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Families often find it challenging to talk about long-term plans and wishes of their aging parents. But it’s never a good idea to wait until there’s a crisis to rally family members together on a plan that will address mom or dad’s needs and wishes regarding healthcare, living arrangements, and long-term financial care. Knowing how to get the conve...

As covered in the first part of the SECURE Act series, one of the key provisions of the Act is the partial elimination of the “stretch” or “life expectancy payout” for beneficiaries of retirement plans. In this second part in the series, a closer look is taken to see how that may affect your estate planning and the...

To adapt to the unprecedented pace of change across the tax landscape, companies must focus on embracing a total tax liability mindset—a holistic understanding of the sum of all taxes across the entirety of the organization. Once viewed as a compliance-driven, back-office function, effective tax planning is now crucial to business perfor...

From a historical perspective, the odds for a strong volatility risk premium (the "VRP") in 2020 are in your favor. Although it can't be predicted with any level of certainty the returns derived from exposure to the VRP this year, the range of likely outcomes can be determined based on empirical evidence while respecting known and unk...

In a time of equity market volatility, municipal bonds are doing what they’re supposed to do: diversify portfolios. Learn what may come next in the muni market.

In a world of low expected returns, finding alpha becomes more important than ever. Given the significant amount of capital looking for alpha in private markets, family offices will need to bridge the performance gap in this slower growth environment by leveraging their longer time horizon and partnering with experts in private market investments. ...

Insurance is designed to protect essential aspects of your lives from financial loss, but there can also be ramifications to filing claims. These changes are usually noticed on the renewal immediately following the claim in the form of increased premiums, which can spur regret for using your policy in the first place. Claim surcharges can follow yo...

Governance is a word often misunderstood by families and family offices, but it is essential for a long-lasting family legacy. Strong governance establishes a process for decision-making and conformity within a multi-generational family to promote communication and strengthen unity, helping to preserve wealth and solidarity for future generations. ...

As equity markets catch a nasty case of the coronavirus, what’s an investor to do? Four things to focus on amid the downturn.

In periods of elevated volatility such as the fourth quarter of 2018—when we saw the largest quarterly decline in the U.S. market, as measured by the S&P 500, since the third quarter of 2011—investors have many opportunities to harvest losses. Preserving tax benefits by avoiding wash-sale violations becomes even more important durin...

Does market volatility mean vulnerability for portfolio owners with investment-grade corporate bonds? Find out why corporate laddered bonds can thrive—no matter the market cycle.

As the number of reported cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to rise, employers are increasingly confronted with the possibility of an outbreak in the workplace. Learn how COVID-19 continues to affect employers' disease prevention efforts and potential compliance issues and legal obligations.

The SECURE Act contains many changes for individuals with retirement plans as well as small businesses with retirement plans. Changes include distribution provisions of an inherited IRA, planning with trusts, a later start for required minimum distributions, and incentives for small business owners and employees. There are also other non-retirement...

By leveraging the power of your investment portfolio through securities-based lending, you can free up available cash by using a portion of your eligible portfolio holdings as collateral. While there are potential risks in borrowing against your portfolio, they can be managed for a host of needs, ranging from asset purchases to wealth planning...

Much is being said about the demise of globalization, but its death notice is premature. It also significantly underestimates the durability of the international institutions constructed post-WWII and how the digital economy will effectively blunt this latest round of temporary global protectionism. In this issue of The Real Economy, we explor...