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One of the most important aspects of a family’s legacy planning can be philanthropy. Family philanthropy can be thought of as the organized charitable giving by several members of a family to achieve a unified goal. It is more than the annual giving of one individual or married couple, though such giving is critically important in its own right. Perhaps the key distinguishing feature of family philanthropy is the presence of a larger collective vision.

The SEC and Cayman Islands Monetary Authority are establishing mechanisms for ongoing consultation, cooperation, and exchange of information related to the oversight of regulated entities that operate across national borders. Each agency intends to provide the other with assistance obtaining information that is needed to ensure compliance within the other regulatory agency’s jurisdiction.

The effect of high oil prices on the financial markets is not clear, as there is evidence to support both a benign and more worrying view. In general, investors will start to discount a worse economic environment if we sustain significant future price increases, but the current level of global oil prices should not be a deal-killer for growth or risk taking.

The IRS has begun checking real estate transfer records in at least 15 states. So far, the new initiative has netted more than 500 cases for audit, and there will likely be many more depending on the results of the taxes collected from this initial effort. Similar initiatives are likely, as the IRS is budgeted to receive additional funds to seek out other tax cases of unreported gifts and income.

A return to a “high” market warrants a full understanding of the nature of ownership (legal title) risks in the art industry and how art investment fund managers can mitigate these risks.

New cost basis reporting rules for securities sales allow the IRS to better track an investor’s capital gains and, as a result, help the agency collect all the money it can. For investors, getting the correct cost basis recorded now is important because it will set the bar for how much they pay on future gains.

Life insurance policy owners should take heed as continued low interest rates result in lower investment returns credited to policies over time. This can be particularly troublesome for those who do not regularly review and benchmark their policy performance. This bulletin examines the impact of a low interest rate environment on insurers, the performance and management of in-force products, and pricing of new products.

While the stress has not been completely removed from the system, today’s housing prices provide a meaningful opportunity for the patient investor. Median home prices have historically exhibited a strong relationship with median household income. Although this relationship became quite stretched during the real estate bubble, it has since reverted to fairer, even attractive, levels.

We continue to favor high income strategies in an environment where traditional bond yields are extremely low and dividend payouts are generally stingy. U.S. equity markets are fairly valued. Internationally, emerging market equities and debt have been strong performers in 2012 and have further long-term upside. We remain on the sidelines in Europe.

The opportunity for families to transfer a significant amount of wealth from now through the end of 2012 is unprecedented. Certainly there are many technical or quantitative issues to consider, but don’t forget to focus on the more qualitative issues, especially in preparing your family for the receipt of the assets.