Springfield Trust Co. is an independent trust company ... established in 1991. It brought the business model of commercial trust to what otherwise would have been an investment advisory business. ... We have evolved to the more high-net-worth clients as well as the small investors. We have about 26 employees and assets under management are about $550 million. I've been here six years.
I personally am responsible for the investments of (about 800) family relationships with assets of about $350 million and supervising investment and strategies for the entire department.
What's your investment strategy?
(We use) broad-based index and index-like funds, so they have very broad diversification and a more predictable experience in terms of risk and return. ... We are re-evaluating the expected returns of all investment classes going forward, because we are being faced with an economic future that has (unattractive) components ... growth in the developed economies, including the U.S., of 1 percent to 2 percent, high unemployment ... and high inflation rates.
Can you put the current recession into perspective?
It's not the first, but it's the worst (and) it comes on the tail of a bear market that was the worst up to that point. That's the one that ended in March 2002.
It's a very rare event that we've had two extreme bear markets in one decade, and returns on risk assets have been the lowest in my career, and in fact, the lowest since the 1930s.
How have market conditions affected your relationships with clients?
We're heroes in the good times and goats in the bad times, as it should be, but certainly relationships have been strained through this. A little bit of positive market movement heals those wounds. ... We expect the recession to end toward the end of 2009, and that's what most top economists are saying, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
How does your experience translate into your role with the Springfield Police and Fire Pension Board of Trustees?
Most decisions for policy - the level of contribution, the level of benefits, et cetera - are determined at the City Council level. What the board ... makes final decisions on are the investment of the assets and determination of disability applications. The investments are a very important (responsibility) for the board, and the experience and training I have in that area are very important to the board.
What needs to happen with the Police & Fire pension?
The unfunded pension liability needs to become funded. That requires about $200 million from some funding source. I think all of this is under a legal framework (that) draws us to the conclusion that those benefits that are promised (and) have been earned and will be an obligation of the city of Springfield and the taxpayers of this city, the same as the city's commitment to ice parks and parking garages and municipal airports and anything else they've committed to support and pay for. ... I don't see people wanting us to go to the bondholders (of) the general obligations of Springfield and asking them to accept a reduction of their interest rate ... so why should we go to our policemen and firemen and ask them to take less than what we have contractually obligated ourselves to (give) them?
Tell us about your family.
My wife, Diane, is very active in the community ... and my role model. I have four daughters. The oldest, Tara VanLoo, works for a division of Family Services as an investigator in Jefferson City. Her husband is a (Jefferson City) firefighter, and they have three kids. Daughter Jesse Wiedmaier is a registered nurse in north Kansas City, and she has three kids. Daughter Amy Homan is a co-owner of ... Blush Studio (in Springfield) and my youngest, Kaylin, will be a freshman in the Buffalo school system and a softball player.[[In-content Ad]]
April 7 was the official opening day for Mexican-Italian fusion restaurant Show Me Chuy after a soft launch that started March 31; marketing agency AdZen debuted; and the Almighty Sando Shop opened a brick-and-mortar space.
