Resource Search

The pattern of growth in the world is shifting, and every CEO knows that the forces propelling globalized, technology-driven business are accelerating. At the same time there is resistance to deeper global economic integration building, and concerns over global policy risks like protectionism are rising. How to plot a course for growth in this environment? In the 20th Global CEO Survey, 1,379 CEOs in 79 countries (including 114 US CEOs) were asked just that.

When Desa Van Laarhoven and Geoff Kinder founded Round the Bend Farm: A Center for Restorative Community in Dartmouth, they were moving on a mission that went beyond running the farm. The goal? To create a truly sustainable property that is self-contained, serves the regional population, and educates the population on the future of farming through a unique "agripreneur" program. With the support of the Marion Institute and the Bromley Charitable Trust (a private foundation), the two began to bring that vision to life.

On January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as America’s 45th president. Wasting no time, President Trump has already signed some executive orders, one of which freezes federal regulations pending further review (what this means for various tax regulations, including the proposed valuation discount that the IRS issued in August 2016, is currently unclear). As we wait to see what develops, it is a good time to update a prior discussion focusing on the planning basics and “good housekeeping,” rather than on taxes per se.

After a year of major political shocks, it remains important to take a long-term view of global economic prospects that looks beyond the short-term ups and downs of the economic and political cycle. In taking the long view perspective, the approach is based on a rigorous modelling method that focuses on the fundamental drivers of growth: demographics and productivity, which in turn is driven by technological progress and diffused through international trade and investment.

The Internet of Things (IoT) connects machines and devices to one another. Today’s devices have between 6 to 9 sensors capturing and transmitting data to help all industries become more efficient, productive and safer. The 2020 annual global economic potential across all sectors is estimated up to $14.4 trillion—that is the current GDP of the European Union. For businesses to fully realize the great potential of the Internet of Things (IoT), they will need to be prepared for the privacy, cybersecurity and liability risks that lie ahead.

U.S. equity markets surged following the election of Donald J. Trump as the forty-fifth President of the United States, with the S&P 500 rising 5 percent in the last seven weeks of the year. The Russell 2000 index of small cap stocks added more than 13 percent during the same period. Meanwhile, interest rates rose suddenly and dramatically post-election, leaving bond investors with one their worst four-week losses in decades. Financial markets were surprised by Mr. Trump's win.

Heading into 2017, the top five investment themes center around prolonged expansion, inflation rising, a new upward interest rate bias, going from global to local, and stock pickers being back in style. With all the dire headlines, it’s easy to forget that we are in the midst of the fourth longest expansion on record. Looming risks exist, namely the prospect of trade wars, rising debt and deficit and other geopolitical threats, but broadly speaking, this expansion environment is positive for equities and other risk assets.

For many family firms, the missing middle is the strategic bridgework spanning the mid-zone between two visions: the entrepreneurial vision that sparks the formation of a business and the long-term vision that allows family firms to pursue goals far into the future. Strategic planning for the medium term—the gap between now and the eventual changing of the guard—lays the bridgework to longevity, whereas insufficient planning may cause the bridge to collapse.

As high-net-worth investors discuss plans for charitable giving and investing with their financial advisors, it is absolutely crucial for them to be on the same page in terms of the outcomes desired, both financially and philanthropically. For this reason, advisors and their clients need a set vocabulary of terms going into the first meeting. Only then can they discuss goals (and ways of achieving them) without stumbling over communication roadblocks.

It is near certain there will be sweeping tax legislation in 2017, but not of the sort many expected. Looking back over 2016, there were a few significant tax changes but many proposals and much speculation concerning tightening of regulations and new taxes. Prior to the election, there were expectations of the proposals coming to fruition under a Clinton administration.