branch/wi/ eau-claire Offers services for retirement, saving for college, tax minimization, increasing income, investment management, and other personalized services.

Terry Krumenauer Financial Group 2889 County

Highway I, Ste. 3, Chippewa Falls • (715) 720-4900 • money.usnews.com Offering services of financial planning, education seminars, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, pension consulting, insurance agent and brokering, and more.

Thrivent Financial Advisors • thrivent.com For individu-

als & families, offers financial representatives, insurance, annuities, IRAs, investments, credit union, digital guidance, mutual funds, student resources, trust services, and charitable planning. Also offers services for businesses, churches, non-profits, and other agencies.

Wealth Enhancement Inc. 2125 Brackett Ave., Eau

CLaire • (715) 835-8800 • DanMarx@WealthEnhancementInc.com • wealthenhancementinc.com Services include IRA & pension rollovers, tax management, investment planning, retirement planning, estate conversion, debt elimination, risk management, charitable giving, and college funding.

Wealth Management Group 103 N Bridge St #255,

Chippewa Falls • (715) 861-7200 • wealthmanagementgroupllc.net Offerings include wealth enhancement, wealth stewardship and wealth administration.

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FINANCIAL PROFILES

FINANCIAL PROFILES CONTENT

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FINANCIAL PROFILES ROYAL CREDIT UNION

E D U CATI ON IS PR ICELESS R o y al C r e d i t U n i o n p r o v ide s fr e e fin an cial e ducat ion out r e ach throughout region

K

athy Buyze and Melissa Janssen are gearing up for another year of community education. It’s not the kind relegated to stuffy board rooms and lecture halls, but the kind that takes place in buzzing classrooms full of fourth- and fifth-graders, in branch locations where high school students develop employment skills during internships, online in fun videos, in jails where vulnerable individuals learn valuable personal finance habits, and in the Royal Credit Union headquarters itself. Kathy and Melissa’s mission at Royal is to uplift the Chippewa Valley by providing financial education at every stage of life. To that end they oversaw more than 750 presentations for area young people, and countless more for community members of all ages.

SCHO O L O U T R EAC H In October 2018, fourth- and fifth-graders at Chippewa Valley elementary schools flocked to apply for a slot in the School $ense program.

The application process consists of a paper form followed by an interview. Not every student is selected, but every student receives feedback on their application and interview skills. The ones who are hired go on to staff a real Royal branch in the school. It’s open once a week so that students can make deposits or withdraw money from their own Royal accounts.

“It doesn’t matter how much or how small – they can deposit a penny each week,” Kathy said. The kids are rewarded for saving with prizes ranging from bouncy balls to T-shirts.

Program participants work with Royal staff to facilitate the transactions and market the branch within the school with posters, announcements, and more. Royal donates $250 to participating schools for every 500 deposits made at the school site branch, further incentivizing good saving habits. Some schools receive as much as $1,000 over the course of the academic year.

responsibilities as they get older. And, just a few years later in high school, Royal offers paid internships that allow teenagers to gain valuable work experience both at school sites and at local credit union branches in the Chippewa Valley.

Every step of the way through the school site programs, Royal mentors provide students with classes in financial literacy from bill and coin recognition to savings and up through identity protection. These programs are tailored to the needs of each school, and involve activities inside the classroom as well as training exercises in the grand, high-ceilinged halls of the Royal headquarters in downtown Eau Claire.

IT’S OK TO TALK ABOUT MONEY.

The fun doesn’t stop in elementary school!

Royal offers student-run school site banking to area middle schools as well, expanding their

ROYAL CREDIT UNION LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT CHIPPE WA VALLE Y (800) 341-9911 SCHOOL.SENSE@RCU.ORG W W W.RCU.ORG

“The cumulative is that we’ve educated them throughout their school years, and hopefully we’ve given them a strong base on being financially sound,” she continued. “Not only is it great to give back to the school and the community, but we’re giving the workers that real-life work experience, and working with the rest of the students to help them get into the habit of saving that money and paying themselves first.”

