- August 19, 2010 - US Expats Must Address Rising Compliance Burden
Editor’s note: This publication has already examined the implications of the recently signed HIRE Act in the US and its effects on US expats in nations such as the UK. 3i Infotech takes another look at this Act and the legislation that was incorporated into it, known as FATCA.
Introduced in October 2009 as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009”, “FATCA” aims to improve tax compliance respecting offshore financial accounts owned by non-exempt US Persons.
- August 19, 2010 - Succession Planning - A Tripartite Approach
The transition from one generation to the next is easily identifiable as the most difficult phase in the successful continuation of a family business. From first to second generation, 70 per cent of businesses fail and only 10 per cent successfully make it to the third generation. According to a study published in 2006, 30 per cent of family business failures can be attributed to "transfer failures".
- August 18, 2010 - Private Bank Clients Getting The Tools To Win Lower Fees
The opacity of private banking fees has long been a feature of this industry – there is as yet no equivalent of the price comparison websites that people can use to check on deals for products such as flights, mortgages or mobile phones.
Slowly but surely, however, this industry is changing. A Germany/Switzerland-based network for private banking clients, My Private Banking, has recently launched a service helping clients to renegotiate for lower fees, translating into fatter investment returns worth potentially millions of dollars or the equivalent over the long run.
- July 7, 2010 - Anti-Corruption Efforts - What Businesses Need To Know
Executives at US corporations and private equity firms certainly understand that bribery of foreign officials is illegal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), yet a surprising number of these companies still lack rigorous mechanisms to ensure FCPA compliance.
The same executives may be less aware of other recent developments that strengthen the trend towards stricter anti-corruption measures and more consistent enforcement of anti-bribery statutes.
Most significant among these is the anti-bribery legislation introduced in the UK in April 2010, which goes even further than the FCPA in the requirements that it imposes on companies.
- June 16, 2010 - JP Morgan's Advice Lab
Services beyond investment management play an important role attracting and retaining clients for wealth managers. The larger the client’s wealth, the more complex and demanding their needs, which means the wealth manager must offer far more than just concierge services to entice and keep this type of person or family.
However, adding more features focused on luxury, pampering and personal needs won’t necessarily cut much ice with the ultra high net worth set – nor will such services provide a guarantee of differentiation, either.
- May 28, 2010 - Brown Brothers Harriman Sets A Different Course
Most wealth management businesses with $45 billion in assets under management would hardly be considered low-profile, but Brown Brothers Harriman & Co’s private wealth management unit is more than happy to fly under the radar.
And while it’s de rigueur for ambitious wealth management firms to try and grab headlines with chest-beating national expansion and hiring plans, the 192-year old firm is happy to stick with its knitting in its New York-area backyard.
“We want to grow smartly and in a controlled way, and have clients who have an investment philosophy that resonates with ours,” Scott Clemons, managing director and co-head of wealth management at the firm, told Family Wealth Report.
- May 26, 2010 - Brown Brothers Harriman: Tri-State Key For Low-Profile Firm
Most wealth management businesses with $45 billion in assets under management would hardly be considered low-profile, but Brown Brothers Harriman & Co’s private wealth management unit is more than happy to fly under the radar.
And while it’s de rigueur for ambitious wealth management firms to try and grab headlines with chest-beating national expansion and hiring plans, the 192-year old firm is happy to stick with its knitting in its New York-area backyard.
“We want to grow smartly and in a controlled way, and have clients who h.
- May 24, 2010 - Wealth Planning In The Digital Age
We live in a digital age. Many aspects of our lives are conducted in a virtual, electronic world, but with this freedom come issues concerning the management of what are increasingly known as digital assets by personal representatives (PRs) or executors.
While many may not have embraced social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, most of us have at least one private email account.
- March 30, 2010 - Family Governance Advisor Looks At How To Avoid Succession Woes
Venture funds and the use by wealthy families of council structures to guide future strategy and avoid succession battles are among some of the trends in family governance laid out by a leading commentator in the field.
Barbara Hauser, author of International Estate Planning: A Reference Guide, and an advisor to affluent families for quarter of a century, said in a recent article that family governance is now a “significant global issue”. (Hauser’s article appeared in the latest edition of the CFA Institute Private Wealth Management Newsletter.
- March 8, 2010 - ABA Conference: Bankers Must Go On Offense
Bankers in the wealth management business need to aggressively pursue new customers, shake up their investment offerings and acquire RIA firms, according to Charles “Chip” Roame, managing principal for Tiburon Strategic Advisors.
“Bankers should switch to offense this year,” said Mr Roame, the keynote speaker at the opening general session of the American Bankers Association’s annual Wealth Management and Trust Conference in Phoenix on Sunday. “A lot of consumers are disenfranchised, and there is a big wide-open door right now.
