News & Views
May 25, 2022
An Interview with David Strege
By Julie Summa, Director of Marketing & Communications
My husband and I have known David for over 25 years as he was my mother-in-law’s financial planner until she passed away in 2017. He was also our financial planner for a few years until we were reassigned to Wayne Johnson at Syverson Strege. During the entire time we have known him, we have been impressed with his …
Inside Look
Congratulations Tyler!
Congratulations to Tyler Conley, MBA, CFP®, CEPA®, for becoming a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) professional! He received the designation from The Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA™), the premier national organization dedicated to the certification, education, and promotion of the use of financial professionals in the divorce arena.

Tyler will be certified to help clients with financial issues such as personal vs. marital property, valuing and dividing property, spousal and child support, financial issues affected by divorce, and much more.
Meet Your Syverson Strege Team – Lance Knaack
Watch the first video of our new quick and informal series, “Meet Your Syverson Strege Team.” Learn what Lance’s personal passion is – hint: go Twins!” And you won’t want to miss his interviewer – his wife, Kara, who is our Marketing & Communications Coordinator!
Congratulations – Lance!
Congratulations to Managing Director Lance Gunkel who successfully completed the “Rim to Rim to Rim: Double Crossing” of the Grand Canyon in a day. He completed the trek of 47 miles and 11,500 feet of climb and descent in 19 hours. Way to go Lance!
 
If you haven’t had a chance to see our recent video of Lance and his ultramarathon hobby and how it relates to financial planning, make sure to check it out.
25th Anniversary Contest
  • In April, we had our first of five monthly contests in celebration of Syverson Strege’s 25th anniversary.
  • Each month we will post two contest questions in the News & Views newsletter.
  • Please email Deb Longseth with your answers.
  • One random person with the right answer (or closest to the right answer) will win and be mailed one of our cool camper mugs!
Contest questions for this month:
How old is our oldest client?
How many clients (spouse and partner count as one client) are currently served by Syverson Strege?

Answers from the April contest:
  1. Guess the number of client families who have been with us for the entire 25 years. The answer is 79! We were thrilled when we calculated this number and are so very thankful we have been able to serve these valued clients for 25 years!
  2. Other than Johnne Syverson and David Strege, what is the employee's name who has been with the firm the longest? The answer is our receptionist, Debbie Richards. As of October 2022, Debbie will have been with us for 20 years. We are grateful for her longtime service to our clients!

Good luck on this month’s contest!
New Employee
Nicole Tripp

Syverson Strege is excited to welcome Nicole as the new part-time Administrative Assistant on the Client Services Associate team! We’re thankful she has chosen to join our growing team. To learn more about Nicole, click here.
Save the Date
Mark Your Calendar!

We have a variety of informative and fun events coming up for the rest of 2022. We’ll be providing more detail on each event as we get closer to the date. We hope you can join us! (Dates are subject to change.)
Upcoming Dates
8/9: Grandparenting Workshop
8/25: Client Orientation Workshop
9/13: Women's Style Show
9/22: Client Appreciation/25th Anniversary Celebration Event – Central Iowa
10/25: Client Appreciation/25th Anniversary Celebration Event – SE Iowa
10/27: Client Appreciation/25th Anniversary Celebration Event – Marshalltown
11/10: Investment Education Event
12/9: Christmas Gift Wrapping
Out and About
Community Foundation Banquet
We are thankful to be a Charitable Investment Partner with the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines! Ten Syverson Strege employees attended their recent “Better Together” luncheon. The ongoing commitment to community was evident in the energy of the room as we connected in celebration of being better together.
 
The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines announced a $45 million estate gift to benefit local charities! The Community Foundation administers assets of over $850 million and administers 2,383 charitable funds, as of March 31, 2022. Through Community Foundation grantmaking programs and donor funds, over $51.9 million was granted to charitable causes in 2021.
New Video
Baking Deb Longseth
Be prepared … be precise … have the right ingredients. These are essential qualities for good financial planning, but also the basics for successful baking! Find out why Syverson Strege employee Deb Longseth thinks baking and financial planning are surprisingly alike. Watch the video now.
Philanthropy
Wild About the Child Shindig
Syverson Strege was honored to be a Silver Sponsor of the Wildwood Hills Ranch “Wild About the Child Shindig” at the Stine Barn in West Des Moines on May 21.
 
The sponsorship will provide scholarships for four at-risk youth to attend the Wildwood Hills Ranch programming. The mission of Wildwood Hills Ranch is to transform lives and strengthen communities by providing healing, hope, and God’s unconditional love to children and youth at risk.
 
As a side note, David Strege and his wife, Jen, are dedicated volunteers at Wildwood Hills Ranch. Jen helps with the draft horse team and David teaches financial literacy, helps kids learn how to fish every Wednesday, and assists with their worm farm. 
DMARC
Syverson Strege team members, Matt Roberts, Wayne Johnson, and Ben Geiger recently attended Des Moines Area Religious Council’s “Spring Greens” event. Syverson Strege is honored to have partnered with Iowa’s largest food pantry network where funds from the event will be used to help meet the basic human needs of those who live with food insecurity.
Market Update

Why might investors be disappointed when they see their April statements? What may be to blame for one of the worst-performing bond markets in 2022? And what are some of the negatives and positives of the current stock market and economy? Find out in Jason Gunkel’s Market Update blog article.
Syverson Strege
4125 Westown Parkway, Suite 104
West Des Moines, IA 50266
515-225-6000