Other Royal Programs for youth include Future U.S. Entrepreneurs (F.U.S.E.), a six-week program for middle-schoolers that culminates in a “Shark Tank”-like pitch presentation; Financial Education Takeover Day, where the Superheroes of Savings take over area classrooms; and Test Drive … Next Stop Reality, in which high school students are challenged to manage an imaginary budget based on their career path and randomly selected circumstances.

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S UPPORTI NG TH E COMMUNI TY T H R OUGH TH I CK AND TH I N In addition to youth education and general community outreach, Royal also invests in financial education programs for inmates at the Eau Claire, Barron, and Dunn county jails. People who have served time in the correctional system are often at a greater risk of experiencing financial hardship or identity theft, Melissa, who oversees the program, explained. Royal’s jail outreach program helps them fight back.

“We work with incarcerated individuals and we teach them about basic budgeting, money management, and then credit reports, credit scores, how to avoid predatory lenders,” Melissa said.

“Basically, kind of anything and everything that you would need.” She is often stopped on the street by people she taught through the jail program, who thank her for the knowledge she shares.

“I think a lot of people have this fear of going in and talking about money, but if you’re not talking about it you’re not learning about it, and when you don’t learn how to manage your money that’s when you make mistakes,” Melissa said. Every program she organizes is meant to teach people that it’s OK to talk about money, opening an educational dialogue that will improve the lives of generations.

Royal is expanding educational offerings every day. For more information on financial education opportunities, visit www.rcu.org/youthcommunity. If you are interested in hosting a community education program a business, class, or group, email school.sense@rcu.org. “The best part about my job is that I get to provide free financial education to anyone and everyone,” Melissa said.

FINANCIAL PROFILES LOCAL PEOPLE, LOCAL DECISIONS

C H ART ER BA N K O ve r 4 0 y ear s , C h ar t e r h as g o n e f r o m s t ar t - up b an k t o mar k e t le ade r

F

rom its humble beginning in a temporary trailer on Clairemont Avenue nearly 40 years ago, Charter Bank has flourished to become the largest home-grown bank in the Chippewa Valley, with assets nearing the $1 billion mark. Yet, even as it has grown, Charter has focused on fostering its community roots.

“When you call here, you’re getting people – local people,” says Paul Kohler, Charter’s president and CEO. “That’s our big differentiator.

Because everything is done here in Eau Claire, we can turn around things really quickly.”

Charter’s bankers know the Chippewa Valley and their clients so well that lending decisions that might take weeks at institutions based outside the area may take just a few days at Charter.

“We have an extremely seasoned team, and it’s a very deep bench of lenders here,” added Kohler, who has been with Charter for 23 years, the past eight as CEO. When bankers know the community well enough, they can see customers as more than just names on a loan application.

“You can give this person the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “We’re not just scoring people.”

Charter Bank primarily serves business clients, who may range from single-person startups to community mainstays with hundreds of employees. “You get exposed to so many different types of businesses,” Kohler said. “You never get bored. One day I’m working with a veterinarian, the next day I’m working with a manufacturer. The next one might be a jewelry store owner.”

S ERV I N G BU S I N E S S ES , L A R GE A N D S MA L L It was exactly these kind of small businesses that Troy Johnson wanted to help build when he opened Charter Bank in 1980. At that time,

CHARTER BANK 1010 W. CL AIREMONT AVE., E AU CL AIRE (800) 471-4510 INFO@CHARTERBANK.COM W W W.CHARTERBANK.BANK

range of personal banking services. Customers have come to expect checking and money market accounts, mortgage and personal loans, and credit cards – as well as other benefits, including Charter’s annual customer appreciation party in December.

In the near future, Charter Bank plans to introduce an array of private banking services, said Carla Leuck, the bank’s assistant vice president-marketing officer. Such “concierge banking,” aimed at high net worth individuals, is uncommon among community banks, and will include services such as unsecured loans and credit cards with unique features.

