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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.

The sharp drop in oil prices may have provided a powerful boost to global consumption, but economists are concerned that on a global scale, especially in the Eurozone, that the effects of low inflation might continue in the long-term.The research article provides a deflation risk index that distinguishes countries where external disinflationary effects are likely to prove temporary and where longer term inflation effects may be more severe and might require a greater policy response.

This report provides a historical review of past economic conditions for 2013 and 2014, and illustrates what might be in store for investors in 2015 by asking five key questions. Those questions include: Will US equities continue to outperform? Is the macro environment in Europe getting worse? What impact will diverging monetary policy have on currencies and bonds?

Micro cap stocks are among the investment world’s worst-kept secrets. They have been around as an asset class category since the 1980s, and research has repeatedly confirmed the ad­vantages they offer to investors – most notably a chance to exploit numerous opportunities for greater excess returns.

President Obama on January 20, 2015, used his sixth State of the Union address to lay out his tax policy agenda to the new Republican-controlled 114th Congress. In a subsequent speech, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reaffirmed the Administration's tax reform goals that were first outlined in a 2012 'framework' for business tax reform. Meanwhile, the Republican chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have responded to the President's State of the Union address, and are laying out their own goals for tax reform.

The desire to integrate values and investment decisions has long been important to investors and is a movement that has gained permanency. Research shows that when implemented thoughtfully with active management, impact investing can achieve social goals, as well as produce competitive and even excess returns over a benchmark. A deep and growing field, impact investing cannot be generalized. While significant activity occurs within private investments, this paper focuses on opportunities in the public markets.