Perhaps one of the most noticeable developments I'm seeing in the last couple of years is clients and their advisors paying increasing attention to situs and jurisdiction selection in estate planning. Indeed, they're regularly considering...
The IRS' success against UBS AG seems to be the famed butterfly in the rainforest that causes gigantic ripples across the world. The campaign against secret funds in Switzerland led the news. But several unrelated efforts in 2009 shared a common...
The unsettled estate tax environment and harsh economic climate have created a new competitiveness: to be considered the jurisdiction for trusts and win the most trust business. Clients certainly are benefitting. If they select the right...
Brookstreet, Served Again ...
In 2010, make deliberate plans and take deliberate steps to close the gaps in your performance.
Why is it always the little guy who gets sent to the regulator's woodshed?
The Financial Services Institute (FSI) plans on lobbying against recently re-introduced legislation in the Senate that threatens financial advisors’ “independent contractor” worker classification. On December 15, Senator John...
With the decade ending tomorrow, the chorus blaming bankers—and only bankers—for the economic “lost decade” will finally grow crescendo. (Lots of think pieces will appear online and in papers everywhere.) Naturally...
The House of Representatives passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 by a narrow margin Friday afternoon: 223 votes in favor to 202 against. But it will still be a long time before the regulatory future for broker/dealers...
In her remarks before the Consumer Federation of America Thursday, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro reiterated her commitment to creating a “strong fiduciary standard” for all securities professionals. She also called for clear point-of-sale...