Family businesses in America generate 50% of the jobs, 64% of GDP and account for 61% of all privately owned businesses. While family businesses are very important to the economic growth of our country, they are not given proper consideration when new laws, regulations and restrictions are imposed b...

The more I learn from working with families, the more I realize that the relationships they have with their advisors are just like dating. One of the most important commonalities is the need to build trust, and letting someone in on all your secrets and vulnerabilities is scary. But if you don’t, th...

It was the best of times. It was the…best of times (sorry Dickens). With significantly raised values since the economic downturn of 2008-2009 and rents at record highs, many of our real estate clients seem to be in fantastic positions to capitalize on a truly fairytale moment for commercial property...

In putting together the FOX Guide to Family Education, we were able to identify a number of innovative strategies to enhance owner engagement and foster an ongoing education program for family members: 1. Central Website for Family CommunicationSuccessful families recognize the importance...

Many of today’s ultra-wealthy philanthropists are looking for smart ways to make their donation dollars work hard for causes they care about deeply.They often value additional guidance on how much to give, through which funding vehicles, to which charities, over what timeframe, and with what purpose...

We all hear how cybercrime is a fast-growing crime, one of the fastest growing crimes and that the financial services sector is a target. There is no single solution to the problem, and unfortunately technology is unlikely to provide one in the near future.Threat protection technology typically lags...

I recently participated in a roundtable session at a CFA Society of Chicago career event with 12 moderators each leading a table discussion on careers in various investment specialties. My session was on family office careers. Almost everyone at my three consecutive table discussions started with th...

As impact investing is maturing, we’re seeing an evolution of that very definition.In an earlier FOX Insights blog post, FOX Thought Leaders Council™ member Mark Harder of Warner Norcross & Judd defined impact investing as “making investment with the intention of generating positive environmenta...

Margaret hired the neighborhood girl down the street to watch her children a couple days a week and run some simple errands for her. She never imagined that when she did that, she became an “employer” with all the legal implications that go along with that title. She is now being audited by the IRS ...

Across all industries, client expectations are changing. Wealth management for the ultra-wealthy is no exception.With the advent of technological disruptors and on-demand everything, consumers now expect high-quality services that don’t just meet, but defy their expectations. This challenge is clear...