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An integrated approach to estate planning and wealth management can achieve a greater likelihood of successful wealth transfer and minimization of transfer taxes. Wealthy clients who embrace this approach can hope to realize their wealth transfer goals early enough in their lifetimes to obviate reliance on transfers at death at significant extra transfer tax cost.

Historically, institutional investors have searched new areas for investments that add return and reduce risk, particularly in today’s volatile and synchronized global financial markets. One area that is coming into focus, with low institutional investment thus far is agriculture. At the same time investor interest grows, the need for capital by agriculture is rising in order to meet the demands placed upon food production by a growing world population, rising incomes and urbanization.

Rather than trying to seasonally time the market, most investors would be better served by staying fully invested unless there are fundamental reasons to reduce stock exposures. Volatility is likely, as investors weigh the ongoing debt crisis in Europe, the slowdown in China, the strength of the U.S. economy, and the resolution of the "fiscal cliff". But looking out longer term, stocks currently look relatively well-positioned, especially compared to alternatives such as cash and bonds.

This paper addresses how inefficiencies may be exploited to help generate alpha. This viewpoint is developed from our assertion that outperformance requires strong fundamental research and insight by skilled managers, and looks at the methods by which alpha may be extracted under the umbrella topics of Concentration, Opacity (or lack of public information), Illiquidity, Leverage, and Skill (COILS).

When it comes to reaching your family’s financial objectives and perpetuating its wealth, integrated family wealth planning is critical. A family governance system can significantly facilitate that process. This evergreen guide offers best practices and key elements of an effective family governance system, one that can be instrumental and flexible enough in equipping your family to navigate the challenges associated with family, business, financial, and legacy continuity.

The global law firm Withers has witnessed an increase in the number of art-related cases coming before the English courts. Although individuals and entities involved in these art disputes will attempt to resolve their differences out of court and through settlement, they often end up in litigation, which carries financial costs. It is important to understand not only how much litigation costs but also the ways in which litigation costs can be funded and in the U.K. (and other jurisdictions where the losing party pays for the costs of the successful party) recovered from the other side.

The most successful family foundations are strategic about how money is given away, to whom it is given and for what purposes, and in evaluation of the programs funded and the role of the funder. This paper examines eight strategies that distinguish the most successful family foundations from the least successful ones.

In a family enterprise - particularly in a multigenerational family business - the company is often the dominant aspect of the family's identity. Adding a philanthropic track to the enterprise not only creates a significant return on investment in terms of the company's relationship with its customers and employees, but also can affirm the core values of the family.

A long-term perspective is difficult to maintain through the roller coaster of the past 10 years. It is reasonable to wonder when we will revisit the much preferred bull market of the 1980s and 1990s. While we think world equity markets should earn positive real rates of return over the next five to 10 years, we are less certain there will be a multi-year, low-volatility run-up.

Credit Suisse believes that directional strategies will likely continue to add value toward the end of the year. On the other hand, while the short-term event risk of the coming weeks is expected to set a challenging environment for the majority of hedge funds, it should be supportive or at least not harmful for global macro managers.