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Individuals and businesses can control rising insurance costs only by being proactive and aggressive. This article from Rothstein Kass offers guidance in assessing directors and officers insurance, professional and management liability; key property and liability insurance issues; workers compensation, employee health benefits; and disability and business overhead insurance.

Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, or TIPS, offer additional portfolio diversification, provide a hedge against inflation and help preserve capital, according to this paper from State Street Global Advisors. The authors explain the benefits of TIPS indexing, looking at manager returns over a three-year period.

Inside every long-term investor is a short- and medium-term investor who recognizes the need for short-term liquidity and whose total portfolio consists of varied sub-portfolios. BNY Mellon explores the concept of multi-horizon investing in detail, focusing on the concept of sub-portfolios with different objectives, expected returns and liquidity constraints.

While last year's liquidity crisis has largely been resolved, longer-range liquidity problems remain, particularly for institutions with significant net spending outflows. This paper from Morgan Stanley provides simulations to show investors how an allocation to illiquid assets may evolve over time.

Recent cases of misappropriation of client funds, breaches of fiduciary duty, theft and bankruptcy filings underscore the importance of qualifying one's 1031 qualified intermediary. This article from Strategic Exchange Advisors includes information of interest to any investor with real estate holdings in the United States.

As social demands increase and government budgets tighten, the need to get maximum impact from increasingly scarce philanthropic funds grows. This paper from Springbanc Social Capital Advisors suggests ways to gain philanthropic leverage so that the potential positive outcome of each donation is enhanced.

With short-term interest rates currently near zero, this may be a good time to consider using intra-family loans, grantor retained annuity trusts and sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts.

Competitive state premium taxes and modern domestic trust laws, as well as improved domestic regulatory costs and state consumer laws for insurance policies have resulted in much larger life insurance contracts being issued onshore versus the traditional route of offshore. Consequently, types of trusts, states, insurance companies and policies all are issues for estate planners to consider.

Low interest rates are certainly disheartening for investors looking for income, but they also drive down key rates used in estate planning – a great benefit to those looking for low or no tax techniques for transferring wealth to family members. It is unlikely, however, that these rates will remain as low as they currently are.

The charitable lead trust can be used effectively for the ultra-wealthy to pass property, at death or during life, to charity and family members. The trust is particularly effective for individuals who want to address their charitable interests and also set aside money for future generations' medical, educational or other needs.