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This paper is a technical summary of some of the challenges facing the U.S. nonprofit museum community in regard to risk management of art ownership. It includes a summary of key events that has shaped the art market over the last 50 years as well as consideration of the effects of Sarbanes-Oxley and issues surrounding D&O insurance, where muse...

Wealth management firms are beginning to understand the value of their data, the efforts required to maintain it and the importance of managing and storing data accurately. This white paper looks at why data aggregation has become so important and dives into the various risks and rewards associated with different data aggregation options.

The fundamental problem with the art and collectibles market is opaqueness in transactions. This article explains how transactional standards for fine art and collectibles compare to real estate and the role of a title insurer in art transactions.

While the outcome of many global issues remains uncertain, we believe the risk/reward equation favors taking well-calculated, above-average risk. Investor psychology can change at any moment. When the market returns its focus on individual company fundamentals, we expect significant alpha will be generated by portfolios that own high-quality compan...

Investors and advisors focused on wealth growth and preservation may see environment, social, and governance/socially responsible investing as taxing a portfolio's performance. This paper offers a framework with associated metrics for assessing ESG/SRI integration into the portfolio with the same rigor and discipline used in all other fiduciary dec...

Under certain conditions, illiquid wealth can quickly evaporate, or worse – assets can suddenly start to behave like liabilities. If you are successful, then you are wealthy – on paper. Illiquid assets carry a high potential for risk on the balance sheet. But individuals who hold illiquid assets tend to have many wealth planning opportu...

Portfolios do not exist in a vacuum. Investment decisions have tax implications, estate plans often have investment implications, and insurance may affect all aspects of your financial plan. With this level of interconnectedness, a lack of strong coordination among advisors leads to inefficiencies and, perhaps worse, missed opportunities.

Altair looks at why bank custody ensures greater safety of client assets in this Worth magazine article.

Altair looks at the diversification and safety benefits of placing all assets with one advisor in this article originally published in Worth magazine.

To select a high quality advisor, families must do their due diligence to verify experience, credentials and weed out conflicts of interest. This article, originally published in Worth magazine, looks at what questions you should ask during the selction process.

One of the key benefits of having a financial plan is how it can inform decisions regarding spending patterns and investment strategy. There are two questions that often come up during the process of developing a financial plan: How much risk should I take in my portfolio, assuming different spending levels and if I seem to have enough to cover rou...

Identity theft is now the fastest-growing financial crime, according to Thomson Reuters. Some 8.1 million people or 3.5 percent of the U.S. population were victims of identity theft last year. This paper outlines best practices to help safeguard your assets.

For many private collectors of fine art, lending artwork from their collection to a museum or cultural institution is a highly valuable and meaningful experience. For the good of the arts, it is very important that collectors continue to loan, but for the protection of collectors, it is also important that the financial value of the artwork be full...

Volatile financial markets can create potential problems for investors and their advisors. While many expenses are generally fixed, assets designated to fund expenses may increase or decrease in value. In a worst case scenario, managers may have to liquidate assets at potentially “distressed” levels to meet these obligations.  This paper reviews a ...

SmartLife Funding dynamically manages life insurance by aligning the funding strategy with the insureds health profile to target the optimum period of coverage.