2023 Highlights
January 2024
Greetings! As we launch into 2024, I wanted to highlight some of our accomplishments over the past year and what excites us for the year ahead.
One of our biggest achievements in 2023 happened behind the scenes as the current owners of Fulcrum acquired the ownership stake of our co-founder, Darcy Johnson, who retired at the end of 2022. This allows us to preserve our identity as an entrepreneurial, owner-operated investment advisor. Since our inception 17 years ago, Fulcrum has never borrowed from or sold a stake to an outsider. As a longtime client recently stated, it’s “what makes Fulcrum Fulcrum.”
It’s no accident that many of our clients are or were business owners themselves. The fact is, you take better care of what you own than what you don’t. Independent ownership helps us stay true to our values, serve our clients generously, and focus on long-term results rather than short-term gains. It is also a strong magnet for our phenomenal talent – the kind of people who care for our clients and consistently deliver top-notch results.
When it comes to results, we know investment performance matters to our clients. It matters to us, too, since we manage our own portfolios the same way we manage our clients’. 2023 proved to be another banner year for our time-tested investment approach. We are very proud of our 16-year track record, so please let us know if you’re interested in learning more and we’ll share the details.
Success breeds success, and 2023 was filled with many other milestones as we settled into our bright new office in downtown Seattle. We continued our commitment to donate 10% of annual profits to charity and were recognized as a top corporate philanthropist in the region for the fifth year in a row by the Puget Sound Business Journal. We also continue to be ranked by the Journal among the fastest-growing private companies and as one of the largest and fastest-growing women-owned firms in the region. Forbes/Shook recognized our team as a Best in State Private Wealth Advisor for the second year in a row.
Looking ahead, our company goals for 2024 span two key areas. First, we intend to leverage our leading-edge technology and resources to make savvy wealth management decisions and to communicate more effectively with our clients. Second, we plan to expand our team and create opportunities for our current team members to spread their wings.
As we look toward the year ahead, we are both confident and grateful. We are confident that our independence and our proven approach will continue to drive excellent results for our clients. We are grateful to our co-founders Darcy and Bob for their visionary leadership, and we are grateful to our clients, partners, and friends for your support over the years. Your dedication fuels our passion.
I recently wrapped up my seventh full year at Fulcrum, and I’m still amazed every day by what this team can accomplish. As always, we welcome your feedback, so please don’t hesitate to call or email.
My warmest wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2024.
Michelle Mathieu
CEO and Chief Investment Officer
PSBJ Top Corporate Philanthropist – Small Companies (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022), PSBJ Fastest Growing Private Companies (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022), PSBJ Fastest Growing Women-Owned Companies (2021 and 2022), and PSBJ Top Women-Owned Companies (2021 and 2022). The Puget Sound Business Journal compiles the lists from private companies globally headquartered in Washington State and is based solely on minimum revenue, growth-of-revenue, and corporate giving data provided by those companies. Revenue and growth-of revenue data are subsequently verified by company officers and outside accountants. Inclusion on the list is not related to investment advisory services or to client experiences with the companies listed. Companies listed come from numerous industries and are not limited to investment advisors. Inclusion in these lists is not related to investment advisory services or to client experiences within the companies and is not indicative of past or future investment performance or the experience of our clients.
The Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisors – Private Wealth is compiled by SHOOK Research, which researched and interviewed candidates who had been nominated by their firms. The ranking is based on an algorithm of qualitative data, learned through surveys and interviews conducted in-person, by telephone, and virtually to evaluate SHOOK Research’s view of best practices, level of service, investing models, and compliance records, as well as quantitative data, such as revenue trends and assets under management during 2022. All advisors included in the ranking have a minimum of seven years’ experience. Portfolio performance is not a criterion The ranking represents the opinion of SHOOK Research and is not intended to represent the experience of any particular client of Fulcrum or of Michelle Mathieu. Neither the registered investment adviser firms nor their ranked employees pay a fee to Forbes or SHOOK in exchange for being included in the ranking. Inclusion in the ranking is not indicative of Fulcrum’s or Michelle Mathieu’s future performance or service levels. There were 39,007 nominations nationwide in 2022 and the final list of Best-in-State Private Wealth Advisors in Washington State includes 33. Complete methodology is available at this link.
Fulcrum Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Data presented in this report is current as of the date(s) indicated. Investments are not guaranteed or insured. This report uses information that is considered reliable, but it does not represent that the information is accurate or complete. The report is not intended to be either an expressed or implied guarantee of actual performance and is not intended to supply tax or legal advice. There is no solicitation to buy or sell securities. It should not be used to make investment decisions and does not constitute investment advice.
