Estate planners and advisors will need to contemplate the political climate in an election year, particularly given certain political opposition to the extensive changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
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It is an unfortunate reality that in trying times some people will attempt to take advantage of situations for personal gain. Be alert to scams including (1) phishing emails that purport to provide help or solutions to the coronavirus/COVID-19 situation, but are actually intended to induce a click that leads to ransomware, (2) price gouging, and (3) fake charities.
In light of COVID-19 and state and local stay-at-home orders, many businesses have greatly increased the number of remote workers. Firsttime remote workers—and some seasoned remote workers—need to be aware of hidden pitfalls in the gadgets and apps they are using while working from home.
Relief was offered when the First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed. The Act provided $104 Billion to help fight COVID-19 and protect workers and families from the health and economic impact of the virus. Other relief and guidelines are highlighted in this infographic for employers facing tough decisions under the pandemic environment.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused investors around the globe to ditch risky assets in favor of safer alternatives. Many have looked to gold as the place to park capital in hopes that the commodity will gain value during the current market rout. Gold is viewed as a safe haven, expected to deliver a degree of protection when equity markets become more volatile. With so much uncertainty surrounding equities, why is gold underperforming?
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant burdens for employers and employees alike. While some businesses struggle to survive, others are fortunate enough to be in a position to help employees as they face hardships created by the crisis. Many employers in the latter category are looking for ways to best help employees who are facing financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic. One possible approach for these employers is a disaster relief fund under Section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code.
The CARES Act is a $2.2 trillion fiscal policy response to help American citizens and businesses struggling with the severe impact from the coronavirus pandemic. The law created several important programs to help provide liquidity to small and midsize businesses to cover payroll or other business expenses. Each program carries its own set of restrictions based on employment size and other variables. The intention of the new law is to help businesses operating on Main Street, and in some cases that might include some family offices and their portfolio companies.
The internet and mobile networks continue to hold up well in an unprecedented surge of people working, studying, and streaming from home. But amid the COVID-19 quarantine, there is increasing concern over how long the infrastructure undergirding the internet and mobile connectivity will hold up. As family offices around the world face the new reality and economic landscape of COVID-19, they must also consider how reliant they are on the current connectivity and think about contingency planning for the loss of connectivity.
The unprecedented speed, intensity, and uncertainty of COVID-19 has created a host of new and complex challenges for wealthy families that are playing out across both financial and family dynamics. There's no doubt it is a financial and business challenge, but it is also a very human one. To assist family office leaders and the families they support see and solve the issues in the most effective ways, a set of discussion questions are provided to help leaders prioritize and address both the financial and logistical considerations, as well as the very human ones.
Liquidity risk is a critical issue for investors, and it has been heightened in the COVID-19 environment that has brought on the end of the bull market. We take a closer review of the factors that have changed market liquidity conditions over the past decade, how the “new liquidity reality” has impacted several markets during the recent market downturn, and the potential steps to take going forward.