As wealth management continues to evolve, greater emphasis is placed on a wider range of related disciplines. I was hired by SEI Investments to help craft a series of plain-spoken, short monographs on discreet topics in estate planning which ranged from medical directives to selecting a guardian for your children.
A perfect storm has materialized for tax directors of Fortune 1000 companies. Greater disclosure of segment data as a result of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, increasingly prehensile foreign tax authorities, and growing use of a shared services concept for managing global expenses, has made the allocation of headquarters’ expenses fraught with risks, and if managed correctly, opportunities too. I helped author this monograph along with a PriceWaterhouseCoopers international tax partner to generate awareness on strategies and tactics which can be used to manage risks associated with allocation of headquarters’ expenses and minimize the corporation’s marginal tax rate.
Cost sharing arrangements between American Multi National Corporations (MNCs) and their foreign affiliates and subsidiaries, have, for some time provoked the concern of the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Deporatment. Were MNCs engaging in complex cross-border transactions for the sole purpose of reducing their overall tax liability? A 2006 Treasury proposal which seeks to stem abuses, though well meaning, may ultimately undermine U.S. competitiveness because the application of the so-called Investor Model to arms-length transactions provides strong incentives for MNCs to conduct their research and development activities off shore.
Reaction to the wave of late trading and market timing scandals came in the form of the SEC’s compliance program for investment managers and advisors. This white paper which I helped author for Deloitte was written for compliance officers, c-level executives and board members of fund companies and provided them with a broad overview of the issues and implications issuing from this new regulatory initiative.
The valuation of portfolio securities is the cornerstone of the investment management industry. Securities valuations represent a significant day to day responsibility for fund management and directors. However, market timing scandals, increasingly interlinked capital markets and a broadening of securities held in mutual funds have brought to light new thinking and new rules about the fair valuing of portfolio securities. I worked closely with professionals in Deloitte’s financial services and investment management practice to help author this white paper which discusses why fund managers and trustees must now operate within a broader context and apply fair value procedures in a fund’s daily operations rather than as a contingency procedure applied when the fund’s board and or management believes pricing or other valuation irregularities might be present.
Leverage, sheltering of income and tax avoidance make calculating the real return on real estate tricky. This article, written for and published by Interbay Funding, a mortgage lender, does a deep dive on the nuances of calculating the real return on real estate.
This article I wrote for T. Rowe Price shows that investors need to look at today’s expenditures not just in absolute terms, but also in terms of their potential future value. A family car for $380,000 anyone?
Substantial changes to the federal estate tax laws enacted in 2001 under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) have upset the delicate balance between state and federal estate tax liabilities. T. Rowe Price asked me to write a short article which described for investors the possible new tax liabilities which they may face as a result of the schism on estate taxes between state and federal authorities.
This article was written for financial services sales professionals affiliated with Interbay Funding. It explores some of the basic tenants of affinity selling, why it makes sense and the value it brings to the sales equation.
The rise in the federal limits for estate tax exemption from the 2001 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) have hit many states where it hruts the most: in the pocketbook. Many are fighting back with by “de coupling” with federal es