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One frequently overlooked vehicle for transmitting values is family wealth management. Although money has often been seen as a disruptive force in maintaining positive family values, families who have avoided this "dark side" of wealth have done so by developing a proactive program for wealth management instead of assuming that appropriate values toward money will just happen.

A profile of the Whittier Trust Company.

Interview with Zach Shipley, the vice president of finance for Oxbow Corporation, from his office in West Palm Beach.

Fox interview with Nan-b de Gaspe Beaubien in Montreal. In an effort to broaden our global perspective, this is our second look at internationally based family groups.

Julius Rosenwald, the organizational and merchandising genius responsible for the extraordinary growth of Sears, Roebuck & Co., had five children, the youngest of whom was William. When Julius passed away in 1932, he left a single organization which was responsible for the oversight and management of his children's affairs and assets. In 1946 William, who prefers to be called Bill, left that office to found his own organization.

Fox interview with Matthew Davidson (Kaplan family) and David Patterson (Choate family), from their of offices in New York City.

Fox interview with the Donahue family and Harry Sichi in Pittsburgh at Harry's office.

Change is in the wind. After a challenging 2015, the investment landscape for 2016 will be defined by a new course for monetary policy and political leadership, a new primary catalyst for stocks and an altered roadmap for credit markets, and for energy. Looking ahead at these asset classes—U.S. equities, international equities, fixed income, commodities, hedged strategies, and private markets—can provide a good sense of the investment outlook over the next twelve months.

Volatility in global equities subsided in the Fourth Quarter of 2015; however, 2016 will likely see multiple spikes due to the follow-through from low oil prices and concerns over China. Other current and fluctuating conditions of global capital markets add to the volatility. Amidst the turmoil, growth should stabilize in 2016 with the impact of China deceleration concerns likely to abate, Japan and Europe being on more stable footing for growth, and the CapEx revival in Europe.

For most financial assets 2015 was a challenging environment, with equities seeing negative or muted performance and fixed income facing its worst year since 2013 as yields slowly moved higher in anticipation of the Fed rate hike in December. Some of the macro themes of 2015 (a strong dollar and monetary tightening in the U.S.) will carry forward into 2016, but some will change and new themes will develop in the global economy. The outlook provides significant investment opportunities while recognizing the current risks and volatility of the market environment.