In the absence of proper planning, the death of an owner of a closely held business may lead to an estate tax liability that can devastate the business, even with the increased federal estate and gift tax exemption under the 2017 tax legislation. While business owners often desire to keep a family business within the family upon death, failure to p...
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Thomas Calandra, who is in his mid-twenties, is the owner of Calandra Enterprises. At least that’s how he introduces himself to customers and clients of the bakeries, hotels, and restaurants he runs with his sister, father, uncle, and grandfather. Thomas credits his family business’s success to his grandfather’s hard work, determi...
Most family businesses take on the characteristics of their founder or founding family, especially in their formative years. This changes as the company grows and the founder begins to transition ownership and control to future generations. To guide the business succession transition forward on a successful path, there needs to be a family governan...
When a company is acquired, the buyer takes on new risks and exposure. In today’s M&A marketplace, EBITDA multiples are at peak levels. With valuations so high, it’s more important than ever to manage risks—known and unknown—that could affect ultimate returns. With that in mind, there are three key risk management questi...
Posting fabulous vacation moments on Facebook—from a boat in Belize, to the top of a mountain in Chamonix—might be a fun way to share experiences with your friends, but it’s also a great way to let bad actors know your home is empty and ripe for a break-in. Similarly, broadcasting details of a college semester abroad on Instagram ...
The Fine Art insurance market is beginning to harden. Personal insurance companies are offering less coverage in catastrophic areas and Lloyd is closing some of their business units, including some who write insurance for Fine Art. Due to the major catastrophes that hit close to home for many collectors, cultural institutions, and museums, Fine Art...
While far-reaching cyberattacks targeting the Internet of Things (IoT) devices hasn’t happened yet, it will in the not-too-distant future. Given the rapid pace of change and possibility, cyber risk insurance policies written a few years ago may not have adequate language to cover potential losses and damages that today’s IoT vulnerabili...
With the implementation of California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) set to go into effect January 1, 2020, anyone doing businesses with California residents should not only be preparing their digital strategies to comply with the new law, they should also be assessing their risk and reviewing their cyber insurance and adequacy of limits. Why? Now, at...
Employers of all sizes inadvertently put themselves at risk by not having a policy establishing how long to continue benefits during a leave of absence (LOA). So, before the important questions arise, employers should establish an LOA Policy that considers employee needs, carrier contractual provisions, federal and state benefit regulations, and th...
Ransomware has become prevalent and can cause significant downtime and leaving businesses with no choice but to pay the ransom. The bad actors aren’t just trying to steal personal, identifiable information but are frequently monitoring email correspondence to manipulate invoices and redirect payroll to accounts they control. Employee training...
Anticipating cash flows in and out of an investment program is a vital consideration in portfolio construction for high-net-worth individuals and their families. While the goal of some portfolios is to deplete over time, many investors aim to grow them to offset the effects of fees, taxes, inflation, and spending. Key factors—including identi...
Over the past 40 years, creating and maintaining financial security has become more of a personal endeavor. Despite record aggregate levels of U.S. wealth, large portions of the population appear quite vulnerable. Avoiding late-cycle overconfidence as it relates to both spending and investment decisions is key.
Stocks and bonds delivered spectacular performance in the first six months of 2019. The S&P index of large-cap U.S. stocks returned 18.5% for the year through June 30, while the Barclays Aggregate index of investment-grade bonds delivered an equally impressive 6.1% return. Declining interest rates—sparked by the Federal Reserve—dese...
If central banks do not cut rates, their authority could start to be undermined because they have raised expectations about lower rates to the point where it would be awkward to backtrack. This may provide an incentive to cut rates—good news for markets in the short term, but not necessarily in the long term.There is also a non-optimal soluti...
On the day that New York State honored the U.S. women’s soccer team for their World Cup victory—a team whose members have publicly demanded pay equity with the U.S. men’s soccer team—Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation amending the state’s pay equity law. Employers everywhere should pay attention to developments o...