Search Results

Two years ago, India was an unhappy member of Morgan Stanley’s “Fragile Five,” a handful of emerging economies judged most vulnerable to tighter Federal Reserve policy and rising global bond yields. Since then, India’s oil bill has dropped, inflation has eased, gold imports have been curtailed, the trade deficit has narro...

As mid-year approaches, it is important to do various tax projections to determine if certain investment planning strategies can be implemented or improved. Often, this reveals potential tax liability reductions that would have otherwise been overlooked.This article spells out useful tax planning tips that should be taken into consideration when it...

There exists this notion that over 70 percent of outstanding municipal securities are held by individual investors through mutual funds or individual holdings. It has been reported that over 50 percent of those mutual funds have some level of exposure to Puerto Rico or its public corporations.This commentary and outlook tackles the possibility that...

Greek voters sent a clear message by voting “no” to European creditor proposals. Greece’s Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, responded by stating, “I am fully aware that the mandate here is not one to break with Europe, but a mandate to strengthen our negotiation position to seek a viable solution”. Moreover, Gr...

Wealthy American investors should welcome a rational conversation on the real benefit of gold as foreigners understand, particularly in China, Asia, the Mideast, Russia and most of the developing world. Gold is beautifully uncorrelated to the dollar. This is tough to argue against as not even Wall Street’s biggest bull would suggest the ...

This presentation for 2015 provides an overview of the private equity market that includes: Private Equity overview: Secondaries in perspectiveHow the seller universe has evolved from financial institutions to include pension funds, family offices and high net worth individualsLife cycle of investment in Private EquityCharacteristics of ...

The confluence of favorable market dynamics, including high corporate cash balances, low interest rates and cooperative capital markets, has created an environment in which corporate management teams and boards of directors can take action to increase value for equity owners.Engagement by shareholders, both private and public, is on the rise and ha...

Significant noise has surrounded the dissolution of California Redevelopment Agencies for the past three years. Numerous headlines trumpeted debt service disruptions, lawsuits, cleanup legislation and potential hiccups related to the flow of funds for California Redevelopment debt.Over time, it has become clearer that the potential for credit impro...

The July, 2014 Global Economic Update from Asset Consulting Group includes the following:Year-to-date asset class returns for global equities, global fixed income and global real assetsA US and non-US economic overview and forecastReview of current issues and questions that clients are askingReview of current investment opportunities and investment...

On June 5, 2014, the European Central Bank crossed an important symbolic line by announcing plans to reduce the policy interest rate into negative territory. Included in this announcement was a host of complementary but nontraditional policy measures, completing the picture of a committee stretching for greater impact.The author believes that:Aggre...

It is frequently suggested that that family offices should mimic institutions and adopt an institutionally disciplined and process-oriented approach when managing their investment portfolios. Through a process-oriented approach, institutions and family offices can be more effective and produce more efficient long-term results.While this concept is ...

The successful management of a family office investment portfolio requires a carefully guided strategy focused on asset diversification, risk mitigation, experienced, and transparent oversight. Part of this strategy should include a thoughtful allocation to alternative asset classes which can serve to mitigate portfolio risk. One strategy that many...

Today’s broad stock market is not a bubble. However, by virtue of its duration and current valuations, equities are in the mature phase of a bull market. That means a more sober pace of advance, with a lot riding on the economy and monetary policy.The author, Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management, examines several crosscurrents that are bo...

Each year Asset Consulting Group takes a detailed research approach to this question and updates its Active vs. Passive analysis using manager universe information from eVestment Alliance’s subscription database. This database provides qualitative and quantitative information for approximately 45,500 products (strategies) submitted by approxi...

Research on income equality and social mobility yields compelling conclusions in support of both sides of the debate. For now, regardless of how the research evolves, it is safe to expect the U.S. will enter an environment of higher personal tax rates with further redistribution in the cards, something investors need to consider when weig...