Proper asset allocation is the cornerstone of prudent investing. But once the allocation is made, fiduciaries have a critical decision to make: How should each asset class be invested? There are two main choices: active or passive management. Both...
A partial interest in property left by a decedent to a surviving spouse, such as an income interest, can lead to a credit for tax on prior transfer (CTPT) in the estate of the surviving spouse. Understanding the role that partial interests play in...
During Leona Helmsley's lifetime, the real estate mogul and hotel magnate was reviled for allegedly saying only the little people pay taxes, then going to jail for failing to do so, much to the glee of the New York tabloids. After Leona's death...
New York's Lincoln Center, about to engage in a costly renovation of its symphony space, is refusing to assure the family of Avery Fisher that the auditorium will continue to bear Fisher's name despite the fact that Fisher donated $10.5 million in...
David T. Leibell and Daniel L. Daniels, partners in the Stamford, Conn., office of Cummings & Lockwood LLC, report: Private Letter Ruling 200733007 (issued Aug. 17, 2007) provides a road map on how to establish a qualified testamentary charitable...
To stop donors from abusing charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) by taking deductions when charities couldn't actually expect to receive anything, the Internal Revenue Service created both the 5 percent exhaustion and the 10 percent remainder rules...
In August, I wrote about a relative's rather negative experience in finding a financial advisor (see The Art Of The Deal, Registered Rep., August 2007). This relative, recently retired from the medical field, was disillusioned with the business...
For years, investors have been waiting for a revival of growth funds. The moment may have arrived. During the first seven months of 2007, large-cap growth funds outdid large-cap value by more than 3 percentage points. But growth funds can be...
In its fall 2005 debut on the New York Stock Exchange as an independent company, Wall Street had little enthusiasm for Ameriprise Financial. Its shares were greeted with a yawn, sliding more than 2 percent after the completion of the spin-off out...
Yes, it's that time of year again. When kids, and even adults, prepare to don masks and outrageous costumes to impersonate ghosts, monsters and other assorted unsavory characters. Halloween enthusiasts or not, members of the investment world are...
