Independent research by Altair Advisers finds that active investment management can provide persistent outperformance and protection in down markets, compared with passive management. However, patience and thorough, ongoing qualitative due diligence are prerequisites.
By thinking ahead and paying a long-term capital gain today, an investor can derive a net tax benefit in future years. This research brief from Parametric Portfolio Associates explores the tax-management strategy of realizing such gains in a portfolio of equities and quantifies how much this can add to after-tax performance. The authors evaluate the costs and benefits and consider the impact of fluctuating markets on this strategy.
To manage wealth well requires understanding and responding wisely to risk. This white paper seeks to help readers gain insight into the heart of risk. It focuses not on technical measures of risk (beta, volatility, variance, and the like) but rather how successful individuals tolerate and manage risk day-to-day.
The first quarter was an exhausting one for investors, with many left with little appetite for risk and retreating to positions of relative safety. But the turning point may be at hand, according to a quarterly investment strategy report from Barclays Wealth. The writers reassess asset allocation and bridge the gap between tactical and strategic views.
Investors are well advised to take into account the interest rate environment when considering wealth transfer options. Interest rates are important when establishing trusts, reviewing existing estate plans, and lending money to family members. With interest rates declining, the current rates used to value wealth transfers are now near historic lows.
Undivided fractional interests in real estate held as tenants-in-common (TIC) may be exchanged for likekind property under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. The availability of Section 1031 taxdeferred treatment for transfer of TIC ownership interests presents today's investors with expanded investment opportunities but comes with new types of risks.
Indications are that only a fraction of kidnappings that are threatened, attempted or successful are reported. FBI investigations number 350–400 domestic kidnappings per year, with one-third resulting in the payment of ransom (average ransom $2,000,000). Globally, the statistics are far more disturbing. Britain's Foreign Policy Center estimates that kidnappers earn more than $500 million annually with 2004 statistics indicating 8,000–10,000 investigations worldwide.
Wealth management firms and banks must transform their client reporting systems to satisfy investment and web-savvy clients. That's according to a report on next-generation wealth management from Actuate Corp. and IBM Corp. The report examines the growth of the market and outlines some of the challenges confronting wealth managers.
Exchange-traded funds have grown in number from 80 in 2000 to nearly 700 today with holdings of about $600 billion. But as new funds have entered the market, so has the number of increasingly specialized ETFs that carry higher risk. This article from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business examines the issues related to indexed ETFs versus managed ETFs.
Socially responsible investing lets investors use their investment capital for advocacy – to advance a social cause or a values-driven position. In this paper, the Threshold Group defines SRI, shows how it fits into wealth management and provides points for families to consider in exploring whether to consider this approach for their investment portfolios.