The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed by President Obama, includes a number of provisions that will have a significant impact on domestic and non-U.S. fund managers and investment advisers.
BlackRock's latest quarterly guide includes the price tickers, index tickers, annual total expense ratios, dividend policy, fund structure, assets under management and websites for index providers and exchanges around the globe, enabling investors to compare the various exchange-traded funds available.
While the merits of investing in convertible securities have been exhibited over time, the market is particularly compelling today. Convertibles offer much better risk/reward characteristics than equities, with stronger appreciation over the intermediate and long term but at meaningfully lower levels of risk and volatility.
After 17 years of declining or fairly constant tax rates, investors face a changing environment of much higher tax rates on investment income starting in 2013. This brief from BNY Mellon Wealth Management details the coming changes in taxation and offers strategies for greater tax efficiency for business owners, investors and corporate executives.
Disasters bring out the urge to help, but would-be donors often are not sure about where to donate. Schwab Charitable Fund looks at the hierarchy of disaster relief, considers the importance of general disaster expertise vs. local expertise for a charity, and discusses how to encourage accountability. A targeted list of recommendations for donors is included.
The budgetary crises of state and local governments have started to receive more attention, leading some to declare that the municipal market may be ground zero for the next financial crisis. Gresham Partners examines the root causes of these concerns and attempts to determine the likelihood that continuing credit pressures will cascade into the next broad financial crisis.
A paper from The Madison Group says the ability of family members to meet, discuss and make decisions about issues is a critical component of long-term harmony in the family. Discussion begins with the individual members learning the skills to "show up" in a positive way and is carried through in a process that can be trusted and honored.
In addition to having an external mission, many family foundations create an internal one specifying how the foundation will function in family-building, education and the transfer of family values from one generation to the next. Foundation Source offers concrete examples of how some families are using their foundations to make a difference within the family as well as in the external world.
Deutsche Bank researchers address four questions in this study of responsible investments: How are these investments different from more conventional forms of investment? What products are available? Do sustainable investments offer lower returns? How will the market for sustainable investments evolve?
More than 90 percent of respondents to a survey on private equity mergers and acquisitions expect financial due diligence to directly influence the terms and conditions of M&A transactions during the next 12 months. This survey report from mergermarket and Houlihan Lokey considers the impact of increased due diligence and examines other factors that are likely to influence M&A deal flow.