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In this 10-minute interview, attorney Bryan House of Foley & Lardner joins Brian Lucareli to discuss the SEC enforcement for family offices. During the interview, Bryan explained who is subject to the Investment Advisers Act, and provided a real-life example of the SEC getting involved with a family office.

More than $80 trillion of wealth is expected to be transferred within families over the next two decades. Given the rise in wealth and aging populations globally, the number of family offices has surged to help guide succession planning and the transfer of assets. This brief outlook further highlights the investing trends impacting the path forward for families and family offices that is shifting as the next generation potentially reorients family goals toward qualitative objections (mission-driven) in addition to quantitative metrics (investment returns).

The 2024 U.S. Presidential election is set as a rematch between current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Each candidate’s fiscal priorities have already been on display in their first terms and give insight into second-term agendas. This brief outlook by Asset Consulting Group compares their track records and the market impact, including the growing borrowing costs for the treasury that are putting a greater burden on the federal budget.

Cryptocurrency has revolutionized the financial markets but also created tax traps for the unwary investor. Building on proposed regulations issued in 2023, the IRS has increased its oversight of cryptocurrency transactions by requiring brokers, beginning in 2025, to report investor sales and exchanges in connection with such transactions. Taxpayers not complying with these requirements may face penalties based on accuracy of reporting. For federal tax purposes and regulatory compliance, any form of virtual currency is treated as property and not cash.

In an era marked by unprecedented wealth transfer and shifting societal dynamics, philanthropy is being called to actively adjust to a new reality. In the middle of all this, younger people are starting to have a bigger say in where philanthropic money goes. They care more about equity, inclusion, and transparency, as well as changing systems that cause problems.

The issue of concentrated low-basis holdings is a challenge that has vexed wealth managers and their clients for decades. Put simply, if a large majority of your wealth is concentrated in a single position, should you sell some of it and move the proceeds to a more diversified portfolio of investments? However, the sale position oftentimes carries enormous unrealized capital gains with a huge tax liability. But over the years, new ways of looking at the concentrated position have evolved to provide a more robust and meaningful solution.

While the market for private sales has slowed, private equity companies have record amounts of dry powder they need to put to work—for the right companies, this may be the ideal time to explore a business sale or capital raise. In this podcast episode of Business Insights, Terry Hill, Partner in BPM’s Advisory Practice, is joined by Tara Smith Kacher, Managing Director at Cowen Inc. Together, they discuss what strategic buyers are looking for and how companies can best position themselves for M&A transactions.