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“The cobbler’s children have no shoes,” refers to the phenomena where people who are successful at doing something spend so much time on their own professions that they neglect to take care of business close to home. In the folktale, the cobbler’s children had holes in their shoes because he was so busy repairing the shoes of other people that he neglected his own children, writes Robert Jordan, Jr., CEO of Video Family Biographies.

This commentary provides updated data on the state of the global economy in the First Quarter of 2015, including: Recent economic data showed economic growth cooled in the first quarter impacted by a pull back in activity by energy companies, rough winter weather and a strong US dollar. The US economy expanded at a 2.2% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, led by the biggest gain in consumer spending in eight years.

According to a Norwegian linguist, the Sami people living in northern Russia and Scandinavia have 180 words for snow and ice. It seems that there are nearly as many terms for investment strategies designed specifically for societal impact. A few of the terms being used today include: “socially responsible investing,” “ESG investing,” and “mission‐related investing,” etc. Unlike the Sami’s 180 terms, each of which has a very specific meaning, there are no widely accepted definitions for impact investing and no dictionary to guide us.

Families experience significant and sometimes difficult changes over the years as elders pass on and new family members grow into leadership roles. What worked for a two-generation family with five members may not work when the family reaches the fourth generation and now involves multiple households with varying wealth structures.

The Russian Ruble has collapsed. Its economy appears to be headed into a recession. Oil prices have plunged. The US Dollar (USD) has surged. Emerging markets debt has grown significantly since the “Great Recession.” Are we on the verge of a repeat of 1997 and 1998 when we saw a surge of defaults by the countries collectively called the “Emerging Markets?”This commentary discusses whether the emerging markets should remain an important long-term investment despite these difficulties.

In the past, when analyzing whether a client should make taxable gifts, estate planners tended to simply rely on comparing the transfer tax cost of making such gifts with those made at death. Paying the gift tax was assumed to be “cheaper” than paying estate tax, even though the rate was the same, because gift taxes are calculated on a “tax exclusive” basis (in other words, the gift tax paid comes out of the estate). This white paper explores the pros and cons that determine whether making taxable gifts in today’s environment makes financial sense.

In this market forecast, Atlantic Trust discusses presents the issues that will have the most impact on the financial markets over the next 12 months, including: The EconomyU.S.

Altantic Trust Private Wealth Management provides insight into the financial markets in its Economic and Investment Overview for the second quarter of 2014, some highlights include:

Family businesses are an essential source of prosperity and stability to both our global economy and our society. The characteristics and practices of large, long-lived family businesses serve not only as a model for other family businesses but also for all companies that aspire to maintain an entrepreneurial spirit, innovate and maintain growth. The global survey presented in this report focuses on seven success factors for family businesses, including succession, women in leadership, governance, communication and more.

No one is comfortable discussing the day of their funeral, but taking control of that inevitable conversation and organizing a principal’s final wishes is simply the right thing to do for their family, their legacy and their enterprise. Making arrangements after the loss or, preferably, preparing an end-of-life plan in advance, involves some of the more challenging personal choices one will ever make.