Altair looks at why bank custody ensures greater safety of client assets in this Worth magazine article.
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Altair's Jason Laurie details the dangers (and common practice) of chasing higher-yield investments in this Worth magazine article.
Portfolios do not exist in a vacuum. Investment decisions have tax implications, estate plans often have investment implications, and insurance may affect all aspects of your financial plan. With this level of interconnectedness, a lack of strong coordination among advisors leads to inefficiencies and, perhaps worse, missed opportunities.
For wealthy families, 529s may not be the optimal way to save and pay for education. Altair's Rebekah Kohmescher explains in this Worth magazine article.
How much capital does your family have? Is there enough to secure a stable and happy future for you and your children, or even for your children’s children? When the topic is one of financial capital, these are likely familiar questions to anyone dealing with wealth transfer concerns. But what many families often fail to see is the opportunity to build “relationship capital” through engaging conversations — a more intangible but equally important step to incorporate when you are establishing your family’s wealth planning goals.
For many philanthropic families, successfully engaging the "next generation" proves challenging. This can be especially true if the family supports a specific community or region in which the younger family members do not live. This paper looks at the benefit of allowing the next generation to pursue their interests in more global issues.
Since the election, President Obama has reaffirmed his commitment to increasing marginal tax rates for upper income taxpayers while maintaining for lower income taxpayers the tax rates that have been in place since 2001. The basic theme is to reverse for upper income taxpayers the tax benefits conferred by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.
The phrase is often heard that financial markets do not like uncertainty. The uncertainty surrounding the November elections in the U.S. is behind us. However, much uncertainty remains. The main sources of that uncertainty include the fiscal cliff, the need to increase the federal debt ceiling, the absolute level of the federal debt, and the regulatory environment. This paper looks at the options available to the Obama Administration and congress how these issues could play out in the near term.
Identity theft is now the fastest-growing financial crime, according to Thomson Reuters. Some 8.1 million people or 3.5 percent of the U.S. population were victims of identity theft last year. This paper outlines best practices to help safeguard your assets.
One of the key benefits of having a financial plan is how it can inform decisions regarding spending patterns and investment strategy. There are two questions that often come up during the process of developing a financial plan: How much risk should I take in my portfolio, assuming different spending levels and if I seem to have enough to cover routine expenses, how much splurge spending is possible in periods of excess returns? Ultimately, the answers to these questions depend on many personal perspectives. However, simulation analyses can provide directional insights and conclusions.