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The results of the U.S. Family Business Survey findings brought out the importance of being prepared to compete in a far more digital economy. Family businesses have built up trust among loyal employees and their ownership group. So how to turn values like loyalty and hard work into a multi-generational success story?

An increasing problem facing employers is the threat of class action lawsuits related to their use of background checks. In these lawsuits, plaintiffs claim that employers are violating a federal statute called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”), which regulates, among other things, an employer’s use of background checks performed by third-party providers. In the face of this potential exposure, it is extremely important that employers ensure they are complying with the FCRA’s notice and disclosure requirements.

People, by nature, are born to judge and make judgments about others as well as themselves. Understanding each other through Real Colors® and knowing what makes each other tick regardless of, and separate from, each person’s relationship with the family of wealth or the family business, is eye opening for families. Real Colors® is a “rite of passage” for accepting others for who they really are and it provides a means for making critical family decisions (including financial decisions).

For families of wealth, especially those with a goal of long-term wealth preservation, the potential value of Real Colors® is multidimensional. It offers a language of understanding that aims to improve communication, problem-solving, and decision-making. It may also provide insight into making asset allocation decisions to help maximize the family’s long-term financial capital requirements.

In this year’s global CEO survey, the prevailing sentiment is one of caution in the face of increasing uncertainty. Unlike the past year, CEOs are less bothered by the broad, existential threats like terrorism and climate change, and are more ‘extremely concerned' about factors that affect the ease of doing business in the markets where they operate.

Despite ongoing discussions meant to defuse tensions and a 90-day “truce” between U.S. and China, the trade tariff issue has not gone away. Well-entrenched globalization trends are unlikely to be reversed, but protectionism could weigh on growth. Other global and non-U.S. economic overview includes share declines in oil and other commodities combined with tightening global financial conditions may pressure emerging markets.

Allocations to listed infrastructure have been on the rise in recent years amid growing demand for real assets offering relatively predictable cash flows and the potential for attractive real returns. A case for this asset class is made through an examination of its historical investment characteristics and the secular themes driving significant capital formation in infrastructure globally.

Preferred securities play a unique role in capital markets and have unique investment attributes. They are fixed-income investments, but with certain equity characteristics such as deeper subordination in the capital structure. Investors are compensated with notably high rates of income. Despite preferreds’ long stated lives, abundant fixed-to-floating-rate preferred instruments can significantly diminish interest-rate risk in diversified portfolios. Since many preferred pay legal dividends, preferreds can also offer significant tax advantages.