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What will the world look like in 2040 if vital natural resources become scarce? What would stimulate a shift from the current linear “Take-Make-Dispose” consumption model that relies on the availability of abundant natural resources, to a circular economy based on the principle of “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle”? Recent research exam...

The set of factors and circumstances which together produced 2017's robust investment returns might be described as a "Goldilocks" scenario, one in which the positive forces pressing on the global economy and financial markets were warming noticeably, but not so hot already as to prompt dramatic cooling efforts from central bankers. A...

From news out of Washington, to improving global growth and strong corporate profits, a number of factors could shape the markets in 2018, including the impact of the recent Tax Reform Bill may have on your portfolio. Christopher Hyzy, Chief Investment Officer for Bank of America Global Wealth & Investment Management, provides important insight...

When looking beyond the short-term demand factors, there are several long-term secular themes that are positive for specialty assets. Most notably among them, growing populations, increasing spending power of the emerging market middle class, and rising urbanization. Since real assets (farmland, timberland, commercial real estate, and energy relate...

In 2017, investors experienced the best of all possible worlds—uncommon synchronized global growth, strong acceleration in corporate earnings and continuing unprecedented monetary support—that fueled capital market appreciation across the globe. However, investors face a looming milestone in 2018, as they approach Peak Central Bank. The...

There is great responsibility when serving the ultra-high net worth clients, especially those who are concerned about preserving a family legacy and the successful transfer of their wealth and/or business. In this issue of Family Wealth Advisors Insights, three areas of concerns are addressed for the advisors and their families: maximizing their fo...

U.S. economic momentum, already positive, will increase further due to the tax package. Interest rates are likely to rise throughout the year posing a headwind for longer duration core bonds. Equity valuations are underpinned by the interest rate and macro environment, but continued increases would become more concerning if inflation makes a comeba...

Bitcoin looks here to stay, but will it be a niche or something more? The analogy to gold is useful, but with notable differences. At present, bitcoin is difficult to sell short, which can lead to near-term upward price pressure. That hedge funds, private equity firms, and other institutional investors are currently taking positions in bitcoin will...

More than any other segment of the population, the wealthy understand the power of leverage in today’s environment. Borrowing against an investment portfolio not only has the possibility of boosting returns, but it can also provide liquidity in a tax-efficient way. With relatively low current interest rates, investors may want to consider bor...

Trump kicked of the month of March by announcing import tariffs of 10% on aluminum and 25% on steel. The U.S. financial markets, as expected, reacted negatively to the initial announcement with the Dow Jones Index falling over 400 points and major aluminum and steel users such as Ford and GM being particularly hard hit. Canada and the EU, the two l...

2017 failed to produce any break in the private markets trends observed in 2016. General partners and limited partners enjoyed the spoils of a healthy exit environment and correspondingly new fund sizes ticked upward resulting in record setting dry powder levels across the industry. Entering 2018, valuations top the list of concerns shared by gener...

Despite an improved outlook, it is possible that the U.S. political authority will trigger a six-month review period for exiting the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) sometime during the next 90 days. At stake is more than $1 trillion in cross-border trade and more than 14 million jobs across three economies. While Mexico has the largest ...

Over the past four decades, the economic and trade relationship between the United States and China has been dramatically transformed, growing from about $2 billion in 1979 to approximately $612.5 billion in 2017. This places it among the most important bilateral economic relationship in the international economy. Now, however, that relationship is...

Investors awoke from their multi-year slumber in late January to a nasty reminder that stock prices are volatile. After a period of calm in the stock markets that rivals the longest in recorded history, a jump in average hourly earnings and the recent backup in bond yields refocused investor concern on the prospect of higher inflation down the road...

The Trump administration’s recent effort to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the United States has provoked a significant backlash among free-market economists, business leaders, and Republicans in Congress, among others. They worry that the imposition of protectionist measures designed to insulate domestic manufacturers from...