Forging a close relationship among siblings during childhood is hard enough, but as siblings become adults, the development of disparities in wealth can challenge even the strongest relationships. In business-owning families, the potential ramifications not only affect the personal lives of the immediate family, it can also disrupt the alignment of corporate vision, tolerance for risk and the overall decision making abilities of everyone involved. This article discusses a number of ways to mitigate and manage sibling wealth disparity.
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Since their introduction only two decades ago, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have been undeniably successful. Growing far beyond their initial function of tracking large liquid indices in developed markets, ETFs now hold over $2.6 trillion of assets globally. In fact, the proliferation of ETFs was identified as one of the six game changers in the asset management (AM) industry in 2013. New investor segments continue to integrate ETFs into their portfolios and fund sponsors continue to introduce new products.
Some years make indelible stamps on our consciousness for memorable market trends or events, good or bad. Investors’ conversations are dotted with references to 1987 (Black Monday Crash), 1999 (tech stocks through the roof), 2000 (dot-com bubble bursts), 2008 (financial crisis) and 2009 (bounce back off the bottom) that need little or no elaboration. 2014 leaves behind more of a mixed legacy, delivering a confounding combination of different messages depending on one’s view.
Addiction concerns in family businesses raise unique and complex challenges for the advisor, family office and corporate leadership. This article provides an overview of the many policy and procedural issues all stakeholders face when it comes to addressing substance use, with an emphasis on family held entities.Some of the topics include:
Today’s philanthropists want to channel their desire to “do something” into purposeful and strategic action. Donors frequently want to create or invest in the people and programs that can make a measurable difference. However, for many of us, it may be difficult to know where to begin. Philanthropic endeavors are often rooted in the passions of an individual.
There are a lot of questions surrounding whether snowbirds and others can shift his or her residency to a lower or no tax state such as Florida, Nevada or Texas, while still maintaining a home in Illinois. However, in light of Illinois’ current economic state and future debt obligations, it is hard for many Illinois residents and businesses not to be skeptical that the latest lower tax rates in the state will stick.
When does the state lack authority to tax a “resident trust” on out-of-state income? In this report, McGladrey discusses a number of strategies that advisers should consider in order to minimize the state-level tax liability for a trust by moving it to a more taxpayer-friendly jurisdiction. The article provides case studies dating back to 2013, where in some cases, advisers and their clients either minimized or even avoided state tax liability altogether on undistributed trust income.
The American Tax Payer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) was passed on New Year’s Day 2013, and established the first permanentset of estate, gift and generation skipping transfer (GST) tax provisions in 12 years. Each year, the administration puts forth tax proposals that may change the current law. This article provides a quick summary of several of the latest revenue proposals submitted by the Obama administration that might affect individual taxpayers and future estate and tax planning strategies.
The Swiss National Bank removed the EUR/CHF 1.20 floor on January 15, 2015, which had been in place since September 2011, while cutting further the 3-month interest rate target (to between -1.25% and -0.25%). This research paper provides analysis into the potential outcomes of this move by the SNB to the Swiss economy, and illustrates the deflation risk in Switzerland and how it may fare better than deflation risk in the Eurozone through its risk index model.
In 2013, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a nonprofit group of reporters, shattered the long-held view that offshore bank secrecy was impenetrable. The group had received massive leaks detailing individual offshore bank accounts, which they shared with the public on their website. This was the first of hundreds of stories about the financial affairs of high-net-worth individuals overseas.