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In the past, central banks were able to push short-term interest rates below zero with negative deposit rates but they had limited influence on longer-maturity bonds. When the financial crisis hit in 2007, all this changed, revealing a new unconventional monetary policy that included buying bonds. Since then, central banks have supported pricing by buying sovereign and corporate bonds, thereby depressing yields. Since March 2015, the ECB has been buying 60 billion euros of bonds every month as part of its QE program.

Most people typically don’t think about exchange rates unless they are heading out of the country. Exchange rates have been very much top-of-mind during the past year. The U.S. dollar has strengthened, while many other leading world currencies have fallen. The new equilibrium has the potential to affect economic growth and inflation around the world. But the relationship among currencies, prices and trade is not a clear one.

Amid unprecedented economic turmoil and regulatory change, most asset managers have afforded themselves little time to bring the future into focus. But the industry stands on the precipice of a number of fundamental shifts that will shape the future of the asset management industry. This paper will help asset managers’ plan for the future by identifying the key game changers which will impact the competitive environment in the next five years.

One primary consideration of investors looking to make an allocation to listed real estate via real estate investment trusts (REITs) today is the impact that a rising-rate environment has on the relative performance of REITs vs. other broader asset classes. This paper discusses the role of REITs in a portfolio as part of a comprehensive investment strategy.

Co-investing is gaining popularity and theoretically offers investors cost advantages and higher return potential. This report discusses the opportunities and common pitfalls of co-investing, leveraging our aggregated data on co-investments and funds generating co-investment.

Advisors and consumers often think of variable universal life (VUL) as just an equity-linked product. But for many, VUL is much more than that.This article seeks to encourage a rethinking of VUL as a unique life insurance product that provides control, flexibility and transparency in a low cost product chassis, while providing the potential for enhanced returns through access to equity investment allocations.

Would your client benefit from a Private Foundation?Annually, 98% of families with a net worth in excess of $5 million give to charity; philanthropy can be a key element in tax management and estate planning, in addition to instilling a sense of responsibility to younger family members.

Using a New Hampshire trust, a settlor can eliminate a trustee’s reporting and disclosure requirements if he or she wishes to withhold knowledge of the trust’s existence, its terms, or the details of its holdings. Many settlors are turning to New Hampshire to create “quiet” or “silent” trusts under which the trustee does not have any duty to inform beneficiaries about the existence or administration of the trust.

Forging a close relationship among siblings during childhood is hard enough, but as siblings become adults, the development of disparities in wealth can challenge even the strongest relationships. In business-owning families, the potential ramifications not only affect the personal lives of the immediate family, it can also disrupt the alignment of corporate vision, tolerance for risk and the overall decision making abilities of everyone involved. This article discusses a number of ways to mitigate and manage sibling wealth disparity.

Since their introduction only two decades ago, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have been undeniably successful. Growing far beyond their initial function of tracking large liquid indices in developed markets, ETFs now hold over $2.6 trillion of assets globally. In fact, the proliferation of ETFs was identified as one of the six game changers in the asset management (AM) industry in 2013. New investor segments continue to integrate ETFs into their portfolios and fund sponsors continue to introduce new products.