In his seminal guide to combat strategy, “The Art of War,” Chinese military general Sun Tzu wrote, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Great advice, except many companies tend to confuse tactics with strategy. They know strategy is important, but they consider it an exercise — something performed quickly, sometimes even haphazardly, without assembling the baseline information necessary to develop an effective growth strategy.
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With great wealth, comes great responsibility, and given the complexity of risks faced by the high net worth individual, even greater due diligence is required to protect against financial loss and emotional distress.
The Internet has brought incomprehensible changes to our world over the last 20 years. Technology is so prevalent in our society that whether or not you personally shop online, use apps, or conduct web-based banking, you could find yourself a victim of a cyberattack. This issue of Abbot Downing Perspectives “Cyber (In)Security” addresses how we reached the point where high profile breaches are somewhat commonplace, best practices for prevention and detection of attacks, and steps to take if you’ve been hacked.
Perhaps related to unsettled politics and radical groups in various countries, Kidnappings of foreign nationals worldwide have increased by more than 60% in the past five years.The risk of a kidnap and ransom (K&R) situation is a very real risk for some families, particularly those with high public visibility, who hold a position of power, or who live abroad or frequently travel internationally. It could prove vital for families to examine the issue and have a plan in place.
This paper discusses the current global market conditions and provides insight into the best approach to navigating the current volatile market, while identifying the latest market movers and shakers, and assessing the next move for investors in the equities, currencies, fixed income and oil markets.
Advisors and consumers often think of variable universal life (VUL) as just an equity-linked product. But for many, VUL is much more than that.This article seeks to encourage a rethinking of VUL as a unique life insurance product that provides control, flexibility and transparency in a low cost product chassis, while providing the potential for enhanced returns through access to equity investment allocations.
This study by Crystal & Co is based on a survey of family enterprises and focused on how families think about certain areas of risk.
This article excerpt Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management provides an overview of the most common security issues, provides points about bank security measures and offers 6 steps to mitigate online security risks.
Currency risk is a fact of life for European families. Today even the simplest diversified portfolios include foreign currency exposures. Many investors find it tempting to ignore currency risk, believing that it will all “even out in the end.” But this is not an option for most families who need to draw down funds from the portfolio to meet distributions to beneficiaries. Even for families with no current spending needs, it is still prudent to manage the portfolio’s currency exposures in line with its likely long-term liabilities.
Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting midmarket companies and startups in hopes of easy access. The cost to a business can be high, ranging from financial loss to reputational damage.