The forces of change in the health care and employee benefits environment have grown stronger and more disruptive with each year. But the disruption has also opened up a rich set of options to help family offices and businesses respond to the needs of the workforce, promote the need for behavioral changes, and still generate financial benefits for everyone involved. In today’s dynamic landscape, the reality is that only a multi-year strategy can truly manage trending costs and their root causes as year-to-year changes are minimally effective.
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In nearly every discussion about estate planning, important questions and issues arise. If couples arrive in their attorney’s office having already thought about these issues—including assessing the level of financial management skills their beneficiaries should possess, how to communicate to their children about their hopes and expectations about the use of family wealth, whether to leave assets to their heirs outright or in trust, and how much to leave to charity—estate planning discussions will go more smoothly and couples will feel more confident in their decisions.
Risk has many dimensions and individual investors tend to equate risk with loss of capital. That definition of risk may actually lead an investor astray and hinder his or her ability to meet long-term objectives. Rather than attempting to avoid risk, successful investors embrace and manage it. For private investors, one of the keys to success is setting strategic investment goals and remaining focused on the long term, without being distracted by short-term noise.
This economic cycle has been a long one, seven years without a slowdown. Any other time, people would be near the doors, ready to get out. But this market has been slowly evolving and though many people thought they could outsmart the market over the last seven years, those who took a long-term strategic mindset—measuring success in the capital markets over years and decades, not weeks and quarters—are the ones who did well. Investment thinkers who apply the long-term view also see abundant opportunities in the next 10 years.
Markets have had a very turbulent start to 2016, and the global economy faces a number of clear challenges. The implications of four interlinked issues—China, crude oil, credit markets, and central banks—are unsettling capital markets. The global economy faces several challenges, but it is continuing to grow, and there are reasons to maintain cautious optimism. A disciplined investment process is essential in the current environment.
Cybersecurity continues to heat up alongside consumer’s growing dependence on devices and the growth of the Internet of Things. Hacking has evolved from the teenager attempting to modify a high school report card to a highly profitable business run by sophisticated groups. As a result, more and more cybersecurity companies are being founded and funded as investors look for the next big win in this market. Until companies can find the technology to end all cyber-attacks, there are things that can be done to better protect essential data and improve personal security measures.
For each parcel of real property owned, the local assessor sends a Notice of Assessment, Taxable Valuation, and Property Classification. If it hasn’t already been received, it is on its way to the mailbox. Printed on the top of the Notice in big, red capital letters is: THIS IS NOT A BILL. So, most people are inclined to throw the Notice away. Don’t. The Notice lists five important things about the property as determined by the assessor, including the appeal process deadline.
At some point, most families ask if they should have a family meeting, recognizing the importance of providing a forum for sharing news, concerns, opportunities, and challenges in an open and direct way. Family meetings are often seen as a great place to learn, whether the topic is investments, business, legal matters, or the family itself. Furthermore, the interplay of generations is a great way to model and develop family leadership and help nurture the family legacy.
During uncertain times, it is easy to get caught up in the latest headlines proclaiming a possible U.S. recession. Although many variables such as growth in hourly earnings or high yield spreads over Treasury bonds have been shown to “predict” recessions in advance, the slope of the yield curve remains a powerful indicator of what lies ahead for the U.S. economy. Using history as a guide and active monitoring of leading indicators (including what the yield curve is signaling), the analysis shows the U.S. economy will grow at a modest but uneven pace.
As December’s difficult market conditions spilled over into 2016, the new year was greeted with worries about China’s economic slowdown, the US dollar, the Federal Reserve’s intentions for future interest rate increases, falling oil prices, and dampening global economic activity. Today the world’s capital markets are in a delicate place, and it’s too soon to be sure how the markets will sort themselves out. In times of uncertainty, it’s always best to stick with the fundamental truths of disciplined investing.