COMMUNI TY FOCUSE D

the bank only had a handful of employees who worked out of a trailer on the site where Charter Bank is now headquartered. The current headquarters was completed in 2006.

Now, as it approaches its 40th anniversary, Charter Bank has 100 employees across three locations, which include its headquarters in Eau Claire and two Minnesota branches, in Chaska and Chanhassen. Charter ranks about 20th in size among the roughly 200 banks headquartered in Wisconsin, Kohler said, and last year Independent Banker magazine named it one of the 25 best-performing community banks with less than $1 billion in assets in the United States.

In addition to business banking – including commercial real estate and equipment loans, depository accounts, lines of credit, and merchant services – Charter Bank provides a full

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Charter’s focus on the community goes far beyond helping individuals and businesses with their financial needs. It also involves a strong commitment to providing funding and volunteer resources for a variety of community and charitable groups. Kohler noted that Charter was one of the first financial institutions to step in to donate toward the Confluence Project: The bank’s $250,000 matching grant helped build momentum in the fundraising effort to create what is now known as the Pablo Center at the Confluence, which opened last fall. In March, Charter donated $125,000 to Feed My People Food Bank to help with its expansion effort.

And just last month, Charter pledged $400,000 to HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals for a mobile mammography unit, which will help women in rural areas around the region receive potentially life-saving screenings.

For Kohler, it comes back to creating strong community partnerships. “Every great community needs great small businesses, and those small businesses need a great community bank,” he said.

FINANCIAL PROFILES ASK AN EXPERT

RI VER P R A I R I E W E A LT H PA RT NER S R i v e r P r ai r i e We a l t h P ar t n e r s’ Ch ie f In ve st m e n t Office r offe r s ins ight into inves ting

THE ROLE OF A FAMILY CFO River Prairie Wealth Partners acts as the family CFO, and in doing so we...

C

hoosing the correct strategy for growing wealth can be a daunting task.

Thankfully, no one has to do it alone.

Steve Latham is the chief investment officer at River Prairie Wealth Partners, a private wealth advising practice of Ameriprise Financial, in Altoona. He has spent more than a dozen years in the financial industry entirely focused on helping financial advisors manage client portfolios – or doing so himself.

Steve holds a bachelor’s degree in finance, a master’s degree in investment management and financial analysis, and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, which requires an additional three-year education program and is considered the gold standard in the field. A local expert in investing and advising, Steve offers some insight on wealth management.

Q: How do you measure success within your portfolios?

A: Success cannot be defined by any single measure. By understanding what the client is looking to achieve with their wealth, we can better understand what risks we can take with their investments to make their goals a reality. If our clients are able to retire on their timeframe, live comfortably throughout retirement, and/or or pass on their wealth in a tax-efficient way, then I would consider the portfolios we’ve developed to be successful.

Q: What are some challenges investors are currently facing?

A: Broadly speaking, investors are still struggling to find reliable, low-risk income streams in this market, especially now that yields may start to fall again as the Federal Reserve resumes a more accommodative monetary policy. After an incredible 11-year bull market run, some investors may have become complacent in their approach to investing and have perhaps found themselves taking on too much risk for their current stage in life.

2423 RIVERS EDGE DR, ALTOONA ( 7 15) 832-7 7 15 S T E V E N . L A T H A M @ A M P F. C O M H T T P S : // B I T . L Y / 3 2 V L 7 J B able client portfolios.

Q: What are the benefits of aligning with a team who has a Chartered Financial Analyst?

A: Financial advisory teams who made the investment of having a Chartered Financial Analyst on staff will have a resource dedicated to observing and interpreting the markets specifically for their team’s and client’s objectives.

Clients will know their investment portfolios are constructed and customized in a robust, ethical, and educated manner. Having this resource allows advisors to focus more holistically on their client’s goals.

SUCCESS CANNOT BE DEFINED BY ANY SINGLE MEASURE.

