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Making decisions that will affect future wealth is daunting under the best of circumstances. And these days can hardly be described as the best of times. Economies are in transition, US interest rates have begun to rise, China’s growth economy is slowing, and stock prices are more volatile than they have been in quite a while. In periods of uneasiness—with the short-term market pendulum swinging back and forth—historical data shows it’s time to place trust in equities to deliver the returns needed to reach long-term, investment goals.

Global growth is shifting East. As the capital markets and stock exchanges in developing economies become more sophisticated, companies from the West will be increasingly looking to the Asian markets in order to tap into their growing wealth and the associated profile a local listing may provide. Shanghai has emerged as potentially the most attractive venue for foreign listings in 2025.

Continuous learning and adapting is essential to effectively managing wealth and accomplishing family goals and missions. Having a guide and quick reference to key information—best practices and latest economic, legislative, and risk management developments—is an important element to ensuring long-term plans are up to date. Like the families themselves, family wealth requires care, thoughtful attention, and flexibility. The key is keeping informed in the fundamental areas of wealth management, practicing active engagement, and being ready to act.

Successful family offices combine financial, philanthropic, legal, and administrative operations and help ensure that family objectives are achieved from generation to generation. These responsibilities create a range of liability risks for the family office entity and its executive and professional staff. With these risks, it is important for family offices to be aware of management liability red flags and take protective measures to prepare for potential claims.

The digital revolution is reshaping the way people live their lives and the way they work; it’s also forcing a fundamental transformation in talent recruitment and management. Whatever technological innovations are ahead, it’s the people that will make the difference between eventual success and failure.

Technology companies are spearheading industry-spanning innovations that underpin the Internet of Things (IoT), bigger data analytics and cloud-based “everything as a service.” Ultimately, these platforms will coalesce into a globally interconnected ecosystem of data-driven technologies that will bring entirely new business opportunities and consumer conveniences. It will also very likely open new security gaps that will exacerbate the ongoing surge of cyberattacks.

The term “passion investments” has gained currency within the wealth management arena to describe high-end collectibles and other luxury possessions that hold emotional as well as financial value for their owners. When considering that this new asset class has generated noticeable returns, it’s no surprise that owners want to protect their high-value assets. For any passion investment, it’s important to consider the insurance issues, specialized insurance policies, insurance coverage, and risk management best practices to protect these uncommon assets.

Looking back on 2015, it was a disappointing year for investors with returns that were flat to negative, reflecting global market pressures that demand attention in 2016. The new year begins with a tricky liftoff around lowered market expectations and slightly more conservative positioning. Declines in corporate earnings, global growth, oil prices, and key economic metrics struck as reasons for increased caution (even as stocks rebounded in the fourth quarter).

There is nothing particularly magical about the start of a new calendar year, but it is a time to reassess the global economy and markets in search of investment opportunities. At the start of 2016 the outlook shows low recession and bear market risks, the U.S. poised to outperform but an inflection point is nearing. The opponents look equally strong, however, and tug-of-wars eventually come to an end. Until then, the investment outlook is one of relative opportunity and walking the tight line of balancing return opportunities and risks.

While election-year politics will dominate legislative action in 2016, comprehensive tax reform remains a priority for many businesses. President Obama and the Republican leaders of Congress will face key tax policy issues, including tax reform, global tax controversy, IRS challenges, new regulatory projects, and other tax policy matters of importance to today's business leaders. The Obama administration and Congress are expected to offer competing plans on how to reform the US tax system and to promote other policies intended to increase economic growth.