2025 is officially in the books, marking the third consecutive year of double-digit gains for the market. It wasn’t just a good year for returns — it was an eventful one, too. At the start of 2025, our optimism wasn’t based solely on sentiment; the data supported it.
Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Acquires Vancouver-Based Great Northern Asset Management, Expanding its Regional Reach
Ferguson Wellman Capital Management, an independent investment firm based in Portland, Oregon, has announced the acquisition of Great Northern Asset Management as of January 1, 2026. The Great Northern office will remain in downtown Vancouver, Washington. This will be Ferguson Wellman’s second office in Washington.
How We Work to Keep You and Your Data Safe
We participate in information sharing and threat awareness through membership in the FS-ISAC, a 25-year-old nonprofit with 5,000 financial sector members. This membership includes daily threat bulletins, participation in working groups around key areas such as AI security and fraud, and two main conferences annually for best practices and learning.
Informed Decision Making for Senior Living
As we grow older, many of us will need to decide where to live next when our current home becomes too difficult to manage, and assistance is required. Deciding when and where to move can feel daunting, as can the various financial arrangements available to pay for the move.
Things to Know Before You Sell Your Business
Selling a business is one of the most significant decisions an entrepreneur can make. Aside from being a meaningful financial transaction, it is also a life transition that impacts your legacy, family, employees and future.
Why Unhappy Consumers Keep Spending
As New Year’s celebrations wrap up and 2026 begins, the U.S. economy is sending signals that are difficult to reconcile: consumer sentiment is deeply negative, yet spending remains resilient.
From “I Do” to Baby Steps: Financial Planning for New Chapters
Two joyful milestones—marriage and the arrival of a child—bring celebration, change and financial complexity. These transitions also create important opportunities to strengthen your financial foundation and ensure that the plans you have in place evolve to support the people you love.
The Federal Reserve at a Crossroads
After serving two full terms as chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell enters 2026 with just three Fed meetings remaining under his leadership. Beginning in June, a new Fed Chair will preside over setting monetary policy for our country. While the list of potential nominees has been fluid, a critical step in this process is that the nominee, and likely new chair, gains the confidence of a wide variety of stakeholders.
Mission: Impossible
Investors had to contend with plenty of noise in 2025. Tariff uncertainty disrupted markets, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history delayed economic data and the Fed resumed its easing cycle.









