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Successful families and individuals expect their financial advisors to address their complete financial picture, including protecting them from property and casualty risks. However, most financial advisors do not provide this support. This clear expectations gap is demonstrated in a survey of 200 successful families or individuals. Financial adviso...

A business owner may feel both excitement and concern at the prospect of selling a business. As a liquidity event approaches, there are five questions that should be considered before the sale: What are the terms of the transaction? Could my philanthropic goals be addressed? Will the sale of the business affect my estate planning? What do I want an...

Flying privately has become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons, including convenience, security, and lifestyle, but there are several considerations in determining what usage and ownership structure is right for you. Like making a real estate investment, owning or leasing a plane poses many financial, tax, and regulatory issues, as well ...

Originating in English common law, trusts have been used for centuries to manage holdings of the wealthy. Even though trusts are quite common, many people may find them hard to understand. Having an introduction to the trust basics is a good place to begin and learn how trusts are used in wealth management plans to help provide financial support fo...

Now that the new tax reform is in place, it’s time to consider the impact it may have on you and your family and determine what steps may be appropriate based on your specific financial goals and circumstances. While the key provisions contained in the new tax law presents nine planning opportunities—including the increased gift tax exe...

The new tax laws have answered many of the concerns and wishes of the business community—reducing corporate tax rates, providing business deductions, and fine tuning business-related sections of the tax code. They will likely create opportunities, along with some challenges, over the coming months and years which may require businesses to mak...

For the majority of Americans, the tax overhaul has altered or reduced many of the financial incentives for making charitable donations. But charitable giving is rarely driven solely by the desire to trim tax bills. In fact, most individuals and families give for a variety of reasons and support organizations in whose missions they believe. Still, ...

Political events in 2016 gave rise to increasing nationalism and populism globally. Combined with a global slowdown in economic and trade growth, international integration may already have plateaued and could begin to reverse over the coming decade. Multinational organizations should prepare for potentially significant implications by carefully con...

The potential economic and development gains from gender equality are vast and well-documented—and yet they are currently being bypassed. This joint report with the United Nations Foundation explores the market potential of advancing gender equality. By investing in companies offering products and services that promote gender equality, invest...

Given the expectation for the U.S. economy to grow at a modest pace for the eighth year in a row, the risk of the U.S. economy or inflation becoming “overheated” in 2017 remains low. The Fed will likely move the federal funds rate higher twice in 2017, once in the first half and again late in the year. There are still important headwind...

Taking a closer look at the major market themes and strategic positioning for 2017, the view is slightly more optimistic than 2016, but includes many of the same themes that played out last year. Although there may only be a modest pickup in economic activity, equity markets should benefit from expectations of growth and strong corporate earnings. ...

Anyone comparing diversified portfolio returns to domestic equity performance since the election may be disappointed, but this initial discouragement is misplaced. Instead, investors should remember the value of diversification and have confidence when positioning portfolios for the long term instead of reacting to current headlines. By taking this...

The acceleration of technological innovations and the challenges associated with adapting to them seem to point toward a tumultuous future. That future appears to be approaching faster than ever. Companies are finding it harder to maintain their positions in industries that are increasingly subject to disruption. And while investors may not be able...

While currency traders were fixated throughout 2016 on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s outlook for short-term rates, we expect that changes in the value of the U.S. dollar in 2017 will be driven more by geopolitical events: most notably, the French Presidential election, a potential national election in Italy, as well as U.S.-China relations. In t...

While the financial markets have moved well beyond the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the public trust of a very large sector of the global economy is still severely marred due to continued bad behavior, lack of corporate transparency, accountability and proper risk management, as well as risky business practices. To overcome these shortcomings, ...