Over the years we have emphasized Allen Trust Company's status as a locally-owned independent trust company, a structure whose virtues were perhaps underappreciated by some until now. In a time when the giants of the financial world are falling hard and fast, we wanted to reassure you of our firm's inherent stability and soundness. The following describes guidelines adopted by the State of Oregon for regulation of trust companies and the protections which that framework ensures:
Read MoreFriday morning, the FDIC took control of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) following a massive outflow of deposits. SVB’s customers were largely start-up tech companies with a high need for cash to fund operations. These companies held deposits with SVB but the high need for cash required an outflow of deposits from SVB. To meet the deposit outflows, SVB was forced to sell bonds from their securities portfolio and within the last few weeks, SVB sold $21 billion of Treasuries with an attached loss of $1.8 billion.
Read MoreHave you ever tried to bring a tree to life, from seed until maturity? Constant and thoughtful care is essential to the growth and wellbeing of the tree. You are required to start with the basics by establishing the best sunlight, soil, and water conditions for the seed to sprout into a seedling and continue its growth.
Read MoreYesterday was Valentine's Day. This is typically a day when we receive notes of affection, and some may receive flowers and chocolates. The government though, gifted us inflation data and it was not warm and fuzzy as the day would demand.
Read MoreAs I sit here typing this draft, the IRS released notification that they’ll start processing returns on January 20th, which I suppose makes it official. It’s time to wrap up the books for 2022 and get to work on our taxes. Here are some important things to keep in mind for tax year 2022.
Read MoreIn January’s ViewPoints, I offered an outlook for a mild recession and struggling equity markets the first half of the year. I pointed out that the outlook was likely to be proven wrong partly because at least one unforecastable event is likely. I did not note that the forecasts could be wrong simply because it’s wrong.
Read MoreThe end of a year invariably brings forecasts of how the economy and markets will perform in the coming year. The forecasts include estimates of gross domestic product growth, the price level equity markets and interest rates in twelve months. With forecasters being so wrong in the past, could they be wrong again?
Read MoreInflation has increased to 40-year highs, and in response the Federal Reserve has increased rates from range of 0.0% to 0.25% to the current range of 3.0% to 3.25%. This 13-times increase in the Fed’s target rate will act to slow the economy in the Fed’s fight to bring down inflation. The big question is by how much will it slow the economy.
Read MoreIn August, Allen Trust Company celebrated in our beautiful, newly redecorated Vancouver, Washington office, located downtown right across from Esther Short Park. During the event and later online, many mentioned their appreciation for our decision to open a new location in The ‘Couv – a trend for Oregonians these days for many reasons.
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