Q: What is a CIO?

A: The Chief Investment Officer role traditionally involves setting long and short-term investment strategy, developing an investment policy as a set of “guidelines” for the team to follow, maintaining relations with fund managers and external analysts, and implementing the construction and ongoing management of invest-

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Q: What is your investment philosophy?

A: Our client base is comprised of working professionals with higher net worth potential and those who are at or near retirement. Those we work with are seeking to protect and grow what they’ve accumulated, and when we’re developing investment strategies, we’re using tools designed to protect on the downside without sacrificing upside potential. For retirees, we put an emphasis on strategies that allow for adequate income with the intent of avoiding the need to sell principal.

FINANCIAL PROFILES ASK AN EXPERT

W ESTCON SIN CR EDIT UNION B u y i n g a n ew ( or n e w - t o- you) ve h icle is e asy if you ke ep thes e things in mind

Q: What factors should someone consider to ensure an auto loan will be a good investment, in choosing a vehicle and in maintaining it?

A: When purchasing a vehicle one should consider age and miles along with, if it has any manufacture warranty remaining.

This is important because repairs on vehicles are quite spendy.

Knowing that it has a warranty is a good way to protect your new investment. The older and more miles of the vehicle the more likely something could go wrong, leaving you with a hefty repair bill.

“T

he thing that I love about my job is I have the opportunity to help members with their dreams,” Hofacker, a financial services specialist at WESTconsin Credit Union, said. Hofacker helps people all over the Chippewa Valley community access loans and build credit every day.

“Some have dreams of a new camper or auto loan or even just rebuilding credit and getting back on track. Everyone has something they are working towards. I’m glad I get to see the excitement on their faces and in their reaction when I get to give them the good news of a loan approval.”

Hofacker often works to get locals on the road by helping them secure auto loans; he offered up some professional perspective and advice on the car-buying process.

Q: How can someone properly budget/plan to repay an auto loan?

DON’T BE AFRAID TO NEGOTIATE ON PRICE.

Do your research on the makes and models that you’re interested in buying to see what some of the more common issues are with that particular vehicle. You may also want to consider the type of gas mileage the vehicle is rated to get as worse gas mileage means more fuel costs. You want to factor in how much this vehicle will cost you in fuel with the type of mileage you anticipate to put on it.

Q: What are some of the most common barriers to loan approval, and how does one overcome them?

One common barrier that I see when working with members is loan to value – meaning that the value of the car is less than the amount people are looking to finance once tax, title, licenses, and other fees are assessed. Some may refer to this as negative equity. Ways to overcome this include offering a down payment, having a trade in with equity, or contacting a loan specialist to take a look at values of certain vehicles to determine if you should proceed with that particular vehicle. Research online using consumer tools such as Kelly Blue Book or NADA to find values.

Don’t be afraid to negotiate on price with dealers and private party purchases.

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WESTconsin does offer financing for private party loans as well as dealer purchases whether it’s a car/truck, ATV, camper or boat.

A: The best way to budget/ plan for an auto loan is to sit down and figure out a budget that you feel you can afford. I recommend, especially for first time car buyers, to take that amount for the next 3-6 months and put it into a savings account – and Don’t Touch It. That shows you can make that payment by creating a history for your lender to see. Also, you’ve now saved up for a down payment that you can put towards your new car.

Q: What sets WESTconsin lending services apart?

A: We try to help everyone that we can in any financial situation. Some financials have a minimum dollar requirement for a loan or only do auto loans and no personal loans. With WESTconsin I’ve seen us do personal loans for $200 to help get someone get by until their next paycheck. We have a lot of members with unique financial situations and we want them to know we are here to help them with whatever life throws at them.

