Taking the time to consider security measures before a theft occurs can save a collector a great amount of frustration and expense. Here are seven key measures that can increase the security of fine art and collectibles for little cost.
With incidents of Internet crime surpassing 300,000 annually and continuing to grow, computer users are wise to watch for the warning signs that their computers are being hacked and to be proactive in protecting themselves. This article provides best practices for preventing security breaches as well as a checklist to help maintain your personal se...
Understanding what drives behaviors is a starting point for establishing acceptable family norms as well as addressing the unacceptable. It also may provide insight that can help reduce conflict, establish better communication patterns, and increase levels of trust among family members.
Life insurance policy owners should take heed as continued low interest rates result in lower investment returns credited to policies over time. This can be particularly troublesome for those who do not regularly review and benchmark their policy performance. This bulletin examines the impact of a low interest rate environment on insurers, the perf...
Creating an educational experience that fosters peer exchange and involvement entails more work and risk than a simple lecture, but family members will leave the session with practical skills, deepened relationships and enjoyable memories.
In addition to guiding the family office, helping owners to think about issues that impact their family's goals is an important part of the family office CEO's role. While important to all financial families, these principles and practices become more critical as families grow in size and complexity and should be revisited regularly.
The key to overcoming the paradoxes is looking at a family not as the sum of its wealth, but as a collection of living, breathing individuals drawn together through their affinity for the family. It requires a willingness to fight the natural impulses that lead other families to return to their shirtsleeves.
Family meetings can serve to update and educate family members on business and investment issues, reinforce family ties, and resolve conflicts. They can also be a lot of fun. But figuring out how to get the family members to the event, how to keep their attention once they've arrived, and how to make it fun in the process is no easy feat.
It is now becoming more common for families to focus their overall estate planning strategy on communicating a family vision expressing the philosophical and moral imperatives of the wealth creators, rather than merely on minimizing taxes. The common structure for providing incentives to encourage or alter behavior is the trust.
Our advice to anyone hesitating to bring about an intergenerational family foundation because the time does not seem right or there are too many family issues to confront is — just get started. There is no better time than now to have the satisfaction of helping others and, at the same time, to give your family the opportunity to grow and to disco...
Indexed universal life insurance provides a crediting rate tied to the growth of an equity index. With the potential for an enhanced yield and a guaranteed minimum crediting rate, indexed universal life may be an attractive life insurance option, particularly in the current low interest rate environment.
Directors and officers at private companies have reason to be concerned about potential U.S. securities exposures, leading savvy private firms to adjust their internal compliance and governance structures to more closely resemble those of their public counterparts. They also are taking a closer look at their D&O liability insurance programs.
The FTC is seeking input on this report, which proposes safeguards for data gathered online and offline from consumers. The three main areas addressed are privacy by design in all business practices, simplified privacy choice for consumers and greater transparency related to company data policies.
Private split dollar can help freeze an estate, minimize gift taxes, provide access to cash values, and finance needed or desired insurance for family members. Properly structured, death benefits may be excluded from the insured's taxable estate and even passed to many successive generations if a dynasty-type trust is used.
The financial risks associated with unplanned health care events need to be part of the financial planning process to guard against negative impacts to an investment portfolio or retirement income plan in the event of a catastrophe.