Prices of commodities and the US dollar are strongly linked. But is this also true at the individual commodity level?
What are the tax benefits of investing in Qualified Opportunity Funds? A closer look assesses the opportunities —and the risks.
Consumer confidence measures have been mixed amid heightened geopolitical noise. The global manufacturing slowdown has pulled that sub-set of the U.S. economy into contraction territory and threatens business investment. Key service-based readings have maintained resilient growth in the U.S. Currencies around the world have fallen versus the U.S. D...
Substantial inflows into passive funds over the last decade have led to speculatioon that a bubble is forming. Key concerns center around the lack of price discovery inherent with passive funds as well as liquidity during market dislocations. While conerns may be valid, empirical data does not seem to support the case for a bubble.
Both stocks and bonds enjoyed positive returns in the Third Quarter 2019, adding to already-impressive performance from the first half of the year. Declining interest rates again deserve much of the credit for these attractive investment returns. Pessimism regarding global economic growth along with central bank accommodation compressed interest ra...
One question that is often asked when working with family offices is “What are families like mine doing”? The interest in the answers is even greater during periods of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the world’s best investors and wealth stewards share their thoughts and insights into the unique challenges facing fa...
For most families, a large part of multigenerational success hinges on how they approach challenges and create opportunities. In unprecedented times of social distancing and school closures, there are ways you can use this unexpected “family time” to your advantage, including enhancing education for younger generations and foster family communicati...
As the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded, our global health, economic, and market systems have been severely tested in a very short span of time. Even as we find ourselves in the midst of the implications, many thoughts are already geared toward what happens next … after the worst of this season’s coronavirus spread is under control. This r...
With private investments experiencing a renaissance, now is an opportune time to assess the factors shaping the current landscape, debunk misconceptions about the asset class, and evaluate the benefits and boundaries of private investing.
As more and more investors look to implement impact investment strategies, interesting questions are being raised in the context of impact investing by fiduciaries appointed to administer a trust for beneficiaries. Suppose the beneficiary of a multi-generational, non-charitable trust is interested in integrating her values in a trust established fo...
Given the existence of low or even negative yields, investors are increasingly focused on finding sources of incremental income. The recent inversion of the U.S. Treasury curve has heightened concern about a potential economic recession. Historical market performance following previous yield curve inversions is a limited and imprecise prediction to...
Up moderately, the real GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.1% in the first quarter of 2019 in the U.S. The increase reflected greater inventory buildup and exports pulled forward amid tariff fears. Forecasts for the second quarter were measurably lower, with consensus between 1.5% and 2.0%. Labor conditions remain strong while consumer confid...
Investors may be familiar with the many different ways the sale of a stock can be taxed, but the complexity of the code means there are optimal and suboptimal ways of navigating it. Using the five basic tools for building a comprehensive tax-management strategy is key to delivering highly tax-efficient investment performance.
Investors have shown renewed interest in President Biden's twin infrastructure proposals—the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan—and what they will mean for their portfolios. With a focus on the tax changes that more directly affect equity investors, the road ahead should have fewer dangerous curves than some init...
The perceived benefits of put options as a tool to protect against equity drawdowns are often outweighed by their complexity, implementation, and ongoing costs (both economic and behavioral). Investors are better served by adjusting a portfolio’s asset allocation. For those investors who must pursue a tail-risk hedge, a list of potential pitf...