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Critical to the future success of wealth advisors is a solid understanding of how, and to what degree, the meltdown in financial markets affected investor attitudes, behaviors and needs. Rothstein Kass' Business Consulting Group assesses changes and their implications for other planning disciplines, such as philanthropy, wealth transfer and tax man...

KPMG's 2009 Individual Income Tax and Social Security Rate Survey is a cross-border survey of personal tax and social security rates with historical data from 2003-2009. The report covers 86 countries, concentrating on the highest level of personal tax payable to the central government. For ease of comparison, the survey has excluded, where possibl...

Wealthy global families are becoming increasingly aware of their need for a well thought out citizenship and residency strategy to protect their wealth and to safeguard their freedom of movement. This paper from Northwood Family Office makes the case for Canada as a safe and surprisingly tax-efficient alternative to many of the more well known citi...

Collectibles often satisfy an emotional need, but they also may offer benefits similar to those of financial assets. Noting the ability of collections to deliver superior investment returns while helping to diversify a portfolio, Robert W. Baird & Company makes the case for treating private collections like other assets.

Researchers for AIG Investments explore the challenges of estimating future private equity exposure and address central questions commonly faced by new and experienced private equity investors alike. They conclude that private equity investors need to give as much consideration to a strategic commitment plan to achieve allocation targets as they do...

Portfolios can evaporate by being too concentrated, overly leveraged or simply having inferior investment management that does not focus on the long term or loses it on poorly timed speculation. A brief paper from The Beringer Group recommends that great wealth be invested utilizing a solid set of investment principles designed to preserve and grow...

The role of commodities in a strategic portfolio has not changed much during the past 40 years and, indeed, not in the 22 years of the Tangible Asset Program portfolio. In this paper, Gresham Investment Management explains why it believes commodities will continue to provide diversification benefits to a portfolio regardless of the roll yield regim...

This report from Credit Suisse examines historical trends for philanthropy during economic downturns and explores the effects of the current recession on funders and non-profits. It also provides a series of recommendations for philanthropists and their advisors on grantmaking during the downturn. While based on U.S. data, many of these recommendat...

New philanthropists – ultra-wealthy individuals interested in being informed, strategic givers – have been growing in profile, and donations have been increasing. This paper from New Philanthropy Capital explores the opportunities for new philanthropists and established foundations to collaborate, the benefits of such collaborations, and the ways i...

Residency rules in the 1973 IR20 booklet were in question in the Gaines-Cooper case, but the HMRC6 guidance of April 2009 may be more relevant now to those wishing to lose UK residency, according to Macfarlanes. However, the new guidance has been described as deliberately vague and a work in progress. The authors argue that the time has come for a ...

In the latest issue of Private Banking Newsletter, Baker & McKenzie examines the case of Centre Trustees (CI) Ltd & Another v Van Rooyen & Others, in which the Royal Court of Jersey endorsed the removal of the protector who had put himself in a position where his own interests were in serious conflict with the interests of the trust beneficiaries.

In this paper, RCP Advisors points out the benefits of using private equity fund of funds managers. The authors note that fund of funds managers can help smaller and first-time private investors gain access to the asset class, while also helping larger investors to diversify their private equity portfolios.

A paper from Memoir Shoppe examines ethical wills and the age-old tradition of passing on spiritual assets. Most commonly written as letters, ethical wills are a unique, everlasting forum through which the ultra-wealthy come to understand and accept that authentic wealth can come from perpetuation of values, hopes, convictions, lessons learned and ...

Family offices may have to come to grips with the fact that greater diversification may not be the answer to improving rates of return, says a new paper from Advocate Asset Management LLC. The most prudent actions may be those that preserve capital, waiting patiently for the underlying climate to change fundamentally to one more conducive to the gr...

Contrary to what some investors think, embedded capital losses in stock mutual funds may not be tax advantageous, according to Hammond Associates. If capital gains rates remain at current levels, those capital loss carry-forwards add value for shareholders, albeit modest. If capital gains tax rates increase after 2010, loss carry-forwards may impos...