In January, our staff came together to create The Bartlett Way, a document outlining the values that drive our culture and underpin the reputation we strive to maintain, with examples that include: Make quality personal. Check your ego at the door. Be a great communicator.

We infused this document with flexibility to evolve, and just like the financial markets we monitor so vigilantly, 2019 has already proven to be a year of great change for Bartlett.

With much of the year still ahead, we have already grown our team and our industry reach through advanced certification among Bartlett professionals, and heightened our approaches to things like information security. We have celebrated countless successes, and we continue to elevate our position as financial leaders by engaging the community through important events and symposia.

Just beyond the halfway point, it seems a good time to pause and reflect on those values we articulated at the beginning of the year, with one in particular that stands out as a common mantra in our achievements thus far: Be inclusive.

For Bartlett this year, inclusion has quite literally meant expanding our staff to include more diversity and perspective among the team. When we opened a Bartlett office in Chicago, we recognized it as a critical move to increase representation for clients across the Midwest. As we look forward to future growth, we will apply the lens of inclusion and what it means for our growing client base.

Empowering the next generation of wealth advisors is another way Bartlett embraces inclusion in our core philosophy. We are more committed than ever to internal initiatives like our Mentoring Up program, which pairs experienced professionals with younger staff to inspire lifelong learning and further Bartlett’s 120-year legacy of calm, confident leadership.

And finally, our commitment to inclusion extends to our clients from all backgrounds and walks of life. By expanding and diversifying in every aspect of our organizational approach, we hope to send a signal to clients that we will meet them where they live and work, formulating a plan that is solid in its individualism, yet flexible enough to change as their lives do.

Thank you as always to our clients, our staff, and our community partners. In big and small ways, you help us navigate change while keeping an eye on our most critical role as a trusted service provider: Turning transitions into new beginnings.