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Spring has sprung at First Western, and we are all being treated to sights of blossoming trees and warm days. With tax day behind us and baseball season ahead of us, there is a renewed sense of purpose and optimism in our offices and among our team members.
At our recent shareholder meeting, Scott was able to deliver a positive overview of First Western’s performance and a continued sense of enthusiasm about First Western's future successes. We are equally engaged with our clients, making sure their financial pictures will remain sunny beyond the warm days of spring and the hot days of summer.
In this edition, A Letter from Scott offers thoughts on First Western Trust Bank’s sixth anniversary. In Cocktail Party Chatter, Warren talks about the economic recovery touching on topics such as corporate earnings, employment, consumer spending and a few more. Karen Post offers insight into the best first-quarter market performance since the late 1990s in The Devil’s in the Details. For A Little Education, Melissa Montgomery-Fitzsimmons sheds light on how the changing estate tax environment may impact you. Read about recent honors First Western teams have received in New With First Western.
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Upcoming First Western Webinar
Strategies to Survive the Ever-Changing Tax Environment
Please join us for a webinar with Melissa Montgomery-Fitzsimmons, First Western's Director of Wealth Planning, as she explains, in plain English, the dramatic changes to the federal estate tax laws and what steps you should implement to provide better protection for your family.
She will also address the new 3.8% Medicare tax, starting in 2013, that will be imposed on "unearned income," such as capital gains. This raises questions of when to take capital gains and how to best reduce your tax-exposure with regard to your investments.
To register please go to https://cc.readytalk.com/r/ooz23t16s8vg.
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A Letter from Scott
by Scott Wylie
Happy spring! It was this time of year – April 14, 2004, to be exact – that we celebrated our grand opening for our first local, boutique, private bank and trust company, First Western Trust Bank of Denver. That makes April 2010 our sixth anniversary. The traditional candy and iron materials for a sixth anniversary are appropriate to our sixth year, as they represent a year that was sweet for First Western, but with an economy and market conditions that required great strength to thrive.
Six Years of Progress
It is hard to believe how far we have come in these six years together:
· We now serve thousands of client relationships, each one treasured and
priceless;
· With 160 expert and committed associates;
· Across 10 locations;
· In three Western states;
· Supported by 250 shareholders; and,
· 14 outside holding company and Bank Board members – all with just
one mission: to be the best private bank for the Western wealth
management client.
[FULL STORY]
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Cocktail Party Chatter
by Warren Olsen
I always enjoy writing my first quarter piece for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it’s spring, and our beautiful days always remind me why I live in Colorado. Spring also means that baseball is back. I snuck out of the office for the Rockies home opener and it was great. An absolutely glorious day made even better by watching Jorge De La Rosa pitch one hit ball for seven innings to lead the Rockies to a terrific 7-0 win over the Padres.
Golf is also in full swing and watching Phil Mickelson win the Master’s was a real treat. Phil’s that great blend of risk and reward, where you watch him both for the brilliance of what he can accomplish on the course and for the potential train wreck that occasionally happens. Also, having Tiger back in the field makes the game that much more compelling. No matter what you think of the guy, the game seems flat without him.
My other primary reason for liking writing this piece is that it’s still so early in the year that when I look back to the annual piece I write in January, I haven’t yet been proven completely wrong. It is much easier than the third quarter piece when I have to spend a lot of ink rationalizing why things unfolded differently.
[FULL STORY]
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Devil's in the Details
by Karen Post
Markets muscled through some messy times during the first quarter, but managed to produce a fourth consecutive quarterly gain and the best first quarter performance since the late 1990s. Amidst a very strong corporate earnings season, uncertainty over the global economic recovery and concerns over excessive European sovereign debt instead grabbed investors’ attention, and markets suffered a sell-off of ~8% during the quarter. By March, however, stronger economic data from both the consumer and industrial sectors led to a rebound as macro headlines faded. China and Greece brought to light the stark differences that developing and developed markets are facing. Very effective government stimulus plans in developing markets have created a strong rebound in economic growth over the past year. Now, these countries are taking steps to reverse economic-stimulus and mitigate inflationary concerns with interest rate hikes. Developed countries, on the other hand, are struggling with stimulus plans that have yet to spur growth or hiring, and with large deficits and growing government debt. These countries are facing growth-choking austerity measures and slower-than-normal economic growth in the future.
[FULL STORY]
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A Little Education
The First Time “Nothing” Has Meant “Something” In Estate Planning
by Melissa Montgomery-Fitzsimmons
The uncertainty swirling around the estate tax has put a new twist on Ben Franklin’s famous adage, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” While the estate tax was effectively repealed in 2010, rest assured it will be back. In the meantime, no one knows what Congress will do next and that uncertainty has created challenges, as well as some opportunities, for estate planning.
Estate taxes have been with us since the late 1790s. Occasionally, they've been repealed, as they were in the early 1900s only to be reinstituted in 1916 to help fund the war effort. They have been around ever since. Although Congress has periodically modified how the estate taxes are calculated, what’s happening now is the most dramatic change in recent history.
[FULL STORY]
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New at First Western
First Western Capital Management Rebranding
First Western's Century City office, formerly part of First Western Investment Management, has been renamed First Western Capital Management. Warren pointed out, “Distinctly recognizing the Century City team as First Western Capital Management helps focus an important area of our overall investment brand. We’ve assembled a great group of investment professionals, and we look forward to having them increase focus on the institutional marketplace."
First Western Capital Management Named Manager of the Decade
First Western Capital Management (www.fwcapmgmt.com), is pleased to announce the firm has received Top Guns Manager of the Decade recognition by PSN in the Core Fixed Income category.
Paula Hendrickson Recognized as a Top Retirement Advisor
First Western’s Director of Retirement Services, Paula Hendrickson, has been named one of the “300 Most Influential Advisors in Defined Contribution” in 2009 by 401kWire. More than 75,000 votes were cast by 401(k) industry insiders across the nation, and Ms. Hendrickson was selected as a top advisor specializing in the retirement plan market. The final list was based on input from those advisors nominated and an analysis of objective criteria, including statistics about the advisors' practices.
To read more on the above, please select the "Full Story" button below.
[FULL STORY]
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Investments, insurance, annuities and similar products are not FDIC insured, may lose value, and have no bank guarantee.
The First Western Trust Bank Newsletter and the information and research contained herein do not represent a recommendation of investment advice to buy or sell stocks or any financial instrument nor is it intended as an endorsement of any security or investment and it does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities.
The articles within the First Western Trust Bank Newsletter represent the authors' own opinions and should not be construed as personalized investment advice.
First Western cannot provide tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for guidance on how the information contained within may apply to your specific situation.
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