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Uncertainty Continues to Reign SupremeUncertainty Continues to Reign Supreme

Members of the Trusts & Estates Investment Committee had their annual meeting to discuss the significant developments in 2012 and how the market will play out. Participating were Edward J. Finley II, Elizabeth K. Miller, Andrew M. Parker and Gregory D. Singer. Here are their thoughts

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Uncertainty Continues to Reign Supreme

 

In this column last January, when asked to sum up the year in investing in one word, we decided on “uncertainty.” Given the same task this year, with the “fiscal cliff” still looming as of this writing and the outlook for the Euro remaining uncertain, we would have to choose the same term. However, while the one-year outlook remains questionable, the long-term view has come into clearer focus.

 

The Fiscal Cliff

Much of our current uncertainty is self-inflicted and stems from political jockeying on strategies to reduce the debt and deficit. Under the tax law as written, tax increases and spending cuts would subtract about 4 percent from gross domestic product growth in 2013, which is currently running at about a 2 percent trend. What we do...

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About the Authors

Edward J. Finley II

Managing Director and Private Client Advisor, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management

Edward Finley is a Managing Director and Private Client Advisor with U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, in New York. Ed leads the design and development of tailored financial strategies for a select group of families, endowments, and foundations. He orchestrates thoughtful initiatives in investment management, trust and estate planning services, wealth strategy, family office services, banking, and philanthropy, integrating the insights and experience of a team of in-house specialists. As the lead relationship manager, Ed works closely with clients to facilitate informed decision-making and active stewardship of wealth.

Ed has worked in wealth management since 1991. Prior to joining U.S. Trust, Ed spent thirteen years with J.P. Morgan Private Bank in New York, where he was a Managing Director and Senior Banker consulting to high net worth families, closely held businesses, charitable foundations and non-governmental organizations. He began his career practicing law with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, and Kirkland & Ellis, where he focused on domestic and international trust and estate planning services. His career also includes a tenure with Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP, where he advised families on wealth strategy and estate administration.

Ed is an adjunct Professor at the University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce, where he teaches the advanced quantitative finance seminar in investment management. He is a frequent lecturer and author on wealth management issues and serves on the editorial board of Trusts & Estates  magazine.

Ed earned his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from the University of Chicago.* He lives in New York City with his husband and two children.

*In his role at U.S. Trust, Ed does not provide legal advice.

Gregory D. Singer

Senior Vice President, Capital Group Private Client Services

Gregory D. Singer is an asset allocation and wealth planning specialist at Capital Group Private Client Services. Prior to joining Capital Group in 2012, Greg was a senior managing director with AllianceBernstein serving in wealth planning, investment and marketing roles. Previously, he was a director for the Pepsi-Cola Company, where he held positions in finance, strategy and marketing. He has also served as the lead strategist for a subsidiary of The Limited and as an M&A analyst for Lehman Brothers. Singer concurrently earned a BS in finance and a BAS in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania, and he holds an MBA in finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He has published extensively in industry press and academic journals and has been cited in numerous periodicals, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He is also a member of the investments editorial board for Trusts & Estates magazine. Greg is based in New York.

Andrew M. Parker

Chief Investment Officer, Archetype Advisors, LLC

 

In his 30 year career, Andy Parker has acquired significant experience in various areas of financial services and he joined the Archetype team to fulfill three very specific goals.

“First, I wanted to work with people that I trust and respect.   Second, while I want to be able to add value, I also want to be in a firm where I can keep learning.   Lastly, I want to ‘do the right thing’ for our clients.”

Andy’s most recent experience was as a founding member and Chief Portfolio Strategist at Lazard Wealth Management where he participated in overall investment strategy and asset allocation, determined portfolio construction and risk management of client portfolios and authored monthly investment strategy thought leadership pieces.  

Andy’s innate ability to understand complex financial and investment concepts enables him to explain them to his Archetype clients in terms that are easy to understand.  “Given the complex investment algorithms that underlay much of Archetype's investment strategy, it is extremely important that we are able to get clients to grasp what we're doing and why it's important for their financial future.” 

Early in his career, Andy served as Senior Vice President at Drexel Burnham Lambert in their Institutional Financial Futures Group where he led a team that developed a static, option-based portfolio hedging algorithm that was successfully implemented for their clients in the 1987 equity market decline and remains in use today.

Andy not only can communicate the complexities of investment strategy to clients, but he also brings an innovative approach to financial planning.  “Each client has specific goals and needs and our business is to craft individual plans.”  

Elizabeth K. Miller

Founder and Head

https://www.summitplacefinancial.com/SummitPlace/leadership.php

 

Elizabeth K. Miller is founder and head of Summit Place Financial Advisors, LLC., which was established to provide personalized asset management and a boutique family office experience to successful families and individuals. Previously she was a principal owner of Trevor Stewart Burton & Jacobsen Inc., where she led the firm’s equity research activities and the investment committee’s stock selection. Ms. Miller started her career as a mergers and acquisition and proprietary trading analyst for the First Boston Corporation. Ms. Miller is a member of the Alumni Board of Governors for the Sphinx Society of the University of Pennsylvania, a past member of the Board of Trustees for the New York Society of Security Analysts (CFA Society New York) and a past chair of the Private Wealth Management Committee there. She also served on the Private Wealth Advisory Committee for CFA Institute, which helped provide global leadership in identifying the industry’s priorities and setting an educational agenda for private wealth professional excellence. Each summer, she joins the faculty of the Chautauqua Institute Special Studies Program, in wealth management. She has been a guest of CNBC, Reuters, BNN, Bloomberg, and Businessweek TV and may be heard on Bloomberg radio and Dow Jones’ Marketwatch. Ms. Miller received a BS in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MA from Columbia University.