Trusts are proliferating, but advisors are focusing on protecting wealth, not on the interests of beneficiaries. This increases the likelihood that resentful beneficiaries will cause an enormous increase in trust litigation. But this can be...
Sara and John Fisher are in their mid-50s. Their professional careers are successful and they've amassed about $5 million in assets. While they could keep working, they're ready for something new. They want to start making their dreams come true...
A recent ruling by the Securities and Exchange Commission has made it easier for private foundations organized as not-for-profit corporations with at least $5 million in investments to access the world of alternative investments. Previously, that...
Estate planners have new opportunities to save taxes for their clients using deathbed planning techniques in states that have decoupled their estate taxes from the federal estate tax. Before the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of...
The variety of alternative investments available to the public has exploded in the last 10 years just as prudent investor standards have empowered trustees to explore strategies that better serve clients. No wonder that fiduciaries increasingly...
Something funny happened on the road to nirvana. After an unusually extended period of calm, the financial markets began acting like markets again at the end of February 2007. On Feb. 27, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by more than 400...
Wirehouse broker/dealers have been lining the campaign coffers of both Democratic and Republican candidates- see which firms are ponying up the most dough, and for whom.
With some one million odd fee-based brokerage accounts holding $300 billion in assets now legally considered advisory accounts, brokerage firms face the daunting task of deciding (quickly) what to do next.
During his 20-year career in the brokerage business, Stuart Silverman says he saw a significant void in the industry. He felt there was such a formidable gap between the captive and independent worlds that it was preventing reps who wanted to...
