A client alert from Baker & McKenzie offers insight into HMRC's draft guidance setting out the agency's view on the application of the new trustee residency rules to non-UK resident corporate trustees.
While it is critical to reward good performance by general partners, risks and returns should be equitably shared. Non-marketable alternative asset investors should hold frank discussions with general partners about fee arrangements, fund sizes and other activities that may dilute a proper alignment of incentives.
Trust is not only crucial to success among the owners of substantial wealth but also the sine qua non for successful teamwork among professionals who work with them. There can be dangers, however, in too much trust and too little healthy confrontation, just as there are in mistrust and chronic conflict.
In a more challenging investment environment, families are more frequently seeking to partner with investment advisors that manage the entire relationship, leading to a dramatic increase in demand for family office providers. Multifamily offices have emerged as an attractive structure because of their solutions-driven approach and capacity for shar...
The ultra-wealthy oftentimes treat life insurance as a stagnant asset, buying it and then giving it only cursory reviews. This is not the wisest course of action, though, as it can lead not only to under-performing policies but also missed opportunities to increase death benefits, reduce premiums and improve the overall performance of life insuranc...
As the financial services industry works to rebound from the financial crisis, analysis of the impact on life insurance carriers, reinsurers and products continues. While carrier financial strength and market volatility remain a concern, some are seeing positive signs in the marketplace that will help to restore confidence for both existing policyh...
The answer to whether to establish a Roth account or to roll over a traditional retirement account to a Roth is not always obvious because of the upfront tax cost associated with the Roth. Whether an individual reaps an offsetting benefit will depend on how long money remains in the account, the tax rates in effect when it is withdrawn and how the ...
As insurance companies continue to face challenges due to the recent economic turmoil, many clients and advisors have expressed concern. In this environment, it is easy to lose sight of the proven policyholder protections that continue to be provided by the life insurance industry, including regulatory and third-party oversight and mechanisms to su...
Emerging country returns have high volatility and low correlation. A cap-weighted indexed portfolio is concentrated; its risks are high; and long-term growth expectations are compromised. However, a mathematical model shows that investors can expect to do better with an alternative portfolio structure, one that is rebalanced to relatively equal-wei...
Of all the possible sources of inflation, a rise in commodity prices is the greatest threat. A separate threat also exists in the form of rising real interest rates. An ideal portfolio hedge is one that should do well in both environments but still is expected to generate an attractive rate of return in a normal economic environment.
This handbook attempts to strip away some of the mystery around farmland and outline the key aspects of it as an asset class, its management, the key considerations for investors and, perhaps most important of all, the vital questions any good farmland investment advisor must be able to answer satisfactorily.
New research shows flexible managers, or those who can invest in any equity category, delivered higher returns than their benchmark and higher returns than the aggregated performance of style box managers, or those who invest only in a particular equity category. The median flexible manager outperformed the benchmark by 3.2% annualized and the medi...
Companies that are responsive to the changing economic, social and environmental landscape, brought about by trends related to climate change, will create opportunities (that will not come without challenges) to grow their businesses and, in turn, create wealth for their stakeholders.
In an era of globalization, corporations may continually find themselves exposed to potential abuses. Thoughtful investors, who recognize the social and business implications of a company's human rights policies, will have a better understanding of both the risks and opportunities to which a company may be exposed.
Direct investment in private companies can deliver returns far exceeding those of private equity and other asset classes while also providing attractive diversification and increased control. The potential for outsize returns, however, comes with increased risk, meaning investors must carefully assess the various financial, organizational and manag...