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Fixed income is a cornerstone of traditionally balanced investment portfolios, offering stable income, varying liquidity, and a relatively low-risk profile. Given the prevalence and diversity of fixed income investment opportunities, families who wish to create or expand an impact investment portfolio may find fixed income to be a good place to sta...

For decades, asset owners have worked to align their public equity investments with their values. Today, many investors in public equity consider social and environmental issues in their investment selection processes. Given the diversity and demonstrable track records of these strategies, families may find public equity to be an accessible asset c...

Amidst headwinds such as economic weakness in China and emerging markets, financial and stock market volatility, falling oil prices and a stronger dollar, the U.S. economy weakened to end 2015. Despite these impediments to growth, several economic indicators were encouraging. During the 4th Quarter 2015, leading indices showed that consumer confide...

Before executing a commercial property lease or sales contract, the parties may prepare a letter of intent or an agreement in principle. The letter of intent or a similar document (the “LOIs”) generally signals that the parties have agreed on the outline of a deal, but not on all of its provisions or details. While LOIs can serve differ...

Most market updates are preoccupied with shorter-term phenomena and near-term concerns. However, today’s realities are best assessed through a longer-term lens—one based on the goal of generating attractive, or at least sufficient, compounded returns over decades rather than months, quarters, or even years. Great investment opportunitie...

In a recent venture market survey, entrepreneurs said they have lowered their valuation expectations and venture capitalists reported having slowed their investment pace. One of the most interesting questions in the survey was also most likely one of the hardest to answer: Which two metrics are most important when evaluating new investments today?

Brought on by concerns about the strength of the global economy and extreme investor pessimism, the volatile start to 2016 drove many equity markets near or into bear market territory. A subsequent rally began mid-February from severely oversold conditions as it became clear that the U.S. was not headed for a recession. As is common during volatile...

Our January 2016 commentary suggested “…we are in a transition period between central bank-induced liquidity and eventual normalization of markets. This transition period has been and will continue to be a bit choppy…”“Choppy” was indeed an accurate description of financial markets in the First Quarter of 2016. The first half of the quarter saw a s...

Talking about wealth is every bit as important as creating a technical wealth plan—if not more so. Preparing a wealth transfer plan for your assets “on paper,” but failing to help your loved ones understand how to manage those assets in their lives, leaves the true process of sharing wealth incomplete and subject to real, but avoi...

It’s tempting to imagine the computer systems as airtight vaults, impenetrable and immune to cyberattacks. But this would be a risky move. In reality, IT infrastructure is more like a porous sponge with gaping holes where data can leak when things don’t go according to plan: a staff member might lose a laptop, a system might experience ...

In today’s world of big data, an information breach can put sensitive financial data in the hands of people who would use it for fraudulent purposes. One of the most troublesome uses for stolen information is the filing of fraudulent tax returns. In 2015 alone, an IRS hack left the data of more than 700,000 taxpayers compromised. Tax return i...

All companies hit bumps along the road to growth, bumps that usually have less to do with external factors like the industry and marketplace and much more to do with the natural way organizations evolve. The most successful organizations and enterprises plan ahead. They have the foresight, and they proactively make the proper organizational changes...

Currently the gas sector is going through a unique and challenging phase. In India the landscape is being altered by the needs of global energy suppliers, who are paying serious attention to the nation. With its high macroeconomic growth prospects and billion-plus population, India is confronted with concerns about energy security and environmental...

Teaching children about personal finance, owning foreign assets, assessing the impact of tax extenders, and staying current on the Net Investment Income Tax are topics that many high net worth individuals must address in an on-going basis. Understanding the often highly complex issues and ever changing rules are challenging for even the most dilige...

In previous studies we've talked about the critical success factors for family businesses: the 3 'S's: skills, scale and succession. These are as relevant for the next gen to be successful as they are for the current gen. And now, we think there is a fourth to add that will be critical for the next gen as they adapt to today's busin...