HTC Team News and Honors

February 24, 2023 Heartland Trust

• Our team continues to grow. We are excited to announce the following promotions and new hires.
Jana Samek was promoted to Director of Retirement Services.

Jana Samek

We recently welcomed two new employees to our team: Jennifer Schmidt, Administrative Associate-Personal Trusts; and Maureen Jelinek, Chief Operating Officer

Jen Schmidt

Maureen Jelinek

• We enjoyed participating in the 22nd annual Festival of Trees, a community event that supports Fraser, Ltd. Thanks to our team members who decorated our tree: Mary Fridgen, Jen Schmidt, Ethan Linder, Jace Gilleshammer and Jen Johnston

• We embraced the holiday spirit with our team Ugly Sweater Christmas Celebration. The entries were festive and fun. Congratulations to Amy Remmick (left) who won the Most Creative award and Steve Halverson whose sweater was voted the Ugliest.

Amy Remmick

Steve Harlverson

• We are thrilled that we were able to participate in the 2023 Giving Hearts Day. Each team member picked a charity in which HTC made a donation in their honor. Here are the charities we supported:

Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Red River Valley
St. Gianna & Pietro Molla Maternity Home in Minto, ND
Hospice of the Red River Valley
Great Plains Food Bank
Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN
Red River Zoo
Landon’s Light
Crosses For Cameron
DMF 4-6-3 Foundation
Arthritis Foundation of North Dakota
Grace Lutheran School
Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity
Cats Cradle
YWCA
Park Christian School
Henrik’s Heroes Fund
Churches United
Rape and Abuse Crisis Center

• Congratulations to Denise Lies who celebrated 30 years with HTC on January 14. Denise is our Senior Retirement Services Operations and Compliance. Congratulations, Denise!

Denise Lies

Meet: Tim Rensch

February 24, 2023 Heartland Trust

Tim Rensch joined us in July as our Retirement Services Relationship Manager. He likes to spend time outside and read – and he’s already become a valuable part of our team.

Tell us about yourself.
I am a native of Garrison, North Dakota, and moved to Fargo in 1993 to start college at North Dakota State University. I graduated with a BS in accounting and, after college, started my career in hotel management. In 2008, I started my first job in the financial services industry.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I like to go camping and hiking with my wife and dogs. I also like to ride my bicycle, kayak, golf, and read.

Tell us about your favorite life experience.
I don’t have a single favorite life experience. I look at my past experiences, good and bad, as something to learn from so I am moving forward as the best possible person I can be.

What is your favorite movie/play/book?
My favorite book is the next one I’m going to read. I love to learn new things and to be able to look at situations through the perspective of others. Books and movies are great opportunities to expand my perspective and awareness, but I don’t get hung up on a favorite. Each one has given me a different, thought-provoking experience.

What was the first car you owned?
The first car I owned was a 1980 Pontiac 6000.

How long have you been at Heartland Trust?
I started at HTC on July 13, 2022.

What is your favorite part about working at Heartland Trust?
Heartland Trust is a place that treats people with respect and dignity. This holds true in the way the company treats employees, employees treat customers, and co-workers treat each other. Companies often spend a lot of time promoting their corporate culture, but I’ve found the companies with the best corporate culture show it and that is certainly true of Heartland Trust.

2022 Market Review and Outlook for 2023

February 24, 2023 Kevin Wangen – Wealth Management Associate

Kevin Wangen, Wealth Management Associate

The economic and investment landscape for 2022 was memorable – and not in the way most of us want to remember.

Despite the increased optimism from investors as we rolled into 2022, the S&P 500 finished the year down 18.13%. The U.S. bond market, normally a safe haven when equity markets fall, posted returns of -13%. Inflation soared to 40 year highs. Interest rates rose to their highest levels since 2008. Egg prices went from roughly $1 per dozen to over $4 per dozen.

Through all of that, it didn’t seem like the sky was falling. We managed to avoid a recession, at least by the traditional economic definition. Unemployment remained low. The S&P 500 loss for 2022 put the value back to where it was 22 months ago in May 2021, a comparatively minor loss to other major market pullbacks. For context, The Great Recession of 2008 erased almost 12 years of gains.

The international markets did not fare quite as well through much of 2022. Most of Europe experienced higher inflation than the U.S.. They avoided a recession because declining oil prices and government subsidies softened the blow when the supply of Russian natural gas was shut off. China also fared better than expected when their “COVID-zero” policy was relaxed and an unexpected rate cut was announced.

Back in the U.S., there is still work to do in 2023. The overall market has shown strong signs of reemergence during the first part of the year. The Fed continues to raise interest rates, albeit at a much slower pace, in its efforts to curb inflation. So far it seems to be working. Return prospects for bonds should be more favorable as the Fed rate hike cycle comes to a close. Even egg prices have started to come down.

Here at Heartland Trust, we continue to do our due diligence with respect to the investments we choose . Our investment process is detailed, tested, and focused on the long-term. We work to capture as much of the upside gain as possible when the market is thriving, while limiting the downside loss during periods of market turbulence.