Resource Search

Cannabis is one of the most promising industries emerging today and has the potential to impact and reshape the global, social, and business landscape. In this report, a spotlight is shined on the most pressing investment issues and trends facing the cannabis industry to help investors, companies, and investment banks navigate risk in the fast-moving market. The report also examines the industry from a private market perspective, including a growing ecosystem and the valuation of cannabis startups.

Lawmakers are well aware of the significant contributions to economic and job growth made by small businesses. As a direct incentive for starting and investing in small businesses, Congress has provided varying levels of beneficial treatment in the tax code for Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) since 1993. With the recent tax laws, including the reduction of the C Corporation tax rate to a flat 21%, it has made C Corporation status and QSBS treatment more attractive.

Over the past 40 years, creating and maintaining financial security has become more of a personal endeavor. Despite record aggregate levels of U.S. wealth, large portions of the population appear quite vulnerable. Avoiding late-cycle overconfidence as it relates to both spending and investment decisions is key.

Stocks and bonds delivered spectacular performance in the first six months of 2019. The S&P index of large-cap U.S. stocks returned 18.5% for the year through June 30, while the Barclays Aggregate index of investment-grade bonds delivered an equally impressive 6.1% return. Declining interest rates—sparked by the Federal Reserve—deserve most of the credit for the impressive performance. But what should we expect for the second half of 2019? On the one hand, economic growth in the U.S. remains reasonably healthy, if not robust.

If central banks do not cut rates, their authority could start to be undermined because they have raised expectations about lower rates to the point where it would be awkward to backtrack. This may provide an incentive to cut rates—good news for markets in the short term, but not necessarily in the long term.There is also a non-optimal solution in that central bank action is partly being used to counter the effects of an esclation in the trade dispute. This situation has a direct bearing on the six investment themes for 2019 and the macroeconomic forecasts for 2020.

Demographic shifts are poised to bring about significant changes in the philanthropic market, and this evolution is being accelerated by the emergence of newer, more dynamic models for giving as Generation X and millennials take over the charitable giving from their parents and grandparents. With a new generation of philanthropists seeing themselves as social investors, non-profits must also redefine their philanthropic mission and strategies toward a “for-purpose” path.

The Fine Art insurance market is beginning to harden. Personal insurance companies are offering less coverage in catastrophic areas and Lloyd is closing some of their business units, including some who write insurance for Fine Art.

Anticipating cash flows in and out of an investment program is a vital consideration in portfolio construction for high-net-worth individuals and their families.

When developing capital market assumptions, most forecasters start with assumptions around two of the most fundamental economic variables: growth and inflation. Research indicates that demographics influence both growth and inflation for a given region. The supporting data behind the phenomenon and other initial baseline assumptions outlines our capital market return forecasts for approximately 50 asset classes around the world for the next 10 years and are intended to guide investors in developing their long-term strategic asset allocations.