By Jill Nagy

Area banks have been upgrading their online and digital services but the big push in 2020 appears to be administering Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) small business loans.

“It was an all-hands-on-deck situation; we recruited everyone to help out,” recalled Charles Wait Jr., president and CEO of Adirondack Trust Co. The bank processed $100 million worth of loans in the first round and he expects another $50 million during the second round. “It’s been an interesting 12 months,” he reflected.

Similarly, Marc Monahan, Glens Falls and Saratoga regional executive for NBT Bank, welcomed the PPP program as a way to stay in connection with existing customers as well as a way to bring in new ones.

“They need an account with us but they can open an account and apply for a loan on the same day,” he said. NBT has a dedicated website for PPP loans and, according to Monahan, they processed more than 3,000 applications last spring. 

“The past year has altered how we communicate with our customers,” Monahan said.

BY Meghan Murray

Now that we’re a few weeks removed from 2020, it’s a good time to reflect on such a momentous year. We can think about developments in the social and political spheres, but we also learned—or perhaps re-learned—some valuable lessons about investing.

Here are four of them:

• A long-term perspective is essential.

Volatility in the financial markets is nothing new, but, even so, 2020 was one for the books. Of course, the COVID-19 outbreak was the driving force behind most of the wild price swings. Soon after the pandemic’s effects were first felt, the S&P 500, a common index of U.S. large-cap stocks, fell 34 percent but gained 67 percent by the end of the year.

Consequently, investors who stuck with their investment portfolios and kept their eyes on their long-term goals, rather than on shocking headlines, ended up doing well. And while 2020 was obviously an unusual year, the long-term approach will always be valuable to investors.

• Investment opportunities are always available.

The pandemic drove down the prices of many stocks, but it didn’t necessarily harm the long-term fundamentals of these companies. In other words, they may still have had strong management, still produced desirable products and services, and still had good prospects for growth. In short, they may still have been good investment opportunities and when their prices were depressed, they may also have been “bargains” for smart investors. And this is the case with virtually any market downturn – some high-quality stocks will be available at favorable prices.

• Diversification pays off.

Advisors Insurance Brokers in Clifton Park has been acquired by Integrity Marketing Group, LLC, a large national independent distributor of life and health insurance products.

As part of the transaction, Kevin Johnson, CEO of AIB, will become a managing partner in Integrity. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“Integrity is committed to innovating insurance by bringing together skill sets that complement our growing roster of platform partners,” said Bryan W. Adams, co-founder and CEO of Integrity. “As we’ve gone through this global pandemic, Americans realize the importance of life, health and long-term care insurance coverage now more than ever. By adding Advisors Insurance Brokers to the Integrity platform, we are able to serve more Americans and help them with these planning needs.”

AIB began in 1992 with a focus on long-term care insurance and planning in the New England region. The company has evolved to offer life insurance, fixed indexed annuities and a wide range of insurance products.

“At our core, we are built on a foundation of unmatched customer service that we were not willing to compromise for any partnership opportunity,” said Johnson. “Integrity values that legacy and offered a vision for our next phase of growth. We will retain the boutique-like feel our customers have always appreciated, while providing them with cutting-edge resources and technology we never could have provided on our own. We’re excited to become part of such a legendary team.”