Published July 2001

Abarim index takes stock
of county’s economy

We all know there exists dozens of statistics and indexes that can gauge the relative health of our national economy. But how can we calculate the strength of our local economy?

Often, the unemployment rate and sales tax receipts are used because these statistics are compiled on a county-by-county basis.

Fortunately, in Snohomish County, we have an additional but little-known economic yardstick. It’s the Abarim Snohomish County Stock Index.

You won’t find the ASCSI listed on any stock exchange; in fact, the only place to find it is on the Web site www.abarim.com that’s maintained by its founder and outspoken champion, Tim Raetzloff.

When he’s not crunching the numbers associated with the ASCSI, Raetzloff is the owner of Abarim Business Computers Inc., a computer retail and service company now in its 11th year of business in Edmonds.

While Abarim has earned a national reputation for manufacturing specialized servers, Raetzloff would like to do the same for Snohomish County through the ASCSI.

To be eligible for inclusion in the ASCSI, a company must be headquartered in Snohomish County, its shares traded on a recognized stock exchange at a minimum of $1 a share and be current in its reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The index measures the combined business performance of Snohomish County-based and publicly traded companies. Companies that qualify for the index change occasionally because mergers and acquisitions alter where they are headquartered.

For now, the ASCSI is composed of SonoSite Inc., Sonus Pharmaceuticals Inc., Seattle Genetics Inc., Cascade Bank, City Bank, ICOS Corp., Frontier Financial and EverTrust Financial Group. This is a healthy mix of biomedical, biotechnical and financial companies that reflects the overall health of the Snohomish County economy.

Raetzloff is an outspoken champion of homegrown business ownership. He established the index in 1994 as a tool to improve the visibility — and hopefully, the stock performance — of our county-based companies. He believes that companies with strong stock performances are less visible takeover targets and enhance the overall business image of Snohomish County.

Since then, the index has shown a relatively steady growth and continues strong even in light of the overall downturn of the major markets. As of early June, the index stood at 214.99 up 32 percent from a year ago. And for the first time in history, the total combined market capitalization of the ASCSI firms exceeded $5 billion on June 5.

Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying the value of each share by the number of shares outstanding.

While still far behind the combined performance of King County companies, Snohomish County ranks second in market capitalization — ahead of both Pierce and Spokane counties.

As we promote Snohomish County as a great place for business, you can be certain that the Abarim Snohomish County Stock Index will continue to be an important part of our selling points for businesses that seek to expand or move to the county.

Deborah Knutson is President of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council. She can be reached at 425-743-4567 or by sending e-mail to dknutson@snoedc.org.

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