WESTCONSIN CREDIT UNION LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT CHIPPE WA VALLE Y (800) 924-0022 JHOFACKER@WESTCONSINCU.ORG WESTCONSINCU.ORG

FINANCIAL PROFILES

HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE

N ORT H W E ST ER N BA N K ‘ C ra f t b an ki n g ’ a p p r o ach cat e r s t o sm all b usin e sse s acr oss t h e V a lley

I

f you’re looking for Northwestern Bank President Jerry Jacobson, you’re just as likely to find him in his office as you are to catch him at a nonprofit board meeting, handing out a giant check, or volunteering his time for a local charity. And while Northwestern Bank has been known as a pillar of the community in Chippewa Falls for more than a century, you’re just as likely to see Jacobson or his colleagues at work in Eau Claire, Altoona, or other parts of the Valley.

In fact, Jacobson spent several years as chairman of Eau Claire Confluence Arts Inc., the nonprofit organization that built and owns the Pablo Center at the Confluence in Eau Claire. Jacobson said his work helping bring the arts center to fruition was almost a full-time job.

So why put in those hours on a project that’s not in Chippewa Falls? For one thing, Jacobson said, Northwestern considers itself not just a Chippewa Falls bank, but a Chippewa Valley bank. Moreover, “It’s extremely gratifying to see these organizations grow and help our community, these nonprofits,” said Jacobson, who has spent 41 years at Northwestern Bank, the past 21 as president. “That is for me almost as much gratifying as seeing the businesses grow.”

NORTHWESTERN BANK OFFICES IN CHIPPEWA FALLS, ALTOONA, L AFAYE T TE, BOYD, CORNELL , AND THORP ( 7 15) 723-4 461 (CHIPPEWA FALLS) (715) 839-8642 (ALTOONA) W W W.NORTHWES TERNBANK.COM

IT’S EXTREMELY GRATIFYING TO SEE THESE ORGANIZATIONS GROW. Northwestern Bank has been helping communities and businesses flourish since 1904, when it opened at the corner of Bridge and Central streets in downtown Chippewa Falls. Today, Northwestern also has branches in Boyd, Cornell, Thorp, the Town of Lafayette, and Altoona, where it opened in the River Prairie development in late 2016.

Northwestern Bank focuses primarily on serving small and growing businesses. It’s a market segment often overlooked by bigger banks, explained Jerry Kuehl, the bank’s senior vice president for sales and marketing. “We’re one of the few places right now that you can come to and start a businesses,” he continued. “The larger banks want you to be established before you build. But if you have a new concept or you’re retired and you want to try something different – or you’ve been in business a number of years and want to split off into something else – there are very few folks who will have that conversation with you.”

Kuehl describes Northwestern Bank’s way of doing business as “craft banking.” Consider a

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craft beer or other artisanal product: Unlike a mass-produced, nationally marketed brand, craft products aren’t made by – or for – everyone. The same goes for craft banking: “You can’t just take a formula … where you type in three bits of information and they pull a credit report and boom, you’re done,” Kuehl said. “Business lending takes a different sort of review process, which is more labor-intensive. And so we’ve developed a staff that can do that.”

Kuehl began his career at a large bank in Milwaukee, where loans were made based solely on cash flows and collateral ratios. When he joined Northwestern Bank in 1993, he was initially surprised when loan committees made decisions based on personal relationships and knowledge of clients. “What I started to realize is they knew exactly what they were doing,” he said. “They went back to the roots of banking, so they knew this character piece. The numbers and things are just a way to place values on what people do in their real, day-to-day business life.”

Today, Northwestern serves business clients in a range of sectors, from medical providers to retailers, manufacturers, builders, and beyond. “I think we need to be making sure that people with ideas have an avenue to be able to get money to try and see if their ideas can work,” said Jacobson – who, like his bank, was born and raised in Chippewa Falls. “All of these companies in the Chippewa Valley were small companies at one time. Some of them started with just an idea.”

As he travels to and from his business and volunteer commitments throughout the Valley, Jacobson sees what these ideas have grown into.

“It’s very gratifying to see that you’re a part of making someone’s life a little better,” he said.

“It’s not just the business owner, it’s all those workers who have a better life.”