The Trump administration’s recent effort to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States has provoked a significant backlash among free-market economists, business leaders, and Republicans in Congress, among others. They worry that the imposition of protectionist measures designed to insulate domestic manufacturers from...
If you are a newer family foundation with one or two generations on the board, five generations may seem like a long time away. Yet in family philanthropy, quite a few foundations have been operating and thriving for 50, 75, even 100 years. What’s the secret of these family philanthropies that make it five generations, and across family branches? H...
Many entities face the same types of security incidents, and some handle an incident well while for others it’s a disruptive and costly one. The entities that fare better have prepared for an incident and use lessons-learned from prior incidents. In this 2018 edition of the Data Security Incident Response Report, it analyzed the statistics an...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act went into effect on January 1, 2018, and some experts suggest there could be a significant impact on charitable giving. Kim Laughton, President of Schwab Charitable, sat down with Hayden Adams, CPA, Director of Tax and Financial Planning at the Schwab Center for Financial Research (and former IRS agent) to discuss the new ...
Over the past several years, the U.S., along with the rest of the world, has experienced an increase in the number of catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, and other devastating natural disasters. Despite the increase, FEMA estimates that more than 60 percent of Americans do not have an emergency plan for their households. Bein...
The popularity of international travel will grow and evolve as accomplished individuals seek to add memorable and thrilling experiences to their lives. While you can certainly experience a special trip nearly anywhere in the world, don't be hasty in your preparation. Protect yourself with the right information and insurance to avoid large and s...
Today, businesses are navigating a massive cultural shift. Sexual harassment is an issue that must be dealt with. Business owners, managers, HR professionals and other leaders have a responsibility both to safeguard employees, and to protect their companies against liability. From small to midsized businesses to major companies, the need for proper...
In December, President Trump signed a new tax bill into law that is the largest tax overall since 1986. Learn how the new bill may affect your employee benefits programs. Watch and listen to Compliance Officers and Employee Benefits experts discuss the impact of the 2018 tax reform on employee benefits, as well as proposed regulations on Associatio...
As the economic cycle progresses, the next recession draws inexorably closer and brings with it the next downturn in the credit cycle. Recognizing this, institutional investors are increasingly considering allocations to distressed debt managers. While lumping all distressed managers into one group is tempting, different managers have meaningfully ...
Following the first negative quarter for domestic stocks since 2015, the second quarter of 2018 began on a sour note, with the S&P 500 Index falling 2.2 percent and the technology-heavy NASDAQ dropping 2.7 percent today. Consumer discretionary stocks were also notably weak performers while international stocks fared only slightly better than th...
The United States has been the world’s undisputed economic superpower for more than a hundred years. Yet in the long arc of history, that dominance has been relatively brief. For thousands of years, China stood as the world’s economic leader and a true global power. For that reason, many Chinese believe that the United States’ eco...
There has been a lot of speculation and confusion about the impacts of the most recent tax reform, with many asking if they have to pay more taxes. Unfortunately, the answer is, “it depends.” With this in mind, the tax impact is demonstrated by looking at potentially real scenarios for five different types of taxpayers: trust beneficiar...
More than half of the time, cyber criminals’ search leads them directly to small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), who can be hacked with ease and offer a substantial cumulative payoff—in the form ransom money, stolen credit card numbers, or bank account information. Although stopping cyber criminals from accessing SME funds and data may ...
Global Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) transactions tallied up to an impressive $678.5 billion in deal value in the first quarter of 2017, up by 8.9 percent year over year, according to Mergermarket’s most recent estimates. The uptick in deal value is not a phenomenon, and in the fast-paced, high-stakes environment, private equity dealmake...
Cyber risk has become a major potential loss exposure for almost any company. As with any other exposure, directors should confirm that reasonable steps are taken to identify, mitigate, respond to, and recover from third parties relating to cyber-related problems when they arise. However, because of the potentially severe nature of this risk, the d...