Research from Barclays Wealth finds that four factors keep individuals from donating more: a lack of financial security heightened by turbulent markets; a missing need to donate for familial, societal or religious reasons; concern about how charities are operated; and an unsupportive tax system.
Analysis by Spring Mountain Capital shows that increased spending will profoundly jeopardize the long-term health of endowments. This paper proposes a framework for analyzing spending decisions that can be of use to endowments and other types of investors who need to balance long-term growth objectives with short-term spending needs.
A simple, periodic verification of the credit-worthiness of an insurance company and the adequacy of the policy funding is not sufficient to fulfill the requirements of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act. A paper from J.R. Katz recommends that reviews of policy suitability include financial strength and claims paying ability, cost competitiveness, pr...
Increasingly, U.S. foundations are funding international causes either through direct giving to overseas recipients or U.S.-based international programs. Foundation Source offers information and guidelines to help private foundations legally and effectively fund these international efforts without violating U.S. tax law.
Organizations that invest in leadership development perform better than those that don't. Challenging economic times underscore this fact even more, according to independent reports collected by the Center for Creative Leadership. Studies show investment in leadership development improves financial performance, attracts and retains talent, driv...
An increasing number of families are contemplating whether the family foundation should continue in perpetuity or have a limited lifespan, according to a Foundation Center survey of more than 1,000 family foundations. The survey explores the decision-making, options and strategies for limited-life foundations as well as the rationale for perpetuity...
Even with the safeguards afforded by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, there still are certain circumstances under which medical privacy is not protected. A new paper from Health Champion notes these areas of vulnerability and offers advice for keeping personal medical information as secure as possible.
Because individuals are more vulnerable in a medical situation when traveling abroad, they are wise to assess risks and create an actionable plan to protect their health and well-being before they leave home. WorldClinic Inc. offers a helpful checklist of six things to consider as part of that preparation for travel.
Many donors are reassessing their charitable giving practices in the wake of the recession. It is in this context that Strategic Philanthropy Ltd. has compiled its annual guide for donors interested in thinking more concretely about how to be effective with their charitable donations at a time when the value of their philanthropic assets has likely...
Despite difficult economic times, a new generation of wealthy, socially aware individuals is giving more to their favorite causes. A research report from Barclays describes these individuals as more global in outlook, more ambitious in trying to effect social change, more impatient in reaching charitable goals, more demanding of accountability by c...
As of May, the press has access to British family court – a change that has implications for wealthy families. Withers LLP explores the ramifications of that decision for families in this set of articles. The lawyers also highlight cases showing that prenuptial agreements can be valuable and that rising and falling stock prices are not a reason for...
Believing the asset management industry is undergoing a major transition that will amplify the complexity of market dynamics for the foreseeable future, Tuttle Asset Management espouses a dynamically adaptive system that increases the probability of success by identifying the market's inflection points within the context of a long-term technical vi...
Tough financial times demand strong risk management systems while limiting the resources available for those systems. In their sixth annual risk management survey, Marsh and the Risk and Insurance Management Society examine strategic risk management in practice and offer recommendations for building strong risk management programs.
Family offices develop complex and highly individual business models that can make fraud prevention programs difficult to implement. At the same time, family offices are exposed to various types of risk that can hamper their ability to protect family assets. In these two papers, Rothstein Kass explains practical methods for preventing fraud and min...
New philanthropists – ultra-wealthy individuals interested in being informed, strategic givers – have been growing in profile, and donations have been increasing. This paper from New Philanthropy Capital explores the opportunities for new philanthropists and established foundations to collaborate, the benefits of such collaborations, and the ways i...