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When initiating charitable work, it is important to remember that a foundation is also a business that requires developed governance practices. As Bill Gates said, “Effective philanthropy requires a lot of time and creativity. The same kind of focus and skills that building a business requires.” The processes and procedures that compris...

In light of the recent severe weather events around the world, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C has caught the attention of the media and the public. The coordinated action of governmental policymakers, politicians, and scientists will be required to address the serious concerns rai...

The past couple of years have proven to be banner years for private equity and merger and acquisition activity, with no signs of slow down in 2019. With cash on hand to invest and the increase in Representation and Warranty Insurance policies, forecasters expect these trends to continue. Podcast host Michael Cohen is joined by Luca Salvi to discuss...

Across the world, philanthropy is undergoing a transformation that offers both exciting opportunities and complex challenges. With so much in flux, emerging donors and established funders are seeking new models not only for funding strategies and impact measures, but also for organizational design and management systems that will serve them well in...

There is a growing acknowledgment that government and philanthropic sources of capital will likely fall far short of what is needed in the coming decades to solve the pressing social and environmental challenges of our time. Hence, many investors are eager to find ways to generate positive impact through their investments. In this Impact Report, we...

While hosting a daily morning meeting, Paul Chew at Brown Advisory was asked: What are the most important lessons you learned from managing through the technology bubble in 2000-2001 and the financial crisis of 2008-2009? Circling back to the question and to his early career when he was an equity research analyst, Paul shares the three most importa...

What choices do you have when it comes to transparency? How open and accessible is your family foundation—to the extended family, to grant seekers and partners, to the public? What approach do your colleague foundations take, and why? This guide examines how family funders are thinking, acting—and not acting—when it comes to how t...

Individuals with disabilities and their families have many options to set aside funds without jeopardizing eligibility for means-tested government benefits, but most of the options require the person with a disability to lose control over his or her own money. With the Stephen J. Beck Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, people with disab...

The best time to install protective devices or materials in your home is during a renovation, addition, or new construction. Consider the following recommendations early in your planning stages to increase safety, lessen the likelihood of damage, and help minimize installation costs. Some proactive measures may even result in savings on your homeow...

A hot U.S. economy will likely cool noticeably in 2019 as the combination of receding fiscal stimulus, higher interest rates, and rising annual operating deficit begin to increase the cost of doing business. In this issue of The Real Economy, we take a closer look at key economic factors to watch in 2019 such as employment, financial conditions, do...

For companies doing business in multiple states, determining state tax responsibilities has always been a challenge. However, 2018 was a notably busy year. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) brought federal legislation that left states needing to react quickly, and with tax reform 2.0 looming, the challenges are not over. In our state tax recap, we e...

The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017 overhauled several cornerstones of the Internal Revenue Code and introduced new tax law, including section 1400Z-1 and section 1400Z-2 which address the qualified opportunity zones (QOZs). The business community, specifically real estate investors, has viewed the QOZ as a possible turbocharged...

The U.S. is currently at an inflection point economically and culturally with the advent of new technologies and an anxiety on the part of those who fear a future that they can’t quite envision fully with themselves in it. Gordon Fowler, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, and Jon Meacham, presidential historian, engage in a dialogue about how ...

Investments into qualified Opportunity Zone Funds offer attractive tax benefits, while catalyzing capital inflows into economically distressed communities. However, prudence is necessary in evaluating these investment opportunities as they come to market. The tax benefits will not outweigh the negative consequences of a bad investment. While the pr...

The volatility in the markets at the end of 2018 raised concerns about the outlook for 2019. Investors may have worried that sources of support were “beyond the peaks”—peak liquidity and then, probably, peak growth in GDP and corporate earnings. Looking through the market noise and taking a macroeconomic outlook, the key investmen...