As we shepherd your assets through life cycles, business transitions, and beyond, there are both obstacles and opportunities when taking a decade-long perspective. Three key themes emerge and are shaping the market landscape: (1) the near-term economic leadership of the United States that will later decelerate; (2) interest and dividends becoming larger part of total return; and (3) the reemerging world of emerging markets and the corporate transformation that has already begun to take place.
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The revolution of the “information age” has created tremendous advantages and helped accelerate innovation, but it has also brought with it new risks—namely cyber attacks. While the corporate attacks get most of the media attention, do not forget that individuals—especially the high net worth—need to be vigilant about cyber security. The good news is that there are ways for individuals to protect against cyber risks. This paper touches on the key threats to the high net worth and provides advice to help reduce the associated risks.
The United States presidential election season has certainly been emotionally charged and, in many ways, unlike any we’ve seen in recent history. For many, Hillary Clinton represents the continuation of Democratic policies currently in place under the Obama administration. Donald Trump, on the other hand, represents the potential for a shift in policy. Both now turn their attention to a series of debates, where each candidate will provide voters with more detail about key elements of their plan.
As has been the case for several years, the actions of central banks dominate the investment landscape. In the years following the financial crisis, extraordinary monetary policies from central banks around the world, including our own Federal Reserve (Fed), have had an outsized impact on most asset classes. And now, as we say farewell to another summer, we see that the situation has not changed. There is increasing anxiety about prospective interest rate hikes and the possible impacts on equity and fixed income markets.
Performance results over the past ten years make a strong case for higher allocations to private investments. Investors concerned with earning a return on their portfolios that will support their spending needs should look closely at the results and investment policies of this group and consider crossing the “15% frontier” in their own portfolios. Families in particular, are well positioned to take advantage of private investments.
Families pursue impact investing for a variety of reasons, including as a way to engage younger family members in the broader philanthropic and investment activities of a family to foster continuity in the stewardship of assets across generations. Before incorporating impact investments into their portfolios, families should define the overall contextual framework for their impact investments that focus on purpose, priorities, and principles.
Now that school is back in session, it’s important for students to take stock of what they know as they embrace a new year of learning. It’s also a good time for investors to assess the events of the summer and make sure they are well-positioned for the future. In Jeff Mortimer’s latest Investment Update he reviews the events of the summer and discusses uncertainties related to Brexit, central bank policy actions and the upcoming U.S. presidential election in order to better prepare investors for what may lie ahead.
Your first home, establishing your career, marriage, a new baby, a teen’s first car, a student going to college, retirement—many of life’s major events can affect not only your life insurance and estate plans but also your property and liability insurance. While insurance may not be top of mind during these memorable moments and key life-stage milestones, failure to make necessary changes to your policies can lead to uncovered losses.
Although public companies are most often the targets of shareholder claims and class-action suits, not-for-profit and private entities are not immune from litigation. As a director, you could be named personally in claims of fraud or financial mismanagement from which the entity’s indemnification provisions and business structure cannot always protect you. It is important to understand the risk of lawsuits—whether brought by shareholder, employee, governmental body, competitor, customer, or other third parties—and how you can be protected.
For many individuals and families of wealth, there comes a time when they decide to engage in philanthropy in a larger, perhaps more strategic manner. This often occurs as their relationship with wealth matures, and they realize they have an opportunity (or perhaps feel an obligation) to go beyond writing checks to worthy organizations and move toward a deeper engagement in giving that could make a significant impact on the issues they care about. The shift, which can feel overwhelming, can be one of the most rewarding privileges of wealth.