Many family offices run like mom-and-pop shops need to embrace best-in-class management and oganizational standards. Blackman Kallick's Mark Blumenthal presents a case study of a small family office that put more formalized processes in place in this "Worth" magazine article.
Identity theft is now the fastest-growing financial crime, according to Thomson Reuters. Some 8.1 million people or 3.5 percent of the U.S. population were victims of identity theft last year. This paper outlines best practices to help safeguard your assets.
In general, a lifestyle specialist should save you time, reduce your stress, be exceptionally trustworthy and honest, and demonstrate veritable focus on making your specific desires and objectives into exceptional realities. The imperative to preserve your complete privacy, security, and integrity should be both second nature and at the front of...
A family meeting held at an overseas destination can enable a family to impart values to younger generations, strengthen its legacy, and engage in hands-on philanthropic activities together. Learn how in this article.
This report looks at the keys to planning a successful trip to China, including aviation, medical care, and personal security. It includes a case study of family traveling to Beijing and Shanghai.
The decision of whether to treat someone working for you as an employee or an independent contractor is not always crystal clear. With increasing frequency, IRS is assessing tax, interest and penalties in situations where they believe workers have been incorrectly treated as independent contractors. This white paper examines the legal and tax consi...
Social media has moved from the fringes of techno geek culture to the mainstream with astonishing speed. The terms “social media” (or “social networking” or “Web 2.0”) is a catch-all for a variety of digital services, usually free to users and carrying advertising. Technology has always outpaced regulation and social media is no exception. Regulato...
Just a couple of decades ago a fortune of $50 million was more than sufficient to justify directly employing a staff of accountants and investment managers to keep track of the family finances, including the holdings of various trusts and foundations. Today, the “break even” point is closer to $250 million and climbing. Hence, many former single-fa...
Once a “fad” for tweens, teenagers and young adults, social media has morphed into a long list of websites and other applications that are frequented and used by people of all ages. Used correctly, social media can reap many benefits for families of wealth and their businesses. However, inappropriate use can wreak havoc on families' reputations and...
A complete and well-developed art service platform can be a competitive advantage for a family office, and as competition increases these platforms will be more global, transparent and diverse in their offerings. Knowing these trends and changing your office to accommodate them can set a family office on solid ground with often demanding collecting...
The term "art storage" is something of a misnomer as it is not solely focused on the storage of paintings and sculpture. Art storage applies to the safekeeping and preservation of a wide variety of property, everything from prints to jewelry to couture fashion to wine. This paper details seven crucial characteristics you should seek in an art stora...
Video biographies are an emerging instrument many ultra-high-net worth families are commissioning to help preserve their history. The biographies allow the wealth builders, or their progeny, to discuss, in their own words, important topics that are of concern to them – family governance issues, estate and tax strategy, philanthropic arrangements an...
The increase in ultra-high net worth families around the world—especially in the emerging economies of Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America—makes family offices a growing force in the global investment market. But if family offices are to live up to the high expectations of their client families, they must offer an exceptional level...
The cloud is the hottest buzzword in the technology industry right now. The whole subject of cloud computing, however, is often clouded — so to speak — by a lot of technical terminology and marketing hype. This white paper is an introduction to cloud computing written specifically for investment managers. It explains what cloud computing is, descri...
The US Treasury has now released the long-anticipated “Model 2” intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) to facilitate the implementation of FATCA, which is expected to be the template for US agreements with Switzerland, Japan, and certain other countries where there might be domestic legal or administrative impediments to entering into a Model 1 IGA. T...