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Despite continued geopolitical instability and the media’s newfound focus on jihadist terror, equities rallied during the month on optimism that monetary policies among major central banks will continue to be quite supportive. U.S. corporate earnings for the second quarter of 2014 also came in stronger than expected, with the S&P 500 earnings growth rate accelerating to over 8% year-on-year. Developments outside the U.S. were less encouraging.

South Dakota’s favorable tax, trust and asset protection laws make it one of the top domestic asset protection jurisdictions. The January 2014 issue of Trusts & Estates magazine ranks South Dakota #1 in all categories including asset protection laws. In fact, it is the only state that ranked #1 across all categories (i.e., tax, trust laws, private trust companies, and asset protection). Consequently, these favorable laws combined with SDTC’s experience make South Dakota the jurisdiction of choice for many wealthy clients.

South Dakota is the leading bank asset jurisdiction in the United States, according to the FDIC. As the leading trust, asset protection, privacy and favorable tax jurisdiction, South Dakota has attracted many wealthy families to establish trusts in South Dakota without having to live, visit or even fly over the state.

A family office and advisor team working in the best interest of the family first and foremost requires (1) working with and depending upon multidisciplinary colleagues, (2) collaborative management of the practice areas with appreciation for pragmatic give-and-take resulting in a better overall plan, (3) recognizing that team members are not individually successful unless the greater goal is achieved, and (4) understanding that achieving the greater family goal will make each member most successful.

It’s the Fourth Quarter for corporate trustees who are burdened with the decision of how to implement the final regulations under Section 67 issued by the IRS last May. These regulations, govern the costs incurred by trusts and estates that are subject to the 2-percent floor on miscellaneous itemized deductions under Section 67. The regulations apply to tax years beginning on or after May 9, 2014, and thus for existing trusts using a calendar year, 2015 will be the first tax year governed by the new regulations.

The fixed income environment is changing, and as a result we believe opportunistic fixed income strategies with the flexibility to go anywhere are better suited to today’s market realities than traditional, duration-heavy core holdings. But because these strategies come in different shapes and sizes, we think it is important for investors to drill down into what they’re actually investing in and understand both the what, and the how of investing in this new fixed income landscape.

The tightening of regulations around the world is prompting banks to offload a variety of financial assets onto the capital markets. Investors are aware of this opportunity. However, we think that many hold misconceptions about it because of the opaque nature of the disintermediation process, and the unfamiliar and heterogeneous nature of the assets involved. In particular, we believe that investors incorrectly assume the opportunity has been missed and offer evidence that this is not the case.

Many business managers include arbitration provisions in their companies’ contracts. The prevailing philosophy being that arbitration is preferable to traditional litigation via the court system because it’s private, speedier and less expensive. Under certain circumstances, however, a party may prefer to litigate a particular dispute in court even though it previously included an arbitration provision in the relevant contract. Smart Business spoke with Liebman about choosing traditional litigation despite the existence of an arbitration provision.

“Internet message boards and review sites provide a venue where users- customers and pretenders alike- can offer anonymous evaluations and judgments about restaurants, hotels, medical and legal professionals and businesses," says Mitchell L. Marinello, a partner with Novack and Macey LLP. "Unfortunately, sometimes these reviews cross the boundary between mere opinion and defamation." When they do, they can cause great damage, because they can linger on the Internet for years. But if a company is the victim of internet defamation, it has remedies.

If your organization still doesn't have a social media policy, it is time to create one. "Every organization should have a social media policy that enables it to optimize the opportunities that interactive social media sites present while minimizing the attendant risks," says Kristen Werries Collier, a partner with Novack and Macey ILP. Smart Business spoke with Collier about those risks and how to develop a workable policy to minimize your exposure.