Podcast: Speaking of Quality: Wealth Management Insights with Hank Smith
Season 4 Episode 2 Title: State of the Union with Joe McLaughlin

Episode Transcript:

Maxine Cuffe 00:02 

You are listening to Speaking of Quality: Wealth Management Insights with Hank Smith, a podcast by the Haverford Trust Company. On Speaking of Quality, Hank chats with authors, influencers, and wealth management experts to bring a sense of clarity and calm to the complexity and stress of personal finance. Here’s your host, Hank Smith.

Hank Smith 00:25

Hello, and welcome to our next episode of Speaking of Quality: Wealth Management Insights. I’m your host, Hank Smith, Director and Head of Investment Strategy at The Haverford Trust Company. On this podcast, we explore topics ranging from quality investing, retirement resilience, stock market trends, estate planning, small business ownership, behavioral psychology and more.

Today, we have a short episode coming your way – a brief message from Haverford Trust’s Chairman and CEO Joe McLaughlin. In his message, Joe reflects on successes at Haverford in 2024 and provides a look ahead at what’s to come in 2025. Like we talked about in our first episode of this season, our annual economic outlook episode, we’re looking forward to the year ahead.

To all of our Haverford Trust clients, we thank you for listening and for your continued partnership and loyalty. To the rest of our listeners, we’d love to talk about how we can help you reach your financial goals. There’s no time better than the present to start the conversation! Without further ado, let’s jump into today’s short episode.

Joe McLaughlin 1:38

Hello, I’m Joe McLaughlin, chairman and CEO of Haverford Trust. At Haverford Trust, we measure our success by the positive outcomes we produce for you, our clients.

I’m proud to announce 2024 was another successful year. Looking ahead, our goal remains the same. We want to become even more essential to your financial success, and alongside our president, Keith Aleardi, and our leadership team, I’m excited for the year ahead but first, let’s reflect on 2024.  

It was another landmark year with several hundred new accounts totaling over $500 million. We now manage or consult on $15 billion in assets. Referrals are the highest compliment we receive, and we want to thank you for making client referrals our largest source of new relationships for another year. Your referrals are a validation of our quality investing philosophy and a true reflection of the close relationships we formed along the way. We look forward to putting this approach into action in new ways for our valued clients in 2025.

Throughout 2024, we invested in our team, adding 14 new employees and bringing our headcount to 145. About a third of these hires filled new positions that will help us grow into new areas. We’re also proud to announce that we have a 95% employee retention rate, and more than half of our employees have been with us for more than five years. We have several team members with over 30 years of dedication to Haverford Trust. This is no coincidence, it is a reflection of the company culture we’ve built, the shared values we hold, and the consistent service we’re able to provide our clients. Diversity in thought and backgrounds continues to drive our success. Amongst our leadership team, almost 40% are women, and nearly half of our board is represented by women or individuals of color.  

Speaking of our board, we welcomed two new directors this year, Frances Burns and Loretta Mester. Both women are trailblazers and leaders. Loretta joined us as the board’s second former Federal Reserve President, and Frances significantly bolsters our nonprofit expertise. As of year-end 2024, we’re managing or consulting $3.7 billion of investments across our nearly 300 nonprofit clients. In further expanding our ability to serve nonprofits, in November, we welcomed our first vice president and philanthropic advisor, Rosemary DiRita. Nonprofits continue to face complex financial challenges and require knowledgeable advisors who can not only manage their investments but help maximize their community impact. Rosemary will lead our expansion in this area as we continue to serve as a trusted resource for our growing list of nonprofit clients.  

2024 has been a year of growth for our wealth planning services, and we expect this to continue in 2025. Our approach to wealth planning is guided by three pillars: intentions, insights, and integration. By painting a full picture of our client’s financial situation and specific goals, we can identify and implement key planning techniques and strategies that help achieve ongoing peace of mind. Backed by our quality investing approach, we seek the right investments to guide individuals and families on their financial journeys.  

Finally, we’re also investing in technology to ensure our operations and service remain of the highest quality. In 2024, we successfully executed one of the largest operational migrations in our firm’s history. We adopted the Orion platform, a best-in-class investment management technology solution. This platform unifies our reporting, performance, billing and trading systems. All the reports and analysis you expect from us will be further elevated by this powerful technology. Not only does it improve the service that we provide our clients, but it will also free up efficiencies for our entire staff, allowing them to focus on what they do best, creating lasting value for our clients.  

Our business continues to evolve and grow, but the high-touch service we provide will never change. Throughout 2025, the firm-wide investments we’ve made will be put to work in new ways designed to better serve you. We’re honored you have chosen us as your financial partner, and we remain ever committed to you. Our team stands ready to support you and guide you on your financial journey. One of the ways we do this is through our thought leadership. I hope you’ll watch, read or listen to our 2025 economic outlook. The research and investment teams of Haverford Trust have put this material together to keep you informed and have a better understanding of your investments. Finally, thank you for your continued trust and partnership. 

Hank Smith 7:13 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Speaking of Quality: Wealth Management Insights. We have more great episodes planned for this season, all with a focus on what’s driving the US economy and the markets. From former professional athletes to small business owners and nonprofit leaders, with each guest we’ll hear their unique stories and thoughts on the economic drivers of today and tomorrow.

In the meantime, please send suggestions or questions for me or the Haverford Trust team to marketing@haverfordquality.com. Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review and share this podcast. Until next time, I’m Hank Smith. Stay bullish!

Maxine Cuffe 7:56

Thanks for listening to this episode of Speaking of Quality: Wealth Management Insights with Hank Smith. To hear future episodes of Speaking of Quality, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. To learn more about the Haverford Trust Company, please visit www.haverfordquality.com.

This podcast is provided as general commentary and market overview, and should not be relied upon as research, a forecast or investment advice, and is not a recommendation offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt an investment strategy. Any opinions expressed are as of the date this podcast was recorded and may change at any time, and are the opinions of that commentator not Haverford’s. Any opinion or information provided are believed by Haverford to be reliable at the time of this podcast recording but are not necessarily all inclusive or guaranteed for accuracy. Before making any financial decisions, please consult with an investment professional.