Doubts about the strength of the global expansion continue to preoccupy investors, most recently causing a meaningful but relatively normal market correction.Although the global economy has been growing for nearly six years, investors have been buffeted by a seemingly never-ending series of events, from Greece and Puerto Rico to China. Each round o...
Those who live in hurricane-prone regions know all too well that when August rolls around, along with end-of-season barbeques comes the possibility of inclement weather patterns. At this time each year, areas of the United States brace for potentially destructive storm systems. As we start the seventh year of a bull market, the calendar is signali...
Effective short selling enhances an investment portfolio’s risk-adjusted returns over time. All else equal, short positions lower market exposure when incorporated into a broader portfolio. Accordingly, the long/short approach generally reduces volatility and improves capital preservation over a full market cycle. The use of shorts in a portf...
Marriage, a new baby, a teen’s first car, a student going to college, retirement — many of life’s major events can affect not only your life insurance and estate plans but also your property and liability insurance. This article discusses several key life events and how those events impact insurance coverage.
Those in the public eye have both the blessing and burden of a complex lifestyle, and it’s imperative that they have the proper insurance program in place to protect what they’ve earned. This articles discusses the pros and cons of enhanced insurance coverage for a number of valuable assets, which includes yachts, art and even the ident...
Looking back on a calendar year in which the S&P 500 outperformed the rest of the world by nearly 18% percent, many U.S. investors are perhaps wondering why they should venture outside of their home market. Add recent headlines from abroad, including talk of geopolitical instability, a Greek exit from the Eurozone, and a stock market bubble in ...
Squeeze, Freeze, and Burn. It sounds like an odd phrase, but it is actually a term used to describe a highly effective estate planning technique. It’s so effective, in fact, that as early as this September the IRS is expected to change some of the rules governing the “Squeeze” aspect—but more on that later. First, you pro...
With a significant number of private equity groups (PEGs) working to succeed in this market, it has become increasingly difficult to identify targets poised for significant growth based on financial analysis alone.Investment specialists have noticed that the leaders in this area are increasingly turning to niche analysis to single out businesses th...
Debt continues to grow. In U.S.-dollar terms the debt of states, corporates and private households has increased by roughly 50 percent since 2007. This rise has led to concerns about a renewed debt crisis. A closer look reveals that both the growth and composition of debt differs between regions. Also, countries vary in their ability to take on and...
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing recently on eight proposed tax agreements: tax treaties with Chile, Hungary and Poland, and protocols amending US tax treaties with Luxembourg, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for International T...
The SEC has issued a new risk alert on cybersecurity that registered broker-dealers and investment advisors need to follow closely. The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations pointed to six broad categories in the alert, which was released on September 15.At a high level, the SEC is concerned with how firms handle governance ...
On September 15, 2015, the SEC issued a new Risk Alert on cybersecurity that registered Broker-dealers and Investment Advisors need to review closely. This latest alert by the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) follows an announcement in April 2014 that it would examine the securities industry to identify cyber...
Families can face a deluge of competing challenges when managing their wealth which is why successful families rely on an ‘expert generalist’ to safeguard their interests. Ultra-high net worth (UHNW) families often, despite their good fortune and abundance of resources, struggle with a myriad of challenges associated with wealth managem...
In addition to passing on knowledge, there are various ways to pass on wealth, and that is where smart estate planning and planned gifts come into play. This guide seeks to give you a quick reference to how families can manage wealth, considering taxes, additions of new family members, managing risk, and charitable objectives. It addresses issues c...
Industrial robots have been in use for more than 50 years. Today, a convergence of technological advancements, with economic and demographic trends, is leading to the adoption of robotics far beyond automotive assembly to include a wide variety of industries. Many governments have made Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) a strategic initiati...