Banking & Financial Services

In a Nutshell: Who Will Pay for Growing Federal Government Spending?

Certainly the rich are expected to pay heavily!  So much tax increase news quickly and significantly hurt sentiment on Wall Street. The markets turned south towards the end of what had been a positive session (due to unemployment claims reaching… more

Latest acquisition delivers $5B to Creative Planning

Overland Park-headquartered Creative Planning Inc.’s latest acquisition adds $5 billion in assets, the second-largest deal in the company's history. Creative Planning made eight acquisitions in all of 2020, adding $4.92 billion in assets. Founded in 1991, SBSB has 62 employees… more

Veto on $94M tax package from Kansas Gov. Kelly overturned

Kansas taxpayers will see a series of tax cuts and increases after the Senate and House voted to override Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a $94 million package. The measure cuts state revenue by about $130 million annually. It… more

Street preservation program introduced in Kansas City, Mo.

A recently introduced street preservation program would more than double funding for paving projects, including fixing potholes, in Kansas City, Mo. City Manager Brian Platt and Public Works Director Michael Shaw unveiled the proposal on Monday, which would allow for… more

KC Council sets stage for $8.2 billion in Golden Plains Tech Park incentives

City Council members on Thursday unanimously approved a Chapter 100 industrial development plan and bond request that could see $8.2 billion in incentives granted over 37 years to developers of Golden Plains Technology Park, should it achieve its projected scale. Diode Ventures… more

SafetyCulture given $1.6B valuation with new funding

SafetyCulture’s new $73 million funding round and $1.6 billion valuation only mean more growth for its North American headquarters in Kansas City. The Australian tech company developed safety and quality management software that can be accessed from a mobile device.… more

$1.7B sale of Waddell & Reed finalizes

Macquarie Asset Management officially closed on its $1.7 billion acquisition of Overland Park-based Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. on Friday afternoon. The transaction brings $76 billion in assets to Macquarie Asset Management, making it a top 20 actively managed, long-term… more

In a Nutshell: America May Have an Economic Boom on Its Hands

There have been many economic factors contributing to our present extraordinary expansion.  In the last several days of Wall Street reporting on financial indicators, one stands out as a dramatic example: March Retail Sales.  The first signs of a spending… more

$600M requested for Johnson County Gateway road project

The city of Lenexa bypassed the Kansas Department of Transportation and instead requested about $600 million from the federal government to pay for the third phase of the Johnson County Gateway roads project. Funding has been requested to pay for… more

In a Nutshell: Is This the New Mission of Corporate America?

Many of my Wall Street colleagues recently shared concerns about proposed board diversity plans. Differences of opinion between those advocating for greater corporate diversity and those seeing it as an industry quota system have created tensions.  Other arguments played out… more