Resource Search

The compensation structure for advisors is evolving from a commission- and transaction-based system to a fee-based, asset management framework that is seen as a mutually beneficial transition for clients and advisors. However, the traditional value proposition for many advisors has been primarily based on their investment acumen and their prospects for delivering better returns than those of the markets. No matter how skilled the advisor, the path to better investment results may not lie with the ability to pick investments or strategies.

Interest in various forms of impact investing has been growing, but the array of terms—ESG, SRI, Green Bonds, and Engagement—in this area has contributed to investor confusion. The decision on which form is right for the investor depends on a number of factors, including the investor’s goals, beliefs, resources, and preferences. Though one agreed-upon process to evaluate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing actions may never exist, any proposed process should be practical, helping investors make informed decisions with both their time and capital.

Today, investors of all sizes are utilizing their capital to do good while also doing well. A multitude of impacting investing options are available for foundations, family offices, and individual investors to align their values with their investment portfolios. Whether it is through ESG-screened ETFs and mutual funds, green bonds, PACE bonds, or private equity funds, impact investing is a win-win that can drive much needed social and environment change while also earning a good market-rate financial return.

Becoming a great beneficiary starts with having a great trustee. If a trustee devotes the majority of his or her time to administrative matters and managing investments, the wealth distribution process often gets the least attention when it ideally deserves the most. To some trustees, the distribution process may simply seem like a meeting with a beneficiary’s banker. By building a robust distribution process, however, a beneficiary can become better equipped and empowered to live well with wealth.

Strategic investors and private equity firms around the world turned to transactional risk insurance in record numbers in 2017 to reduce deal risk in a highly competitive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) environment. In the latest Transactional Risk report, it provides details on the demand for transactional risk insurance globally. Other key findings include corporate buyers increasing their use of transactional risk insurance and a demand for both traditional and innovative transactional risk products is rising, particularly for contingent tax risk.

Many see increased longevity as primarily a financial challenge and focus on maintaining assets into later stages of life. But as with most issues involving multi-generational wealth, there are other critical dimensions successful families cannot overlook.

After a spectacular year in 2017, emerging market equities have badly trailed their developed market counterparts in 2018. It has been a rough ride for investors who believe in the superior growth characteristics of emerging market economies, in particular Southeast Asia. But recent economic data has improved amid the downside pressures of a protracted trade war with the U.S., geopolitical unrest, and concerns about the sustainability of the China growth story.

Transactions for the purchase and sale of businesses are rarely all cash deals. No matter the transaction structure, the use of financing to consummate the purchase creates a new dimension and layers of complexity requiring additional scrutiny and analysis by a discerning seller (or its principals). When financing the purchase of your business, there are five things the deal team should consider.

Employers are facing workplace retention challenges with increasing regularity. Whether this is the result of a shift in generational norms or a strong economy, employees seem to be more mobile than ever before. Looking at costs alone, recent studies have shown that the cost of recruiting a new employee can be as high as 200% of the former employee’s salary. What can employers do in response to increase higher retention rates?

Looking toward the second half of 2018, the struggle between opposing forces—the positive impact of late-cycle economics and negative forces connected to monetary policy and geopolitics—is ongoing and will continue for the near-term. Whether the positive impact of economic growth is likely to exceed the negative impact of rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty is the major question facing investors.