Search Results

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...

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...

As higher interest rates, trade disputes, and slowing global growth cast a chill over markets, the US economy is completing a shift from a period of extended growth to the late stage of an economic cycle. While we do not know when exactly winter will arrive for the economy and markets, we are advising investors to brace for harsher climes. At the s...

While the Treasury curve has continued to exhibit a flattening trend, taking it closer to an inversion, the municipal curve has marched to a different beat, even steepening slightly in 2018. The difference is apparent, especially when using a tax adjusted municipal curve to get a taxable equivalent. In fact, the relative slope between Treasuries an...

When it comes to the family, dynamics are changing. There is no longer one dominant family form in the U.S., according to Pew research. Parents are waiting longer to have children, and many millennials are living at home or taking a less direct route to adulthood. These shifts will continue in 2019 and shape how affluent families tackle interperson...

Allocations to listed infrastructure have been on the rise in recent years amid growing demand for real assets offering relatively predictable cash flows and the potential for attractive real returns. A case for this asset class is made through an examination of its historical investment characteristics and the secular themes driving significa...

Preferred securities play a unique role in capital markets and have unique investment attributes. They are fixed-income investments, but with certain equity characteristics such as deeper subordination in the capital structure. Investors are compensated with notably high rates of income. Despite preferreds’ long stated lives, abundant fixed-t...

The roller coaster ride for midstream energy investors was particularly stomach churning in 2018, with the Alerian Midstream Energy Index ending the year down 18%, putting it 45% below its 2014 high. Even though oil prices have been pummeled, many master limited partnerships and other midstream businesses have exceeded cash flow expectations thanks...

Despite the challenging finish to 2018, this year could be better for REITs. Taking a top down view, there are three themes to look at with respect to how they will play out for real estate. First, the deceleration of economic growth. Second, the healthy employment and wage growth. Third, the change in interest rates being dependent on how hea...

With the emergence of "new and improved" non-traded REITs (NTRs), some investors have shrugged off the industry's checkered past, seeing NTRs as a less volatile alternative to listed REITs. However, investors may not realize they are paying higher fees for lower return potential, along with less liquidity, less diversification, and le...

There are three reasons why investors should be considering preferreds in a rising rates environment: its low duration structures, its wide credit spreads, and its high levels of income. In this video, Brian Cordes, discusses the reasons and highlights how preferreds can also offer some of the highest tax advantage income in the markets today.

Despite mounting cost pressures on their supply chains, just a fraction of middle market companies appear to be hedging commodity prices for the longer term. In this issue of The Real Economy, we examine that topic, as well as a government shutdown’s fallout on food stamp program funding, real GDP growth projections, and the current state of ...

For insights on integrated wealth planning, this issue of The Advisor presents a view from the top with Joe Kahn, The New York Times Managing Editor, the impact of globalization 2.0, and the U.S. presidential election 2016 and the candidates’ tax platforms. Also in this issue are the best practices in providing age-appropriate transparency wh...

David P. Harris, Chief Investment Officer, discusses how shifts in demographic landscapes can impact investments, with a specific consideration of aging populations in global markets.