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The field of philanthropy has primarily been built around the more tactical aspects and the how of giving while taking the why for granted. It has made the assumption that a purely rational approach (i.e., providing donors with more information or metrics) will unleash more giving, without exploring the often nonrational, psychological journey on w...

Because of social and cultural changes that have increased women’s control of wealth, this paper seeks to help families navigate this newer development—where the female partner’s inherited wealth significantly exceeds that which her spouse is likely to generate through his own inheritance or work. It begins with McKayla’s st...

Valentine’s Day is a time when employees celebrate, while HR representatives, in-house counsel, and business owners hold their breath. In this #MeToo era, employers should consider proactively addressing workplace relationships and shoring up internal policies for dealing with complaints. Here are some tools to help employers get in the Valen...

Although business-related settlement payments (and attorneys’ fees) are generally tax-deductible, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act) restricts an employer’s ability to obtain tax deductions for settlements of sexual harassment and abuse claims that are subject to nondisclosure agreements. This new deduction limitation applies ...

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act significantly affects the ability of the managers of investment funds to receive long-term capital gains with respect to their carried interest. Under current law, the manager of an investment fund can receive a “profits interest” (also known as a “carried interest” or a “promoted interes...

Three major cyber events in 2017 set new precedents for the scope and impact of damage wrought by cyber-attack in terms of geographic and industry reach, operational disruption, and economic losses, as well as the destruction of market capital and reputation. While the concepts of cybersecurity may be foreign for many executives and board members, ...

The 13th edition of the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report, undertaken with Marsh & McLennan Companies, examines the evolving macro-level risk landscape and highlights the systematic threats that may disrupt expectations. A more rigorous exploration of potential sources of value destruction, greater strategic agility to match a rapi...

This is a report about people, their financial stress, and possible solutions to relieve that stress. Although the global mass market is used as an example throughout this report, the core messages and approaches apply across all of financial services. Anywhere customers are served, customer value gaps can emerge and better solutions can be crafted...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the recent taxpayer victory in the U.S. Tax Court’s Lender Management, LLC decision have created important planning opportunities for closely held and family-controlled entities in 2018. In particular, with respect to: (1) navigating the elimination of the various deductions and the expansion of “bo...

What will the world look like in 2040 if vital natural resources become scarce? What would stimulate a shift from the current linear “Take-Make-Dispose” consumption model that relies on the availability of abundant natural resources, to a circular economy based on the principle of “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle”? Recent research exam...

At the heart of risk management is a gloomy truth: You can never achieve zero risk. In a world of limited resources there are always tradeoffs to be made: how much to invest here and how much there, how much risk to tolerate and how much to mitigate or insure against. To answer those questions, risk quantification is necessary—to estimate how...

When a family member is diagnosed with a memory disorder like Alzheimer's, it can be confusing and frustrating. With the right preparation and care, family offices and household staff can provide invaluable assistance and information to the families on what to expect and how to cope from the early stages to the end stages of dementia.

Now that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is law, it is helpful to have a checklist for determining how tax reform changes your employee benefit programs and a chart outlining the key benefit plan limits for 2018. Also in this issue of HR Focus, we revisit what sexual harassment is and what employers should be doing to prevent it, address it and help prot...

The Tax Reform Act contains sweeping changes and impacts all taxpayers, from individuals to businesses, and the rules for each category are different. Generally, the changes made for individual taxpayers, including the pass-through rules for business entities, are effective from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2025. If no changes are made by Decemb...

Workplace harassment costs employers millions of dollars every year through poor employee morale, higher absenteeism, reduced productivity and costly settlements and lawsuits. Employers need to create the right culture, supported by appropriate policies and training. With the recent stunning revelations from Hollywood, the Media and Washington have...