Resource Search

In this news alert, the author, Perkins Coie, highlights that the SEC is expected to allow two separate exemptive orders being sought from the Family Office Rule with respect to distaff members of a family under the Investment Advisors Act.Because the distaff issue has the potential to affect so many single-family offices, the author believes this is a welcome development, and it is hoped that the SEC will amend the Family Office Rule to make this additional exemptive relief available to every single-family office that has a distaff issue now or in the future.

The loss of a spouse to either death or divorce is one of the most traumatic experiences anyone can go through. Life will change irrevocably in many ways for the surviving spouse or separated partners. This article reviews often-neglected steps that may lessen the burden and financial issues that you and/or your spouse may face when this painful loss occurs. So-called “widow planning”—applying equally to widowers and to contingency plans for divorce—is an essential part of any couple’s financial preparedness.

It is frequently suggested that that family offices should mimic institutions and adopt an institutionally disciplined and process-oriented approach when managing their investment portfolios. Through a process-oriented approach, institutions and family offices can be more effective and produce more efficient long-term results.

On June 5, 2014, the European Central Bank crossed an important symbolic line by announcing plans to reduce the policy interest rate into negative territory. Included in this announcement was a host of complementary but nontraditional policy measures, completing the picture of a committee stretching for greater impact.The author believes that:

Research on income equality and social mobility yields compelling conclusions in support of both sides of the debate. For now, regardless of how the research evolves, it is safe to expect the U.S. will enter an environment of higher personal tax rates with further redistribution in the cards, something investors need to consider when weighing the merits of whether to realize or defer income and capital gains.

Plante Moran provides an in-depth look at password security and sheds light on some of the hacking tools out there. These tools are far better at guessing than you may imagine and, at rates of up to billions of guesses per second, much more persistent.So, what are our options? How can we combat this rising issue?

Each year Asset Consulting Group takes a detailed research approach to this question and updates its Active vs. Passive analysis using manager universe information from eVestment Alliance’s subscription database. This database provides qualitative and quantitative information for approximately 45,500 products (strategies) submitted by approximately 8,500 firms.

Today’s broad stock market is not a bubble. However, by virtue of its duration and current valuations, equities are in the mature phase of a bull market. That means a more sober pace of advance, with a lot riding on the economy and monetary policy.The author, Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management, examines several crosscurrents that are bound to create bouts of volatility, and also investment opportunity, across markets.

Headlines about the financial stress on municipalities — combined with high profile downgrades, defaults and even bankruptcies — have led many to believe that high yield issuers must be in financial distress. The author, Nuveen Asset Management, believes that is generally not the case and explains why in this paper.Nuveen believes that thorough fundamental research can help an investor understand risks and identify opportunities and capitalize upon the inefficiencies in this misunderstood asset class.

Now in its sixth year, the current bull market is oft considered due for correction, with investors wondering how much further the rally can go. For this reason, it is useful to test the claimed causes associated with lapsing bull markets. Conventional wisdom suggests bull markets end due to: age, recessions, monetary tightening, extreme valuations, and exogenous shocks.