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Test 3 - Evergreen

Shareholders of publicly-traded companies have a powerful voice in improving business practices and enhancing the financial performance of the companies in which they are invested. As the business case grows for sound social and environmental practices, investors are increasingly using a shareholder engagement to drive strategic and positive changes in corporations—and society at large. Further, wealth advisors and family offices are in a unique position to facilitate individual investor involvement in shareholder engagement initiatives by enabling and simplifying the process.

Philanthropy has long been characterized by the drive to make a difference. While the practice has evolved, the value of kindness and the legacy of giving it reinforces remains constant. Here we explore the donor-advised fund, a charitable giving vehicle that can be employed individually or as part of a larger plan, providing donors tremendous flexibility in reaching their philanthropic vision.

President Trump has directed the Secretary of Labor to re-examine the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final so-called “Fiduciary Rule” to determine whether it “may adversely affect the ability of Americans to gain access to retirement information and financial advice,” and to prepare a new cost-benefit analysis of the Fiduciary Rule that focuses on potential adverse impacts on investors, retirees, and the retirement services industry.

On April 26, 2017, President Donald Trump presented the core principles of his proposal to significantly overhaul the Tax Code, including reducing individual tax brackets from seven to three, lowering corporate and individual tax deductions, and eliminating the alternative minimum tax. If key elements of the administration’s tax reform proposal were passed, what aspects of your wealth plan might be affected?

In the U.S. the first quarter GDP growth fell short of the consensus forecast; however, stocks have remained surprisingly resilient, currently sitting just below all-time highs. Overall, Energy, Financials, and Information Technology have been the primary growth drivers. In Europe, Independent centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron defeated populist/Eurosceptic candidate Marine Le Pen, shifting investors’ focus to improving economic data. In China, the pace of expansion is expected to ease as the government continues to tighten policy and target areas of excess.

Michigan recently passed an act that allows individuals to create Domestic Asset Protection Trusts ("DAPTs"), an attractive option to help people protect their assets from the claims of third party creditors. If the basic requirements of the newly adopted Michigan statute are satisfied, it also permits the trust settlor to retain certain powers and interests in the DAPT, including the right to receive distributions, while maintaining significant protection for the assets of the DAPT.

The start of 2017 was a stark but welcomed contrast to the prior year. In January 2016, U.S. markets experienced one of their worst starts in history―hampered by concerns of slowing global growth, bottoming oil prices, and an impending election season. This January, these worries seemed far from investors’ minds. Domestic and international markets took economic and political news in stride, shrugging off uncertainty as most regions, asset classes, and sectors generated positive returns for the quarter.

As data continues to accumulate that reinforces the growing consensus of the superiority of passive indexing strategies over active management, the defenders of the old guard are fighting back. They are cutting fees, shuttering underperforming strategies, and merging businesses in order to reduce costs. The pressure is severe: according to Morningstar Inc., some $1.2 trillion has been withdrawn from actively managed U.S. stock funds since the start of 2007, while nearly the same amount has moved into passive U.S. stock funds over the same period.

The Trump administration has released its tax reform outline: the “2017 Tax Reform for Economic Growth and American Jobs.” Although it doesn’t include specific proposals like the border adjustment tax, it does call for a “territorial tax system to level the playing field for American businesses,” as well as significant tax cuts and simplification. In a high-level overview of the 2017 Tax Reform Outline, learn more about the impact of each proposal.