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Under the current Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a wide range of income tax planning techniques can be used as part of the estate planning process. One primary technique includes a focus on managing low-basis assets to achieve a step-up basis. Other techniques center around the beneficiary deemed owned trust. While more than one technique can be used in estate planning, caution should be taken when considering which technique is appropriate for you.

Wealthy individuals and family offices are increasingly looking to direct investments to enhance their returns. Other significant incentives for choosing direct investing include the elimination of management fees charged by investment firms. They can also serve as a vehicle to align investments more closely with the values and mindset of the investor. If you’re a family office contemplating a direct investment program, this article by NEPC outlines the key steps and guidelines to follow that will help set you up for success.

Every year, shareholders vote to appoint or reappoint boards to act on their behalf to ensure the company maximizes shareholder value. And enlightened boards are not waiting for activists but instead are pushing the “reset” button and reflecting on questions like “What are the characteristics of a high-performing board”? and “How do they benchmark themselves against this gold standard”? A model to use as a framework and then customize to your needs is the one established in the Blue Ribbon Commission on Board Evaluations.

Many organizations are realizing that HR executives’ mandate extends beyond figuring out the firm’s health insurance and writing the employee handbook. They are key to creating a positive work culture and attracting (and keeping) talented employees—all essential to the success of any enterprise. In the world of human resources, Mike Feiner and Bill Conaty are known as the progenitors of two of the world’s greatest coaching trees.

High performing CFOs in financial services organizations integrate data-driven decision-making activities across the entire company, changing the role of finance from back-room financial reporters into forward-thinking analysts and trusted advisors. This infographic shows how they do it and how you can too.

In offices around the world Millennials are rapidly becoming managers and even senior executives. Some assistance from their employers could help, but at least right now, many organizations don’t prioritize grooming millennials as leaders. To some degree, the shift has caught many off guard. At the end of the day, the millions of millennials who are managers or soon will be are going to have to learn to own the fact that they are now bosses.

Organizations that want to develop or retain a competitive advantage should create a diverse and inclusive environment where all can thrive. This means addressing both the company-wide structural and behavioral issues that may be preventing people from achieving their full potential. It also means taking on an approach involving six choices and seeing how they can be applied effectively by underrepresented employees.

U.S. stocks have global exposure but do not provide global diversification. In investing, being exposed to too much of the same thing could be dangerous, especially when that market or a segment of it underperforms. A globally diversified equity portfolio may not only protect investors from the concentration risks due to home bias, but could also open the doors for them to take advantage of many lucrative opportunities abroad. And if you go global, go active.

Ultra-high net worth clients are often more focused on asset preservation than accumulation. Yet while they commonly own multiple homes, automobiles, watercrafts, heirloom jewelry and other expensive collections like art and wine—all of which greatly increase their risk—few have the specialized coverage needed to adequately mitigate that risk. Personal Excess Liability coverage is a critical tool in protecting your clients’ wealth.

Traditionally, wealth advisors use a succession planning framework that involves working with the founders to look downstream to the next generation for an effective “passing of the baton” strategy. In contrast, a multi-generational approach encourages each person within the family system to contemplate and share with others where they’ve come from, what they’ve come with, what they wish to pass on, and what they wish to leave behind.